CultureSource’s Biannual Member Meeting is a twice-annual gathering in March and October that brings together our entire membership with partners and sector stakeholders. The convening provides a space for participants to learn updates on the state of the local and national arts sectors, to network and bond with peer arts leaders and artists, and to get inspired by new ideas for working more creatively and adaptively.
Biannual Member Meeting: Spring 2026
Date
Thursday, March 26, 2026
9:00am–12:00pm
Location
Chroma
2937 East Grand Blvd, Detroit, MI 48202
Register
Members - Free
Non-Members - $25
Program
Welcome
Grab a coffee and settle in. Assorted pastries, coffee, and tea provided by Avalon Café and bakery will be available upon arrival.
01
What’s Next for CultureSource: A Look Ahead at 2026
Hear from Omari Rush, executive director of CultureSource, and board chair Brent Ott (COO, The Henry Ford) on where CultureSource is focusing its energy this year and what it means for the organizations and leaders in our network.
02
Arts, Technology, and the Rise of AI
Cezanne Charles and Koven Smith bring deep expertise in arts and technology to a conversation about how creative practitioners can engage new tools while staying grounded in purpose.
03
Interactive Member Breakouts
Your chance to connect, compare notes, and share new ideas. Small-group member conversations followed by a live Mentimeter pulse check.
04
Culture as Care: Arts and Health Panel Discussion
Leaders working at the intersection of arts, health, and community well-being discuss how creative practice is shaping new models of care and connection.
Featuring:
- Mark Clague, board member (CultureSource), professor and executive director, U-M Arts Initiative
- Misha Stallworth, senior program officer, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation
- Alison Watson, director, Michigan Arts and Culture Council
- Megan Winkel, lindsay anderson curator of art, Henry Ford Health System
05
Lunch and Networking
Grab a box to go or stay and catch up with colleagues. Food provided by Anita’s Kitchen includes: Chicken shawarma, kafta, falafel, salad, dips and sauces, and assorted desserts.
06
Speakers
Omari Rush engages the arts as a passion and profession, and in each mode, he enjoys discovery and deepening impacts. As executive director of CultureSource in Detroit, he advances efforts to have creative expression thrive in communities. His complementary civic service ranges from recently completing an appointment to the State of Michigan Arts and Culture Council (serving three governors, two as their council chair) and a term as chair of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, to currently working as a board member of SeaChange Capital Partners, the Song Foundation, and the Ann Arbor Treeline Conservancy.
Omari earned degrees in music from the University of Michigan and Florida State University and has extended his love for learning by now teaching at the University of Michigan, by completing fellowships with the Salzburg Global Forum and Association of Performing Arts Professionals, and by serving on research advisory committees for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Indiana University O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
A lapsed clarinetist, Omari now primarily plays on a Rivendell Clem-L bicycle, which he rides daily on streets and trails.
Cézanne Charles is a designer, curator, and researcher with 20 years of experience working at the executive and senior management level within the creative industries (nonprofit and for-profit) in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Her work focuses on the intersection of art, design, technology, culture, economy, social justice, and public policy for future-making.
From 2008-2019, Cézanne served as director of creative industries at Creative Many, where she led the design and implementation of the company’s creative industries research. Here, Cézanne also designed and directed programs that provided the knowledge, funding, networks, and advocacy needed to help empower the practices of Michigan artists, designers, and makers, with a core focus on Detroit. Prior to that, she was executive director of New Media Scotland, the nation’s art and technology development organization. New Media Scotland provides production and commissioning funds, exhibition/performance, networking and dialogue and professional development opportunities to artists, designers, and creative technologists.
She is an active presenter at forums on creative industries research, place-based creative work, design, and new technology including the 2019 Include Conference; 2019 Re:Publica Sequencer Keynote; 2018 SXSW Cities Summit: Economic Growth for Everyone; 2017 Grantmakers in the Arts: Detroit Storytelling (Ford Fdn./Knight Fdn.) + Assessing Impact and Measuring What Matters (Emily Hall Tremaine Fdn.); 2017 Detroit Design Summit: Design + Race; 2017 TACA Perforum (Dallas, TX) Cross Sector Collaborations; 2017 Artist Thrive Convening (Berea, KY); 2017 Saint Etienne International Design Biennale (ShiftSpace + Universal Basic Policy Dialogues Curator); New Museum IdeasCity (2017 NYC + 2016 Detroit) 2016 SXSW SXGoodHub Arts + Impact (moderated by Mara Walker, Americans for the Arts).
Cézanne serves on the Stewardship Board for Design Core Detroit’s UNESCO City of Design initiative, the Allied Media Projects Board of Directors, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, the Americans for the Arts Creative Economy Advisory, and the Zoning Advisory Group of the Detroit Planning Commission. Charles has a Master of Public Affairs (formerly Administration) from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies from The Ohio State University.
Koven J. Smith is an arts strategist and technologist dedicated to building thriving futures for cultural organizations. As Senior Director of Arts at Knight Foundation, he designed the Foundation’s tech-forward arts funding strategy and directed more than $80M in grants supporting digital infrastructure for arts practitioners across eight U.S. cities. Previously, he shaped the digital foundations of the museum field through leadership roles at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Denver Art Museum, and Indianapolis Museum of Art. His consulting work includes engagements with the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Smithsonian, CultureSource, the Doris Duke Foundation, and many others. Beyond his strategic work, Koven is a composer and former big band leader, and slept on many floors as a drummer for indie rock bands. He serves on the boards of the American Composers Forum and Western Museums Association, and is a former board member of the Museum Computer Network.
As a Senior Program Officer at the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, Misha Stallworth West is a driving force in enhancing the quality of life in Western New York and Southeast Michigan. Misha’s decades long commitment to advocacy is reflected in her role supporting the Foundation’s Caregivers and Young Adults & Working Families portfolios. With extensive experience in civic engagement, social justice advocacy, and youth development she brings a wealth of knowledge to her role. Misha’s approach centers around systems-level change, community-driven solutions, and person-centered design.
Misha holds a BA in Research Psychology from the University of Chicago and a MSW in Community Organizing and Social Systems from the University of Michigan. She eagerly awaits what the future holds for the communities she serves and the family she adores spending time with in her fourth generation Detroit home.
Mark Clague , Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the Arts Initiative at the University of Michigan where he leads a campus-wide effort to center the arts in the university’s research, learning, and service mission. He helped launch Michigan ArtsRx, which connects campus health and wellness efforts to parallel campus arts programming for students, faculty, and staff in order to support individual well-being and a thriving campus community. In turn this work has inspired a comprehensive ExperienceRx, social prescribing effort U-M, and the creation of the University of Michigan Institute for Social Prescribing, which Mark co-directs with Dr. Lindsey Mortenson, M.D., Executive Director of University Health and Counseling. As a U-M professor, Mark is a musicologist and cultural historian with a focus on art and institutions in the United States. His book O Say Can You Hear?: A Cultural Biography of “The Star-Spangled Banner” explores the role of music in creating community and negotiating social change in American life and was an editor’s pick of The New York Times. Mark also serves as editor-in-chief of The George and Ira Gershwin Critical Edition.
Alison Watson has served as the Director of the Michigan Arts and Culture Council (MACC) since 2018, following seven years of serving as the Programs Manager for the agency. She brings more than 20 years of expertise within Michigan’s arts and cultural sector, having worked at various nonprofits both on a local and state level.