Laura Inks and Clay Bodine: Funk Zone--Toward a vibrant creative class in Santa Barbara
Channel: Pecha Kucha Night Santa Barbara
Date: 2013-02-22

Laura Inks
Laura Inks has been an arts educator, youth advocate and community organizer for over 25 years. She has served as President of the Performing Arts League, and currently sits on the board of directors of the Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative and the Fishbon Arts Collaborative. Laura's interest in collaborative leadership is far reaching as she participates in projects like Pianos On State, the Lucidity Music and Arts Festival and even founded and ran the ARTS ALIVE! Community Gallery, which was host to over thirty different art exhibits, showcasing a wide variety of artists and their work.

In 2009 Laura established the AMASS Gallery (Artists Making A Street Scene) located jn the heart of the Funk Zone. It consists of eighteen murals on a building that has been  slated for demolition and has given voice to over one hundred street artists, as well as fine artists. Additionally, Laura conducted a study and inventory of the creative entities in the Funk Zone neighborhood and developed a report for the Santa Barbara Foundation, which included recommendations for art place making and collaboration. She enthusiastically saw many of the recommendations come to fruition during a recent event, Focus On the Funk Zone, which she was involved with planing and programing in October 2012.

Clay Bodine
Clay's experience has followed two parallel paths. With a degree in history and theatre he began his career by founding theatre companies in Toronto, Ontario and Chicago, Illinois. The emphasis was on professional performances for young audiences. This path included acting, directing and the creation of more than 20 original plays. After a 10 year run, Clay shifted to marketing communications as both an in-house director and creative director for agencies in Chicago. He founded Fishbon, a creative collaborative in Santa Barbara, California with a partner in 2002 and has served as president and creative director since it's inception. Recently he has partnered with Laura Inks to found Creative Collaboration Network to serve the Southern California creative community.