By Matt Browning
West Virginia’s poet laureate. An “America’s Got Talent” winner. An Emmy-winning filmmaker. The host of National Public Radio’s “Mountain Stage.” These are merely a sampling of the titles carried by contributors to West Virginia State University’s (WVSU) Creators Program, a workshop and lecture series for creators of all kinds.
The series, which is hosted at the WVSU Economic Development Center (EDC) on Charleston’s West Side, began its seventh season this month and offers something for all skill levels of the creative process.
Boyd leading a session of the Creators Program at WVSU’s Economic Development Center in Charleston. Photo courtesy of WVSU.
“There is incredible talent in West Virginia,” says Daniel Boyd, coordinator of the Creators Program and artist-in-residence at the EDC. Boyd, a filmmaker, writer, director and producer among other titles, developed the program’s concept as a way to foster creative talent in the Capital City. “Our basic premise has been to focus on essentially anything to do with creating for mass media and art.”
Sessions have focused on book publishing, songwriting, animation, graphic design, documentary filmmaking and other creative mediums. The structure ranges from skill-based workshops to speaker sessions from such guests as “America’s Got Talent” winner Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman, Emmy award-winning filmmaker Jacob Young and “Mountain Stage” host Larry Groce.
“It’s evolved,” says Boyd. “We still have technical classes, like photography and digital animation, but we’ve found that people essentially want shorter talks, so we’ve moved toward that.”
The Creators Program sessions are generally free to attend, draw anyone from college students to working professionals and maintain a relaxed, intimate vibe thanks to the EDC’s creative-friendly space, which, according to Boyd, has proven to be the perfect venue.
The facility, managed through WVSU’s Extension Service, is a co-working space and virtual one-stop shop for creative entrepreneurs. The facility features rentable office and meeting space as well as voice recording, editing and green screen production studios.
According to Jaime Rinehart, facilities manager at the EDC, attendees enjoy the more intimate space, and typical sessions draw anywhere from 15-25 attendees. “When the class size is smaller, it works well in an intimate way. There’s more conversation and one-on-one time,” she says.
Boyd leading a session of the Creators Program at WVSU’s Economic Development Center in Charleston. Photo courtesy of WVSU.
Boyd credits the communal space for creating a positive experience. “It always feels good,” he says. “Good ideas happen that you aren’t even thinking about just because of having a central space, and it’s less intimidating than a traditional classroom. Our number one rule with the Creators Program is to have fun.”
Boyd is quick to note that the speakers always leave happy and flattered to be part of the initiative, and he has a wish list of who will be next on the high-caliber roster. Among the people he would like to see are Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Elaine McMillion Sheldon and Morgan Spurlock, Emmy-nominated producer Darrell Fetty and New York Times bestselling author Homer Hickam.
“We aren’t star chasing, but these are successful, well-known people from here in West Virginia,” says Boyd. “It’s a way for nonprofessionals and students to meet them, learn from them and see that they can do it too.”
The program’s fall session, which launched earlier this month, features talks with Boyd, Harshman and WCHS-TV photojournalist Brad Rice. Topics for the spring session are already being planned, with plenty of room for add-ons.
About the Author
Matt Browning is the director of communications at West Virginia State University (WVSU) and an online instructor with the West Virginia University (WVU) Reed College of Media. He received a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from WVU and a bachelor’s degree in communications from WVSU. A Logan native, he currently resides in South Charleston and is an aspiring novelist.              Â
1 Comment
Alot of great information, very well written.