Why Change? A Podcast for the Creative Generation

During this episode of Why Change? co-hosts Ashraf and Jeff join you live from the Colorado Music Educators Association Conference. They discuss the emerging themes from music educators across the state of Colorado, interview André Solomon about the futures of music education, and conclude with some bold calls to action about creating a more inclusive, welcoming, and progressive music education experience for students.

In this episode you’ll learn:

ABOUT ANDRÉ SOLOMON: André Solomon (he/him) serves as the Manager for Community Knowledge with a focus on justice and liberatory practices. In this role, he oversees a portfolio of research, documentation, and professional learning projects, as well as co-leads the Creative Generation Summer Residency Program.

André is a native of Massachusetts currently based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by way of Syracuse, New York. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Flute from Syracuse University and a Masters of Arts Management from Carnegie Mellon University. With both degrees, André hopes to enforce social justice through the arts with the belief that the arts are a necessary component of human development.

As a biracial individual navigating the arts world, both as an artist and arts manager, he desires to cultivate opportunities for BIPOC to visualize representation and actualize their dreams. While in Pittsburgh, André has had the pleasure of co-directing Make Music PGH since 2019 and working as the Manager of Programs for Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council aiding peer networks and Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion (DEAI) initiatives.

This episode was produced by Jeff M. Poulin. The artwork is by Bridget Woodbury. Creative Generation’s Digital Media Producer is Daniel Stanley. This podcasts’ theme music is by Distant Cousins. For more information on this episode and Creative Generation please visit the episode’s webpage and follow us on social media @Campaign4GenC

In this episode of Why Change? co-hosts Ashraf and Jeff connect to discuss Ashraf’s conversation with legendary musician and artist, Terry Morgan. Terry’s incredible past as a musician created a unique chemistry of opportunity as one experience opened him to another, finally leading him to create Borealis, Festival of Lights, an innovative visual and digital art festival based in Seattle, Washington. Ashraf and Jeff discuss how Terry’s personal narrative highlights opportunities for young people to be not only exposed to the arts as an outlet for their creativity, but also a real way they can begin accomplishing change they want to make in their communities.

In this episode you’ll learn:

ABOUT TERRY MORGAN: As a musician, earning his master’s at the University of Washington, Terry teamed up with Jack Buchans, a student of Nam Jun Paik, who had built a Paik-Abe video synthesizer. They spend endless hours creating abstract electronic video art with synthesized soundtracks.

These early experiments attracted Terry to the word of Light Art, Festivals, and Projection Mapping. The beauty, inspiration, and impact that radiates from the faster growing art form in the world is now the most exciting part of his life. Having been on the ground floor of Seattle’s early alternative music scene, he has seen how opportunity can inspire greatness. Borealis now provides a showcase venue for some of the most innovative artists in the world. They are working to create landmark experiences hat will unite the art and tech world in a celebration of new releaities and imagination.

This episode of Why Change? A Podcast for the Creative Generation was powered by Creative Generation. Produced and Edited by Daniel Stanley. For more information on this episode and Creative Generation please visit and follow us on social media @Campaign4GenC

Everyone has spent the past 2 years trying to adjust to the shifting landscapes of everyday life. As artists and educators working across the country, we have seen a tremendous push to center the lived experiences, particularly those furthest from opportunity. Yet, we have also seen an equal amount of resistance to change for a variety of reasons, ranging from fear, lack of confidence, lack of desire, or downright refusal to adapt. Everyone is overwhelmed and we are here to tell all of you: it doesn’t have to be this hard. We are Heleya and James, two artists, educators, leaders, and disruptors with a goal to normalize humanity. Join us for DISRUPT where we’ll break down big ideas and connect them to your daily practice as an artist, educator, or organizational leader

In this episode of Why Change? Jeff introduces a new episode format - an event recap! Creative Generation’s Jordan Campbell shares insights gained at the 2021 ABLE Conversation: Anti-Ableism, Representation, and Accessibility in Arts Education. Hear from keynote speakers Rebecca Cokly and Gaelynn Lea, along with learnings from attendees, to experience this event, just like you were there!

In this episode you’ll learn:

Please download the transcript here.

This episode of Why Change? A Podcast for the Creative Generation was powered by Creative Generation. Produced and Edited by Daniel Stanley. For more information on this episode and Creative Generation please visit and follow us on social media @Campaign4GenC

In this preview of Season 2, the Why Change? Co-hosts - Karla, Ashraf, Rachael, Madeleine, and Jeff connect to discuss their plans for the coming season. Jeff shares a bit about the shift in focus of Why Change?’s second season to focus on the adult change-makers supporting the creative development of young people and how this fits into the suite of podcasts produced by Creative Generation.

In this episode you’ll learn:

This episode of Why Change? A Podcast for the Creative Generation was powered by Creative Generation. Produced and Edited by Daniel Stanley. For more information on this episode and Creative Generation please visit and follow us on social media @Campaign4GenC

Join us for the final episode of Why Change? Season One as co-hosts Karla, Madeleine, Rachel, Ashraf and Jeff reflect on the powerful conversations they’ve had with artists, innovators and activists over the season. The five co-hosts lift up important reminders various guests had contributed during conversations and begin reimagining a future influenced by the personal narratives and stories shared during the podcast.

In this episode you’ll learn:

1) Inspiration from favorite guests and points of synergy across conversations happening around the globe.

2) Examples of real people taking real action on global issues in hyper-localized channels based on personal narrative.

3) Specific things you can do right now to contribute to global conversations as artists and allies.

Follow Creative Generation: @Campaign4GenC

This episode of Why Change? A Podcast for the Creative Generation was powered by Creative Generation. Produced and Edited by Daniel Stanley. For more information on this episode and Creative Generation please visit and follow us on social media @Campaign4GenC

In this episode of Why Change? you’ll meet the inspiring entrepreneur, Tee Sandifer, and learn about how she grew her arts organization into a social change empire for youth, family and communities. Building upon knowledge of self and her community’s needs, Miss Tee’s studio has taken off in a phase of rapid growth since the pandemic hit in 2020, as she works to re-educate families and community leaders about the integral role the arts can play in everyday life. Co-hosts Ashraf and Jeff reflect on the work of Studio T and the social responsibility of young artists as public servants in their communities.

In this episode you’ll learn:

1) How we can and should expand our definition of what art is and where it happens.

2) How citizenship is an example of applied creativity.

3) An example of an arts organization’s rapid growth and development during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

ABOUT TEE SANDIFER: A 30-year dance education expert specializing in pulling the best out of youth. She has developed some of Hollywood’s most sought-after young dancers including THE 2016 winner of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’, 2018 World of Dance stars, members of the Jabbawockeez, and more. But to her, some of the biggest successes of her program have come from students who finished high school and went on to become college graduates.

As CEO and founder of Studio T Arts & Entertainment, PassToClass.com, California’s Day of Dance, Side Hustle Academy, LVL Up, and @SweetTeeTime, Miss Tee’s heartbeat is to champion the development of every child, build confidence and character as well as develop a conquering spirit that believes anything in possible.

Sandifer’s success in building this organization is the direct result of her own struggles and triumphs growing up in Richmond to a single mom raising five siblings. Early in her career as a teaching artist she consistently saw disinterested kids suddenly electrified by the prospect of learning a new move. Her studio in Sacramento now offers local students much more than dance lessons; at Studio T, young people from all backgrounds become skilled professionals in performance and stage crew, graphic and costume design, photography and videography, and of course, choreography. Sandifer’s “whole person” approach addresses every young person’s needs so they can heal, connect, and flourish as key participants in the creative marketplace. Her influence on the creative economy is not only evident in the work that she is doing today, but will have a lasting impact through the many lives she's changed on her life mission.

She serves over 192,000 youth and 7,800 educators in school districts throughout Northern California and across the country every year through educational partnerships & enrichment programs related to physical as well as mental & emotional health. Her passionate advocacy for the arts has taken her to the State Capitol where she partners with local and national civic leaders to bring arts-inspired, socially and culturally relevant incentives to the academic day.

This episode of Why Change? A Podcast for the Creative Generation was powered by Creative Generation. Produced and Edited by Daniel Stanley. For more information on this episode and Creative Generation please visit and follow us on social media @Campaign4GenC

In this episode of Why Change?, co-hosts Madeline and Jeff reflect on a dynamic conversation with storyteller Fidaa Ataya who shares her art as an “amazing, crazy tool for change.” Based in Palestine, Fidaa shares about the purpose and power of telling stories based on generational and cultural knowledge and how that can be applied to contemporary times as forms of peaceful protest. Together, Madeline and Jeff discuss the social responsibility artists have to use their art to draw attention to the causes they believe in.

In this episode you’ll learn:

ABOUT FIDAA ATAYA: A storyteller. Her grandmother, forcibly expelled from her home and homeland in Al Bourj Palestine in 1948, would tell her stories. As she listened, Fidaa would fly with her imagination across borders, across the occupation, to freedom. Traditionally, women in Palestine told stories in private, not in public. But Fidaa tells stories in public, using them as a tool for survival, to pass on the anthropology of her people, to prove their existence and resistance. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education and psychology, diplomas in drama and education and playback theatre, and an MEd in Integrated Arts from Plymouth State University (NH). Fidaa has produced and performed shows in Palestine, Europe, America, and the Arab world and performed in numerous festivals across the globe. Fidaa has founded or co-founded a number of groups including the Art and Activism Residency, Hakaya Group to revive traditional Palestinian storytelling, Arabic School of Playback, Women’s Theatre at Burj Al-Barajna refugee camp, The Rain Singer Theatre at Tulkarm refugee camp, and the Palestinian American Children’s Theatre (PACT). She is a Drama in Education Specialist and Faculty Member at the Arab School of Playback Theatre, a member of ITC4 in New York, as well as a puppeteer, filmmaker, and director. She has directed several short films which have been shown in Palestine, within the United States, and in Italy. With Seraj Libraries, she is helping to open the National Storytelling Center in Palestine.

This episode of Why Change? A Podcast for the Creative Generation was powered by Creative Generation. Produced and Edited by Daniel Stanley. For more information on this episode and Creative Generation please visit and follow us on social media @Campaign4GenC

In this episode of Why Change host Rachel Jacobs connects with Alethea Beetson about the role and responsibility of artists and arts supporters in honoring and acknowledging indigenous people and their art as well as confronting and understanding existing structures of colonization in the world of arts. They also discuss the importance of transitioning power and leadership to youth as part of your organization’s infrastructure.

In this episode you’ll learn:

1) How young people can be built into the growth and development of an organization with a pathway to transitioning power.

2) How to start thinking more intentionally about language, specifically as it relates to decolonization.

3) What non-indegenous people can do to start their own work and support First Nation Artists.

ABOUT ALETHEA - Alethea Beetson is a Kabi Kabi + Wiradjuri artist and producer who has worked extensively with Indigenous communities across multiple art forms to inspire new works responding to societal issues, cultural heritage and colonisation. She is the Artistic Director of Digi Youth Arts, and QMusic’s First Nations Programmer. Based in Brisbane. She was previously the curator of the First Nation programme at BIGSOUND, and Indigenous Engagement Coordinator at the Queensland Museum. Alethea has completed her Doctorate in Creative Industries (QUT) exploring the function of ritual, resistance and resurgence in the creative development and production of Indigenous performance.

This episode of Why Change? A Podcast for the Creative Generation was powered by Creative Generation. Produced and Edited by Daniel Stanley. For more information on this episode and Creative Generation please visit and follow us on social media @Campaign4GenC

During this episode of Why Change? co-hosts Karla and Jeff join you live from the 2021 Arts School Network Conference in Chicago to have a conversation about the role artists and arts schools can have as influencers and instigators in policy decisions that impact their communities. Outside of the broader conference themes around diversity, equity and inclusion, Karla and Jeff discuss actions taken to broaden the scope of schools to be laboratories for youth-led, civically-engaged experiences that create large-scale community change.

In this episode you’ll learn:

Check out some of the things mentioned during this podcast, including:

Please download the transcript here.

This episode of Why Change? A Podcast for the Creative Generation was powered by Creative Generation. Produced and Edited by Daniel Stanley. For more information on this episode and Creative Generation please visit and follow us on social media @Campaign4GenC