Stay up all night brainstorming, learning, making and designing at Creative Reaction Lab’s next Community Reaction Lab of 2016 – a social justice and creativity incubation experience! The Community Reaction Lab is a brainstorming and creation sprint, in which teams will spend 24 hours designing solutions – such as, products, art, services, campaigns, programs, businesses, and more – in response to understanding mental health within the St. Louis region.
The beginning of the night will feature guest speakers and empathy building activities, providing participants insight into mental health stigmas within the region and nationwide. We’ll supply the food, swag, and some expert guidance. (And, of course, post-it notes and white board markers. We can’t brainstorm without them.) All you have to bring is your laptop (and any other prototyping materials you need), appetite, skills and creativity.
Come collaborate with your fellow community leaders to challenge social justice issues that affects us all.
Teams will be formed at the lab after idea pitches. Teams will be no less than two and no more than five participants.
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
For information regarding company sponsorship of Community Reaction Lab: Mental Health Stigmas, please contact Antionette Carroll, Executive Director at acarroll@creativereactionlab.com. Sponsorship funds will be used to provide seed funding, ongoing mentorship, education and support for select Community Reaction Lab participants.
REGISTRATION & CANCELLATION POLICY
Creative Reaction Lab (CRXLAB) will refund 50 percent of registration fees paid for cancellations made before April 18, 2016. No refunds will be available after May 9, 2016.
Community Reaction Lab is subject to cancellation or change. Liability is limited to funds remitted for lab registration and sponsorship fees. Speakers are subject to change without prior notice.
Your registration constitutes permission to use photos, audio and video recording taken of you at the event for promotional and educational purposes in connection with CRXLAB labs and activities, in corresponding publications, in CRXLAB’s archives and on CRXLAB’s website and digital media accounts.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Who should attend?
Have you been impacted by mental health – directly or indirectly? We want you in the room. We are looking for doers and changemakers. From activists, nonprofit leaders, entrepreneurs and government officials to designers, janitors, architects, artists and retail service workers. Our labs are built on interdisciplinary collaboration and creativity – something everyone has.
Why 24 hours?
The systemic issues we are addressing cannot be solved with procrastination. CRXLAB believes in rapid reaction and dedicated incubation to get to the root of the problem, build empathy for the community members affected, brainstorming, making and designing, prototyping and testing your solution. Without time constraints, we may brainstorm a solution today, but forget about the idea until months later after “life” continues to get in the way. In 24 hours, you can design a solution that impacts another individual, family and community, challenge your assumptions around mental health while hearing others’ perspectives, and cultivate your creative competence and leadership – a skillset that will help you beyond the lab.
What happens post-Community Reaction Lab?
CRXLAB continues to work with select teams post lab to integrate their project into the local St. Louis community. Post lab support from CRXLAB includes mentorship, collaboration, and the inclusion in IMPTXDESIGN exhibiting showcase opportunities.
Can you give me an example of a project that came out of previous labs?
In 2014, we hosted our first lab focused on racial inequalities and police brutality, in response to Ferguson. Over 60 ideas were pitched at the lab, five ideas constructed during the program, and four actively launched within the St. Louis community. Learn more about select projects that were developed in the first lab: http://www.aiga.org/interior.aspx?pageid=3080&id=4294971862.
Also, stay-up-to-date with some of the lab projects:
Does Creative Reaction Lab offer any additional services?
CRXLAB also facilitates Business Reaction Labs (inspiring internal company innovation and program development) and workshops focused on youth creativity, design thinking, social innovation, and community engagement. To supplement our public programming, we work with nonprofit and government agencies, to help them increase their effectiveness and find ways around the obstacles they face day-to-day. We believe that nonprofit and government entities are the frontline responders to all of our greatest global challenges, but are hindered by limited resources to meet an increasing community need. In helping these organizations become more effective, we work with them to best leverage their human capital, integrate community insight and feedback in the organizations’ products, services and programs, while cultivating the creativity and community building skills of their staff and culture. Visitwww.creativereactionlab.com for more information.
