“Placemaking has attracted a great deal of interest. But, too often, it hardly reaches beyond murals or park festivals. I want to train and coach creative-minded people so they can be part of strategic work in communities, supporting cultural organizing, creative placemaking and arts-based engagement.”
Dasha Kelly Hamilton is a writer, performance artist and creative change agent. She uses the creative process to facilitate dialogues related to human and social wellness.
For almost two decades, her nonprofit, the Still Waters Collective, has created platforms for thousands to learn, be honored and heard. Dasha is the author of three poetry collections, four spoken word albums, and two novels. She has taught on college campuses, at professional conferences, and in K-12 classrooms. She has even performed on HBO's Def Poetry Jam and her commissioned production, Makin' Cake, is mounting a national tour. An Arts Envoy for the U.S. Embassy, Dasha has worked in Botswana, Mauritius, and Beirut. In 2016, she was named Artist of the Year by the City of Milwaukee, and in 2019, she was inaugurated as a Milwaukee’s 11th Poet Laureate.
Dasha has a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Antioch University, a Master of Science in marketing communications from Illinois State University, and a Bachelor of Science in public relations from Roosevelt University.
Organization
Still Waters Collective, Milwaukee
Area of Focus
Creative placemaking
Fellowship Project
Develop Neighborhood Creatives in Residence as a scalable, replicable model for expanding a city’s creative network and deepening community engagement and issue advocacy.
The Poetry of Conversation and “Curlicue Thinking”: Q&A with Dasha Kelly Hamilton
The poet laureate of Wisconsin and a 2021 Rubinger Fellow, Dasha Kelly Hamilton sat down with LISC to discuss what it means to be a creative change agent, the power of verbs, and why listening is imperative to community wellbeing.
A Reading by Dasha Kelly Hamilton
Wisconsin's Poet Laureate and 2021 Rubinger Fellow Dasha Kelly Hamilton recites two of her poems, Hope is a Bruise and Bones.