Oregon is experiencing a shift in the landscape of creative spaces in our communities. Population changes, (dis)investment, public policy or the lack of it, and climate change have all had a hand in opening , closing, and changing places that are important to us culturally and creatively. The natural world — of which we are a part — is constantly changing and evolving and has much to teach us about living in these times. Can we find inspiration from our natural surroundings to imagine new ways to build creative spaces?

This is the focus of “Ecology of Creative Space: Gathering Inspiration from the Natural World,” a free conversation with Maesie Speer at 2 pm on Sunday, Feb. 17, at the Lincoln City Cultural Center, 540 NE Hwy. 101. This program is hosted by the Cultural Center and sponsored by Oregon Humanities.

Maesie Speer was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, and is passionate about building inclusive and nurturing creative spaces. She is the programs manager at the Caldera Arts Center outside Sisters, where she lives, works, and explores. Prior to moving to Central Oregon, Maesie lived in Portland, where she administered arts and culture initiatives and scholarship programs for the Oregon Community Foundation and worked as a health education consultant. A lifelong theater-maker, Maesie is a past company member of Hand2Mouth with whom she created and toured for ten years. She has also performed with Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Sojourn Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and Artists Repertory Theatre, among others. She volunteers as a board member for the Central Oregon Arts and Culture Alliance and as a program committee member for ScaleHouse in Bend.

Through the Conversation Project, Oregon Humanities offers free programs that engage community members in thoughtful, challenging conversations about ideas critical to our daily lives and our state’s future. For more information about this free community discussion, please contact Niki Price at 541-994-9994.

Oregon Humanities (921 SW Washington, Suite 150; Portland, OR 97205) connects Oregonians to ideas that change lives and transform communities. More information about Oregon Humanities’ programs and publications, which include the Conversation Project, Think & Drink, Humanity in Perspective, Bridging Oregon, Public Program Grants, and Oregon Humanities magazine, can be found at oregonhumanities.org. Oregon Humanities is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities and a partner of the Oregon Cultural Trust.