Our Story
Some creatives don’t fit into neat little boxes.
What if you’re more than just a category?
Having more than one talent or skillset is powerful, and you deserve to be celebrated for all that you can do.
Writers
can soar beyond the page
Musicians
can also be visual artists
Artists
can be celebrated for their words too
Photographers
can have many other creative talents
I’m Ren Zen and here’s
Why the Arts & Poetry Centre exists
We long for connection
especially in a world where it’s easy to feel disconnected, even from the creative process.
We seek community
with other creatives who have multiple talents and skills, just like us.
We want to do good things
because it’s in our nature to give back, to make the world a better place, one smile at a time.
We want to grow with others
and keep developing our skills while elevating those around us too.
Zines and art cards are
Easy, accessible art forms
With a pencil or pen and some paper, creative minds can turn modest materials like these into worlds of imagination, exploration, and expression.
Draw, write, doodle, deconstruct, and collage — there’s no wrong way to play with words and/or pictures.
This kind of creative play is essential for children, to practise critical thinking skills. For trauma survivors to express grief, anger, and growth. For adults to create solace away from everyday routines. For seniors to convey wisdom, joy, life lessons, and moments of wonder.
Creativity belongs to everyone, and everyone deserves opportunities to stretch their imaginations.
It’s for these reasons that we choose to focus on zines and art cards, because they can encompass many artistic media. And during the creation of zines and art cards, we are able to listen to music, hear spoken word recordings and performances, and any number of experiential art forms.
Whether done in classrooms, libraries, community centres, or online, zines and art cards have the magical ability to bring people together in one of the most beautiful ways: through sharing.
Founder
Multicultural, multilingual, mixed indigenous Pacific Islander here.
I’m a concrete poet, writer, visual artist, and award-winning creative/art director and graphic designer. I’ve worked with dozens of global brands, Fortune 500 companies, nonprofit orgs, a Tony Award-winning theatre, and a world-class museum. I’ve been a writer and artist since the 1900s, well before AI. 🙂
Past clients include Microsoft; Universal Studios Japan; U.S. Departments of State, Justice, and Defense; Marriott; Seasons 52; Macy’s; Wachovia Bank (now Wells Fargo), and many more. Kindness is my jam, and aloha is my spirit.