Testimonials from the 2017 Portland Creative Conference

The Portland Creative Conference absolutely blew me away with such great speakers, topics and meaning. The feeling of “inclusion” was a key piece of almost every presentation and it brought comfort to hear such amazing people tell their stories.

What an inspiring event! Thank you, Portland Creative Conference. You have made a safe space for all creatives, big and small, to come and be our artsy, complicated selves. Bravo! I will make this a yearly tradition from here on out!

I brought a big group this year from the agency where I work, and we all had a terrific time. More importantly, we all were inspired in different ways according to our own creative processes. The speakers are wonderful and varied, the music is original and fantastic, and, as always, the after-party is a blast.

The conference really exceeded my expectations. My hope was to gain a new perspective on things and I certainly gained that, but on my return flight to Los Angeles I couldn’t help but feel inspired by the stories of creative souls wrestling with their creative muses and mustering the courage to be resilient in the face of setbacks or seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

It’s rare that I attend such a useful conference. I usually expect only about a quarter of content to be useful, but at least 75% of the material presented at the 2017 conference will help me nurture my creative side, both at work and at home. I found the event to be very inspiring so I would recommend it to friends or colleagues looking for motivation and encouragement.

The Portland Creative Conference always inspires me and introduces me to new and interesting people. I love the broad range of speakers and the inclusion of live art and music makes it even more meaningful.

Creativity is the at the heart of what drives us at people, what moves our culture, what makes brands excel. And yet we often only pay the most superficial attention to what a key ingredient creativity is. The creative conference talks to the very heart of it. At the conference, I heard people speak to their own processes in ways I could identify with, in ways I’ve never thought of. The conference created a picture of creativity that was much more robust and colorful than I previously imagined.

It is wonderful to realize that I am part of a great Creative Community.

Learning about the creative background and insights from a variety of disciplines offers something for a person in any creative field. I came away with tons of scribbled notes and inspiration to reconnect with writing. Also, it was reassuring to laugh together about the frustration of explaining to people what you do / defending your career path, feeling like a fraud / lost / lazy / unproductive…

The cross-pollination across many creative endeavors is a phenomenon you don’t experience in siloed skills-based conferences. As a self-employed creative this has become an essential event to be among other creatives and recharge my batteries. I always come away inspired. Being able to support arts education for kids in our community is just the icing on the cake.

A truly inspirational day! Even though the speakers were not talking specifics that relate to my creative industry, their experiences and stories had clear takeaways that will impact my future work and creative process.

Cre8con renews my creative energy. Sometimes, as creatives, we get stuck. Inspiration doesn’t always flow, our vision isn’t always quite there yet, or we get burned out. By putting a bunch of creative people in a room and having professionals who GET IT talk about their processes, it helps me get “un-stuck.” The diversity of creative fields and the speakers themselves is so inspiring!

More than anything, I gained confidence in myself and the creative profession. Being a creative mind can be rough, but there’s strength in numbers! It was life-changing to see the level of support in the creative community and to be inspired by the success stories of the speakers.

The diversity of professional and personal backgrounds is impressive and I felt wonderfully inspired even though none of the presenters work in my specific field.

Very well thought-out event, covering many different genres; not just designer, or actor, etc. It was fascinating to hear how each got their inspiration.

As a public employee, the opportunity to engage with creative minds and listen to inspiring and creative speakers, helps me think differently on how I do my work and serve our community.

I would recommend this conference for any creative types in Portland.

I really enjoyed the variety of speakers and topics featured at the conference. Everything from comic book writing to VR.