Curating Community: The Rise Of Calling Creatives

On an August afternoon in Omaha;  the same day Dundee Day brought its usual rush of neighborhood pride, another celebration of local culture unfolded with its own gravity.

Calling Creatives, the blooming agency and artistic collective founded by the visionary Candide, held its marquee community event, transforming a single day into a showcase of talent, collaboration, and cultural warmth. What unfolded wasn’t just an event; it felt like the early chapter of a movement quietly positioning Omaha as a rising center of creative energy in the Midwest.

Candide’s intention behind Calling Creatives is simple but powerful: build a space where artists, makers, and dreamers collide in a way that feels organic, inclusive, and electric. Empowering creatives and creative entrepreneurs. Their summer gathering reflected that intention with precision. As guests stepped through the venue, they were met with an expansive vendor area in between the Culxr House building and another gallery featuring everything from street-style fashion to hand poured desserts, acrylic paintings, illustrated prints, handmade objects, and culinary creations that carried the comfort of neighborhood cooking with the presentation of boutique craft.

Among the standout contributors was Candice Alise, who brought a curated portion of her acrylic on canvas catalog. Her pieces added texture and atmosphere to the event. It was vibrant, emotive, and unmistakably rooted in her artistic voice. Surrounded by vendors whose tables told their own stories, her canvases helped define the tone of the day: art not only being consumed, but lived with, interacted with, and contextualized in the broader tapestry of the Omaha expression.

The event wasn’t limited to visual creativity alone. Music, movement, and storytelling wove seamlessly into the afternoon, turning the space into a living cross section of Omaha’s artistic pulse . As part of the program, Wilhelm Duke took the stage for a short introductory performance; a quick but sharp burst of energy that threaded hip-hop rhythm into the day’s multi-medium conversation and hip hop education including a class on Deejaying and turntables. The crowd responded with familiarity; the set acted like a spark, a reminder that sound is just as essential as sight when mapping a city’s creative geography.

What made the Calling Creatives experience stand out wasn’t just the art on display, but the sense of genuine interconnectedness. People weren’t browsing they were engaging. Vendors weren’t selling, they were storytelling. The event carried that unmistakable feelingof a community that’s ready to bloom, where every discipline adds something essential to the whole. And with Dundee Day happening simultaneously, the atmosphere felt less like two separate celebrations and more like a single cultural rhythm pulsing through the city.

Candide’s leadership deserves mention. Building a creative agency is one thing; building a creative ecosystem is another. Calling Creatives has positioned itself at the intersection of both. The event demonstrated an understanding that artists thrive where connection, opportunity, and visibility intersect. In a city that often sits on the edge of larger creative markets, Candide is building something that keeps artists rooted in Omaha while inviting the world to look inward.

As Calling Creatives continues to evolve, this past August gathering feels like a milestone; one of those early markers that, years later, people point back to and say, ‘that’s when things started shifting.’ Whether through future conferences, exhibitions, performances, or vendor showcases, the collective is poised to become a central pillar of Omaha’s artistic landscape.

And if this first major event was any indication, Calling Creatives is not just organizing experiences; it’s architecting community, it’s designing culture.