Office of Creative Propulsion Launches Imagining America Open Forums
Each featuring a new theme, curated resources, open discussion, and more
College of Visual and Performing Arts
The Office of Creative Propulsion (OCP) at James Madison University (JMU) officially launched the Imagining America Open Forum series on Thursday, September 11, at its new space at 131 W. Grace Street, Harrisonburg, Virginia.
The Open Forums are part of JMU’s institutional membership in Imagining America, a national consortium of scholars, artists, designers, humanists, and organizers committed to public scholarship, cultural organizing, and campus transformation. Thanks to sponsorship from the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), JMU’s membership provides faculty, staff, and students with national access to consortium resources, virtual meetings, fellowship programs, and a network of practicing scholars and professionals.
The first forum explored the theme Reimagining America: 2001–2025. Participants engaged with multimedia content—including literature, photography, video, and music—before moving into group discussion, collaborative poem creation led by Lauren Alleyne, director of Furious Flower Poetry Center, as well as action planning. Faculty from across campus lent their expertise to gathering resources around the theme, developed in partnership with Delores Phillips, director of JMU’s African, African American, and Diaspora Studies Center, and Jana Liberato, OCP’s graduate associate.
“These Imagining America conversations are a great way for us to activate our new space at 131 W. Grace Street,” said Logan. “We are excited to be part of this national movement that sees higher education not just as a site of knowledge, but as a catalyst for creativity, connection, and innovation. The Imagining America Open Forum is a way of acting on CVPA and OCP’s belief that the arts are an important site for helping shape the kind of future we want to build together.”
The Imagining America Open Forums will continue on the second Thursday of each month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at OCP. Each forum will feature a new theme, curated resources, open discussion, and an arts-based activity designed to be accessible to all participants.
Upcoming Dates:
- Thursday, October 9, 2025 | 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
- Thursday, November 13, 2025 | 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
- Thursday, December 11, 2025 | 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
