The Medium
THE CREATIVE EXCHANGE FUND (CXF)
The Creative Exchange Fund is a programming initiative designed to activate The Medium as a community-led destination by promoting professional performing artists, artist residencies, curatorial opportunities, and music development in partnership with the Tyson Family Foundation. In 2023-2024, CXF will support more than 30 activations at The Medium.
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TEAM
Inspired by the Ozark region she was born in, Amber Perrodin is a community-focused artist, friend of the forest, and chronic grassroots organizer that feeds on empowering others.
Perrodin is currently the Artist Fellow with “Looking for America” and as a result has curated the Ozark Story Project, a creative storytelling project exploring and cataloging the intersection of immigrant and traditional folklore in the Ozarks. Since 2018, Perrodin has served as a local team member with “Live in America”, a collaborative research project presented by The Momentary, that seeks to amplify the full and rich terrain of performance art in America.
A mixed-media artist based in Springdale, Arkansas, Perrodin is energized by the sense of place and community. Previously serving as the Program Director with the Downtown Springdale Alliance, Perrodin organized over 100 events in just two years.
Amber is the creator of The Little Craft Show and Team Springdale. She also co-founded and organizes The Creative Social Retreat and, along with her husband, they’ve nurtured an artist-led space in their downtown Springdale art studio that’s services the neighborhood and surrounding community through public and private events.
It’s clear for Perrodin, that art, nature, and community go hand in hand. Often found foraging for wild mushrooms, swimming in creeks, and searching for tumbled creek glass, Perrodin brings the essence of these quiet moments into her artwork and community-focused projects, living by the motto: “What you focus on becomes what is.”
John Wayne is a Pilipino-American who has spent each half of his life on opposite sides of the world. But no matter where he has been, there has always been an innate desire to make sounds and capture them. He began his musical journey as an avid listener, which then progressed into learning to become a keyboardist, a choir member, then finally a self-taught guitarist. That path proceeded to taking on roles as an audio engineer, videographer, and live sound technician. Later on in life he was introduced to his second passion, construction. With over five years now of experience in various aspects, he is looking to transform the space in Downtown Springdale into a safe and evolving one providing to the needs of local creatives.
Since 2015, Thalia has been a vital liaison between performing arts and the community, following more than a decade of in-home education fueling the minds and passions of her five children. Combining her scientific background — a Cum Laude University of Arkansas graduate with a degree in Environmental, Soil, and Water Science — with the artistic, athletic, and academic world in which she was immersed, Thalia began her career as Production Manager for the Northwest Arkansas Conservatory of Classical Ballet, the region’s premiere dance school.
In 2019, Thalia continued to cultivate a relevant landscape for dance in Northwest Arkansas, working with acclaimed directors, artists, and choreographers as Project Manager on a successful 6 month pilot program called Dance Anywhere/Everywhere. Later, as Executive Director of NWA Ballet Theatre, she managed 22 professional dancers and administratively supported art that began receiving national attention. Thalia orchestrated day-to-day operations of NWABT, and quickly became the hub of information flowing in and out of the organization. She not only solidified the continuation of the company, but found her niche in the curation of relationships among artists, venue operators, arts organizations, and community leaders.
With an analytical mind to keep artistic ecosystems flourishing, Thalia now employs her talents on the CACHE team as Arts Services Coordinator, cultivating connections between nonprofits, municipalities, cultural institutions, and funders to build a more equitable and inclusive region for artists and creatives.
A creative at heart, Cynthia D. Tran is a fine art photographer, educator, event curator, and multi-disciplinary artist. With a heart-felt passion for empowering others to embrace their authenticity, Cynthia leads by example through her own embodiment work and keen sense for self-expression. Mindful of the ever-changing moments in her life, she thrives to capture the essence of every place and every person she encounters with the utmost attention to detail, reminding others to find joy in the little things. A lover of nature, collector of crystals and plants, and avid fan of travel and adventure, she has a zest for working alongside natural beauty, finding herself currently residing in NWA now for the very same reasons.
Since 2012, she has always had a camera in her hand. In 2016, she funded her own art space, Transcendence Crystal & Art Collective, a hybridized gallery showcasing nature’s finest hand-picked minerals alongside talented local artists sourced throughout Oklahoma and beyond. Cynthia gained newfound appreciation for the diversity of culture, community, and collaboration through her business and moved on in 2018 to serve bigger organizations such as RAW Artists and Art Con with photography and visual production.
In 2019, she founded Women & Wildlife, an innovative retreat and art project, promoting overall mind, body, and spiritual wellness, while connecting to nature through exploration, art cultivation, and radical vulnerability. Combining her artistic vision alongside therapeutic practices such as yoga, meditation, sensual movement, hiking, and art therapy, this experience has expanded across the midwest in various locations with the support of the community she has developed through her career and by following her purpose. The offering is a unique way to connect within and with others. She is dedicated to uplifting those around her and finds herself to be the connector of people from all walks of life.
