LaShawnda Crowe Storm is a mixed media artist, activist, community builder and occasionally an urban farmer. Whether she is making artwork or sowing seeds, Crowe Storm uses her creative power as a vehicle for dialogue, social change and healing. Crowe Storm has worked with diverse communities to build collaborations, support community voice and creative approaches to addressing difficult dialogues and community organizing. At the core of Crowe Storm's creative practice is a desire to create community; any community in which the process of making art creates a space and place for difficult conversations around a variety of topics, with an eye to community healing. In her words, "If life were a photo, then my artwork would be the film negative, seeking to explore those aspects in our society that have been ignored or forgotten.  By printing these negatives, I give voice to the marginalized and disregarded aspects of our society." Crowe Storm has an M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BA in journalism and English / Creative Writing from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Selected awards include a 2016 Indiana Arts Commission, 2012 Emerging Vision Residency from Michigan State University, a 2011 Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship (Arts Council of Indianapolis), a 2010 Arts for All Artist-in-Residence (Indianapolis Parks and Recreation). You can learn more about her art practice at www.LaShawndaCroweStorm.com and www.TheLynchQuiltsProject.com.