Creative professionals unite at WKU Innovation Campus to build regional storytelling network

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Creative professionals from across southcentral Kentucky gathered this week at Western Kentucky University’s Innovation Campus for the Narrative Network’s Holiday Meetup, an event focused on collaboration and the role storytelling plays in shaping the region’s identity and economic future.

The meetup brought together designers, reporters, filmmakers, photographers, writers and other creatives who often work independently, giving them space to connect, share ideas and explore opportunities to collaborate rather than compete.

Organizers say strong storytelling helps define how a community is viewed and can support long-term growth by attracting talent and investment.

“Any time you can bring creative people together, there’s a synergy that happens,” said David Workman, president of Merlin William Corporation. “Ideas feed off each other, and you never know what’s going to come out of it.”

For attendees, the event offered a chance to meet peers they may only know through social media or past work and to see the depth of creative talent already present in the region.

“It’s taking down competitive walls and taking ego out of it,” said Nikko Beason, owner of KY Sky LLC. “It’s letting people come together, collaborate and build the community together.”

Sam Ford, an innovation fellow with CREATE, the Central Region Ecosystem for Arts, Technology and Entrepreneurship, said Bowling Green’s growth makes it especially important for locals to help define the narrative of the region.

“If we don’t tell the story, others will tell it for us,” Ford said.

The Narrative Network also builds on earlier efforts, including an incubator program designed to bring storytellers together across different mediums. Evelyn Gregory, a member of the incubator’s first cohort, said those collaborations helped creatives see how their individual skills can contribute to a larger picture.

“Coming together like this helps tell a bigger story for Bowling Green,” Gregory said.

Organizers hope to host the Narrative Network meetups regularly, expanding the network and creating new opportunities for collaboration among creative professionals throughout the region.