Design Mingle: Creative Connections, Dwelling on the Edges

Join us for the next Design Mingle: Creative Connections event featuring our Esther Blodau Join us at CREW for our next Design Mingle, where we welcome Esther Bloadu to explore the role of creative practice in community engagement, social inclusion and meaningful collaboration. About the Talk: Dwelling on the Edges Edges are places where things get exciting – where one thing ends and another begins. They can be challenging, uncomfortable and uncertain, but they can also offer rich opportunities for creativity, connection and new ways of thinking. In Dwelling on the Edges, Esther Bloadu will share insights from 15 years of professional experience working at the intersections of urban development, community building, social inclusion and creative practice in Ireland and Berlin. Drawing on her experience as Co-Founder of STADTGESCHICHTEN (Urban Stories), a Berlin-based non-profit organisation, Esther will explore how socially engaged creative practice can help facilitate participation, foster inclusion and support meaningful collaboration within communities. She will also share her experience as a graphic recorder and creative facilitator, demonstrating how artistic approaches can help people navigate complex conversations, make ideas more tangible and develop shared understanding. This talk invites us to consider the possibilities that emerge when we work across disciplines, communities and perspectives, and the role creativity can play in bringing people together. About the Speaker Esther Bloadu Esther has 15 years of professional experience spanning urban development, community building, social inclusion and creative practice in Ireland and Berlin. She is Co-Founder of STADTGESCHICHTEN (Urban Stories), a Berlin-based non-profit organisation that has used experimental, socially engaged creative approaches to support social inclusion in marginalised areas of Berlin. Esther also works as a graphic recorder and creative facilitator, using artistic methods to support meaning-making, strengthen group thinking and encourage collaboration. Esther's work was displayed in the Dexcom Stadium at EDGE26 CREW's natiional summit last May, where she captured the key conversations and ideas from Ireland's Creative Economy Summit through live graphic recording, turning discussions into visual summaries as they unfolded. 📅 Friday, November 2026 📍 CREW, Galway ⏰ 11:30am-1:30pm Registration is free, but spaces are limited. About Design Mingles Design Mingle brings together people from across the creative and design community to share ideas, explore different approaches to creative practice and connect with others working across disciplines. Join us for an evening of conversation, inspiration and connection. This project is funded by Galway City Council through its Creative Communities Fund, an initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme.