ABOUT
Inspiring Creativity | Creating Collective Joy | Connecting Communities with Care
"Art is not meant to be perfect; it is meant to be alive, engaging, and shared. At People Around Us Workshops, we activate the power of collective creativity to grow skills, discover creative voices, and build meaningful human connections. Through sustainable, hands-on art experiences, we come together to celebrate the beauty of our diverse communities, spark imagination, and create meaning together that lasts beyond the moment."_Leila Ghasempor
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| Figure 1. Installation of participants works from The Messenger of The Peace Project. |
"As a social poet and community educator, I see my workshops as a form of living social practice / social sculpture, where creativity becomes a tool for connection, care, and collective imagination."_Leila Ghasempor
Leila Ghasempor is an interdisciplinary artist, sustainable maker, and community educator dedicated to cultivating vibrant spaces where art is experienced as a joyful, collective energy. Her educational work focuses on inspiring creativity through engaging, hands-on workshops that nurture love, hope, peace, and sustainability through shared artistic practice. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a BFA in Sculpture, and a Minor in Art History. For Leila, art is creativity in motion—rooted in connection, accessibility, curiosity, and shared experience. It is not about perfection, but about being alive and creating meaning together.
Alongside her community workshops, Leila teaches after-school art programs where young people explore sustainability, creative thinking, and hands-on making through interdisciplinary art. Whether working with children, teens, adults, seniors, or individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, she creates welcoming environments where participants build confidence, express themselves creatively, and connect through the process of making.
She is the founder of People Around Us, a multimedia platform dedicated to discovering artists, sharing their stories, and amplifying their voices through interviews, curating exhibitions, community engagement, and creative storytelling. Her own interdisciplinary art practice explores sustainability, memory, identity, and human connection while fostering dialogue across diverse communities.
As the Workshop Chair at FabMo, Leila helps communities reduce textile waste and discover environmental awareness through creative upcycling workshops. She is deeply committed to making creativity accessible to everyone, believing that art has the power to bring people together, strengthen communities, and inspire more sustainable ways of living.
