Introducing the Creative Field Trip Club
Why Corey Gumbs and I are starting a club for creative exploration in New York City.
One of my favorite museums in New York City is Poster House.
If you’ve never been, it’s a museum dedicated entirely to posters—their art, design, history, and storytelling. Every time I visit, I leave with a notebook full of ideas. A poster is such a fascinating object: part artwork, part advertisement, part historical document, and part invitation to imagine something larger than yourself.
Over the past few months, my creative collaborator, Corey Gumbs (The Sound of Us / Black Podcasters Association) and I have been talking about ways to bring creative people together in real life. Not another Zoom call. Not another social media post. An actual reason to get out into the city, discover something new, and spend time with other curious, creative people.
That conversation became the Creative Field Trip Club.
The idea is simple: we’ll organize visits to museums, galleries, exhibitions, artist studios, and cultural spaces around New York City, creating opportunities for artists, podcasters, writers, designers, makers, storytellers, and creative thinkers to learn together and build community.
And so we’re starting with one of my favorite places.
Our first event is a private tour of Poster House’s exhibition, Act Black: Posters from Black American Stage & Screen. Even better, the museum will be closed to the public during our visit, giving us the opportunity to experience the exhibition together with a dedicated museum educator leading the tour.
I’m especially excited about this exhibition because it explores how posters have shaped the stories, careers, and public perception of Black performers throughout American history. As someone who loves both visual storytelling and hidden histories, this feels like the perfect inaugural field trip.
Of course, I can’t help myself, so I’ve also decided to make custom swag for the event.
Each attendee will receive a Creative Field Trip Club field kit designed specifically for this experience. I’m currently sketching ideas for collectible prompt cards, custom pencils, name tags, pins, and other small artifacts inspired by museums, field guides, and creative exploration. Half the fun for me is creating the objects that help tell the story of the event itself.
My hope is that the Creative Field Trip Club becomes more than a single museum visit. I hope it becomes a way for us to explore the city together, meet new people, discover new ideas, and build the kinds of creative communities that make New York such a special place to live.
If that sounds like your kind of adventure, I’d love for you to join us.
See you on the field trip!
About the Hosts
The Sound of Us
A platform founded by Corey Gumbs dedicated to amplifying voices from across the African diaspora through podcasting, storytelling, and community.
Dara Hartley Art
Artist, maker, and storyteller exploring history, culture, and speculative futures.
So fun!! I want to join next time I’m in NYC and can line it up with one of these
Love this idea so much-- can't wait to experience it!