Vanessa Stokes is an Artist, Entrepreneur and CEO of VS Creative Consulting. VS Creative Consulting is a Cultural Design Firm utilizing art as a way to engage communities. We do this by working with businesses, communities, and cultural spaces to design programs and practices that align with the organization’s mission and vision. Vanessa is a cultural organizer and curator of several public art displays in the Austin community, including 2 displays of the work of Dorrell Creightney, her father, located inside the train stations at Austin and Central on CTA’s green line train. In 2021, she created POPCourts on the corner of Chicago Avenue and Lockwood Avenue on Chicago’s Westside. Currently, Vanessa is the Executive Director of The Outwest Gallery & Cafe, Publisher of the Westside Review Magazine, Co-Host of Sage & Bloom Podcast and Talkn Bout All The Stuff Live Conversation. She is also the co-owner of Third City Cafe and Third City Studio located in the North Austin Arts District at North Ave and Central in the Austin Community. She also collaborates with local artists and community members creating the future of art, public art and Community Development on the West and South sides of Chicago. She is the President of the Park Advisory Council and the Chair of the Art & Culture Committee at Austin Town Hall Park. Lastly, Vanessa volunteers on The Hatchery Community Advisory Committee, and the Steering and DEI Committee Member of the Commercial Real Estate Awards, benefiting the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
