UMN Alumna Gets Creative With Twin Cities Creative Economy

Posted
June 14, 2022
Tags: alumni

Gülgün Kayim will never forget the first time she saw a play. It changed her life.

She was 15 and a high school student in North London, where her family had lived ever since they were forced to leave Cyprus in 1968 because of violence between the island’s Greek and Turkish communities. Kayim (M.F.A. ’93) was only 5 when her family fled their home, and her childhood in England had been marked by the economic and emotional stresses that often follow such an abrupt displacement.

Now the University of Minnesota alumna works as the founding director of arts, culture, and the creative economy for the city of Minneapolis, where she develops programs to support artistic entrepreneurs, creative businesses, and arts and cultural nonprofits.

“Creativity is really critical to [a community’s] mental health,” she said, pointing to the artistic outpouring that took place in Minneapolis at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue after George Floyd was murdered. “It creates a sense of connectedness, a sense of belonging, a sense of wellbeing. … It’s an outlet and a way for people to connect and process what’s going on in their lives.”

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Gülgün Kayim, a UMN alumna with short hair, dangly earrings, and a sleek black blazer jacket.