Andre co-founded Iowa City’s Mission Creek Festival in 2006 alongside Tanner Illingworth and Jeff Ray. The festival takes place in Iowa City every spring, embracing live performance, the literary arts, and radical community happenings. Andre has served as festival director from inception. Curatorial and production duties are shared by many to ensure a diversity of thought, representation, and culture.
Nestled in the heart of downtown as an indoor venue-based festival (most venues are within a five-minute walk of each other), Mission Creek thrives on intimacy and cross-medium experiences, turning music lovers onto new literature, writers onto new music, and expanding everyone’s appreciation of art, community, and culture.
The focus is on quality, independent-minded sounds, words, and events–keen on elevating emerging artists and honoring renegade spirits who have been around for years. The festival is committed to supporting opportunities for both local and international-level musicians and writers. Intimacy is integral to the Mission Creek experience: the smallest space holds 30 people and the largest holds 1000; but most rooms are in the 200-300 capacity range, allowing for visceral connections between artists and audiences.
Navigating Iowa City is an important aspect of the festival–not only engaging with events in the various venues but learning about the coffee shops and hangout spots, exploring public places, and meeting new, interesting people. This festival does not happen despite where it lives but because of where it lives.