Finding Home documentary and art events explore housing, healing, and belonging in Springfield

Rex Ybañez, Board President of Springfield Tenants Unite (STUN), shares information and their view on STUN and Liberated Creatives’ collaborative project, “Finding Home.”

SPRINGFIELD, Mo., May 8, 2026 — Springfield Tenants Unite (STUN) and Liberated Creatives will present “Finding Home,” a short film that explores the housing journeys of artists and the ways their communities support their creative endeavors. Through diverse life experiences, the film explores the emotional struggles that arise when one's chosen path feels unfulfilling or aimless. Seven artists from Springfield share their stories about creativity and perseverance. This nostalgic, reflective, and uplifting documentary highlights how changes in our environment can shape the individuals we become.

The project will include a film screening, an immersive art installation, and a hands-on zine-making workshop, with events scheduled for summer 2026 at The Moxie Cinema, The 3rd Place, The Ozarks Film Foundry, and Story House Bookstore. Accompanying the film screenings will be “A Child’s Room,” an art installation that evokes the emotional weight of displacement, memory, and the spaces we call home. A zine-making workshop, centered on themes of belonging and home, will invite community members to reflect on their own journeys and contribute to a growing archive of lived experience.

“Moving back home was something I never expected, but after a domino effect of unexpected misfortunes, my options seemed scarce,” said Keisha McMillen, owner of Liberated Creatives. “In an attempt to seek community, it was apparent to me that many are struggling with homelessness or housing instability alone, in silence. Finding Home is a creative, community effort to not only raise awareness, but to take action on making safe and affordable housing for all.”

The collaboration brings together Liberated Creatives’ artistic vision with STUN’s grassroots organizing power. STUN, a citywide tenant union founded in June 2020, will provide crew support and lead marketing outreach. The project is designed to amplify tenant voices and build community resilience during a time of rising housing costs and eviction pressures in Springfield.

“Keisha and I are long-time collaborators, and when she asked if STUN was willing to work on a project about housing, I couldn’t refuse,” said Rex Ybañez, Board President of Springfield Tenants Unite. Previously, we led the Artists Empowerment Collective, an initiative to highlight and showcase artists of color in Springfield, resulting in an annual artist showcase called 'Show Your Colors.' Working with Keisha again in a poignant yet powerful way that centers housing has been a fulfilling process. We cannot wait to share this project with the community.”

All events will be open to the public, and suggested donations for the project will be encouraged. Details on screening dates, workshop registration, and venue access will be released in the coming weeks. Community members and advocates for housing justice and the arts are more than welcome.

To stay updated on the project or get involved, visit liberatedcreatives.com or contact Keisha McMillen at liberated@liberatedcreatives.com. To donate to the project, visit gofundme.com/f/support-finding-home-documentary-release. 

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ABOUT LIBERATED CREATIVES:

Liberated Creatives is a multidisciplinary arts collective that facilitates unique experiences fostering self-expression, healing, and community.

ABOUT SPRINGFIELD TENANTS UNITE:

Springfield Tenants Unite (STUN), founded in June 2020, is the city-wide tenant union led by a multi-generational, multi-racial base of poor and working-class tenants in Springfield. STUN fights for all renters in Springfield to have safe, accessible, and truly affordable homes. The union’s main goal is to ensure tenants have a say in where they live and what happens to their housing by organizing along all the lines that the other side uses to divide tenants. STUN empowers renters through unionization, education, and collective action to fight against unsafe living conditions and exploitative landlords.