Lori McKinney
Profession:
Founder/Director of RiffRaff Arts Collective
Five Words About Me:
Inspired, motivated, free-spirited, soul-driven changemaker
One Surprising Skill:
I’m a Ninja Master of Miss Pac-Man
Princeton, WV native and JMU graduate Lori McKinney felt called to build community around the creative arts. She dreamed of producing multimedia shows that would bring people together and inspire change and founded LLyniuM entertainment to accomplish those goals. Now developing more fully into her role of a local business leader and community organizer, she uses the arts as a vehicle to catalyze economic growth. Together with her husband, Lori co-founded Culturefest World Music and Arts Festival, a weekend long immersion in the creative arts, in 2004. In 2006, they formed the RiffRaff Arts Collective (RRAC), a cooperative and interdisciplinary group of artists based in a multi-faceted creative zone in a historical building in downtown Princeton. It serves as the transformative epicenter in a once-distressed neighborhood. In 2012, they teamed with members of the community to create Princeton Renaissance Project, a strategic downtown development effort. Lori spearheaded a large-scale public art campaign amongst other projects; she continues to facilitate dozens of community meetings and gatherings to engage the community in downtown activities.
