OUR WORK.
The agency works with organizations and institutions looking to deepen connection and engagement, reach farther, and increase capacity through creative and iterative design using creativity and imagination as a foundation and framework.
We do imagination work. We are an agency that thinks creatively to envision a different future and work to make that vision a reality. We use our imagination to tinker with ideas and concepts. We see possibilities and use a generative process to innovate new solutions. The gift is being able to imagine a different tomorrow and to have the confidence to do the work that can make that tomorrow a reality.
The concept of imagination work isn’t exactly new. In 1940, Alcoa introduced the term 'imagineering' to describe a blend of imagination and engineering. Walt Disney later adopted that same term to describe work done by teams at his company to create immersive customer experiences—a sort of “applied imagination.” (“The Rise of the Imagination Worker,” Mariano Suzarez-Battan, Forbes).
We take an artistic approach. We find value in the creative process and what it can do for effective strategy and impactful execution. We believe that the wonderment involved in the creation of art is the kind of curiosity, exploration, and solution mining that is needed in achieving the kind of innovation and success that can move a business or organization forward.
“Any activity that involves creating something entirely new requires artful making. When there is no blueprint, you must work artfully. A successful response to an unexpected move by a competitor requires artful activity; so does handling a sudden problem caused by a supplier.” (Artful Making: What Managers Need to Know About How Artists Work, Robert D. Austin and Lee Devin).
Dasan Ahanu
Founder and Owner
About Dasan.
Christopher “Dasan Ahanu” Massenburg is a visionary cultural strategist, award-winning poet, and multidisciplinary creative whose career spans leadership in nonprofit management, higher education, entrepreneurship, and the arts. With over twenty years of experience, Ahanu is known for his ability to transform complex ideas into compelling initiatives that center imagination, collaboration, and equity.
He is the founder and principal of The Vonsson Group, LLC, a creative services agency that specializes in "imagination work"—a generative approach that uses artistic insight and strategic design to help institutions expand their vision, increase engagement, and solve problems creatively. The Vonsson Group supports clients across sectors by cultivating innovative thinking, designing participatory programs, and applying artistic frameworks to organizational development. Through workshops, design labs, and cultural storytelling, the firm activates bold solutions rooted in cultural understanding and community wisdom.
Complementing this work, Ahanu also leads Dasan Ahanu, LLC, a consultancy focused on strategic planning, curriculum design, and cultural programming for educational institutions, foundations, and social justice organizations. In both ventures, his artistic sensibility as a poet, playwright, and cultural producer plays a central role. His creative lens allows him to help clients navigate uncertainty, build trust, and design inclusive processes that result in meaningful change.
His leadership experience includes serving as Chief Operating Officer for Black Girl Ventures, where he helped develop infrastructure to support capital access for Black and brown women entrepreneurs. At Carolina Performing Arts, he directed the Creative Futures initiative, managing a $1.5 million grant portfolio that supported artist-led, co-creative projects connecting scholars, students, and community partners. Currently, he serves as Cultural Organizing Director for the NC Climate Justice Collective, curating cultural interventions that uplift frontline voices and activate community engagement through storytelling and the arts.
Ahanu’s belief in the power of culture as infrastructure guides all his work. His art isn’t separate from his strategy—it is the foundation. Whether on stage or in the boardroom, he uses creativity to unlock potential, reimagine systems, and build coalitions. As a longtime resident artist at the Hayti Heritage Center and Managing Director of Black Poetry Theatre, he’s grounded in community, history, and the power of narrative to shape futures.
Recognized nationally, Ahanu is a 2023 Piedmont Laureate, a Nasir Jones Fellow at Harvard University’s Hip Hop Archive, and a National Leaders of Color Fellow with Creative West. He’s served on the boards of the NC Poetry Society and The Watering Hole and remains an active voice in the national conversation around cultural equity and artist leadership.
Christopher “Dasan Ahanu” Massenburg builds ecosystems where culture and strategy meet—where imagination is infrastructure, and creativity becomes a tool for justice, joy, and transformation