How Our Community is Creatively Coping

Arts and culture are essential to Colorado’s economic and social vitality, and like many industries, these businesses have been greatly impacted by COVID-19. In last week’s Virtual Voices, we heard how artists and organizations are changing their creative processes and why it’s important to make time for creativity.

Virtual Voices aims to keep alums informed and engaged as our community works through this challenging time. Each virtual meeting brings together leaders on the front lines of impacted industries to share their knowledge, perspectives and leadership lessons.

Jami Duffy, executive director of Youth on Record, James Holmes, executive director of Cherokee Ranch & Castle Foundation, and Karla Raines, creator of Differentiation Zone and owner of Corona Insights, shared with our alums their techniques for creatively coping and how COVID-19 has impacted our arts and culture community.

Check out our key takeaways and the video of the webinar below.

People over profit. Double down on your team during this time. Your team needs to be encouraged and comforted. Give them the space for self-expression and internal work. By allowing your team to focus on themselves, they’ll be better equipped to help the community move forward.

Decisive decision-making. What’s best for your organization? What’s best for your team? What’s best for your community? As a leader, you’ll need to make quick decisions for your organization and your team. Ask for support and not permission. Be sure to align your decisions with your values and mission. It will help you make decisive decisions.

Time for creativity. Find a creative outlet – whether that’s drawing, writing or tackling a house project. Making room for creativity gives you an escape from the day-to-day. And, it’s OK if you’re not creative. It’s about finding a release to give yourself relief. Your body can’t run all day, and neither can your mind.

Focus on your bounce back plan. There’s no reset button when it comes to COVID-19. Realistically, the way you ran your business before won’t come back. Think about how you can prepare your organization for the future. Think strategically and start acting now.

Support your local artists. Engage with the arts community – virtually or in-person. Let them know you’re there. Check out how you can support the arts through the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts’ Arts through it All campaign