I’ve been thinking a lot about community lately. How do I impact my community as an artist? How does my community impact my business? One thing I love about living in the city is that it’s always evolving. It’s always changing, usually for the better. I’d like to think people evolve too. I’d like to think we continue to grow and become better… better human beings, and better business owners. I’m learning that positive relationships drive business.
This year has been nuts. COVID-19 has thrown everyone off the tracks. We are doing things we’ve never done before. We’re having multiple Zoom meetings every week. We’re wearing masks. We’re ordering groceries online. I do look forward to normalcy, but in the meantime I’m reveling in these new experiences. Being stuck at home has given me time to think about my local and global network. We need to work on our relationships in order to expand our businesses and grow our communities.
I’ve scrapped my original goals for this year and am focusing on relationships. I want to build my personal and professional network. Growing my personal community has become a main objective of mine. Positive relationships will drive my art and in turn drive my business. This all became clear to me recently through conversations with a fellow artist friend Audwynn Newman. Out of a need and desire to interact with likeminded people, we founded The Artist Takeover. Quite frankly, we needed to see our people! We needed to see our artists!! We needed to sell our paintings!!!
Long story short, we founded The Artist Takeover. The Artist Takeover is the epitome of relationships driving business. Audwynn and I needed an avenue to sell our paintings in the middle of a pandemic. We planned The Artist Takeover. We provided a safe environment in a newly paved parking lot. The Dugout, a local establishment, provided food and drink. We brought in live music by Indy Island Party. Most importantly, we brought in additional local artisans to sell their goods. We were joined by Fountain Square USA, Reclaim and Rethread, and Alex Browning. A portion of the proceeds are being donated to local non-for profit Indy Urban Acres. The event was sponsored by Tactive. And Anyone who made a purchase was given a ticket for produce at recently opened Isaro’s Fresh Market & Juicery. It was a great day, all rooted in relationships. Keep an eye out for Artist Takeover dates in 2021.
