SUMMARY
Stop Waiting for Creative Community: Why I’m Launching Show and Tell in West Georgia
When I was in school, my second favorite day of the year was Show and Tell. (Field day was number one. Obviously.)
I got to bring something from my own little universe, stand in front of the class, and talk about something I loved. No book report. Just me and the thing I made or found or couldn’t stop thinking about. We cheered each other on, and somehow we all got to know each other better.
I’ve been chasing that feeling ever since.
Why Creative Community Matters for Your Creative Business
I moved to West Georgia in 2020, right before the pandemic. I quickly noticed something. There are tons of creatives here, and almost all of them are working in silos.
I’ve joined coworking spaces. I’ve had lunches, dinners, drinks, and more coffees than I can count. Every time, I walk away inspired by someone’s process, their projects, the tools they use, and the way they think.
That energy is contagious. And it’s missing when we all work alone.
From Newsletter to Event: How Show and Tell Started
I admire what CreativeMornings does, gathering creatives monthly to inspire and equip a community. I wanted to try something similar with a Show and Tell twist.
My weekly newsletter had been through several versions. It finally found its stride as the Show and Tell newsletter, five things I’ve collected each week: something to read, do, learn, watch, and be inspired by. When I started dreaming about an event, the name was already sitting there.
The first Show and Tell event will include:
Time to hang out and drink good coffee
A featured local artist showcasing their work
A short interview with local creatives, a peek behind doors we didn’t know existed
This is not a networking event. It’s not LinkedIn in person. It’s a creative community that already exists and needs some air blown into its lungs.
I don’t know if it becomes monthly, quarterly, or annual. I just know that right now, I need it.
Create the Thing You Wish Existed
Here’s what I’d love you to take from this, even if you’re nowhere near Georgia.
If your community lacks a gathering place for creatives, you don’t have to wait for someone else to build it. Building it is creative work too.
That’s what makes you an artist. You see a need, and you create the thing to fill it.
Join Us or Start Your Own
If you’re near Carrollton, Georgia, join us at Dream City Brewing at 8:30 AM on Thursday, November 12th.
If you’re not, start your own version where you are. Grab free tools for running your creative business at dustinpead.com/free, and learn how Chief Creative Partners helps creative businesses at chiefcreativepartners.com.
You create. We operate.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
⚡️ Creative community is not optional. Creatives thrive when they share process, projects, and tools with each other.
⚡️ Silos are the default. Most creative communities already exist. They just need someone to gather them.
⚡️ Making the gathering is creative work. Stop waiting for someone else to start it.
Notable Quotes
💬 “I quickly realized that there are tons of creatives here, but they’re all operating in silos.”
💬 “You see a need, and you create the thing to fill that need.”
💬 “Stop wishing that something would exist and just make the thing exist.”
EPISODE RESOURCES
⚡️ Subscribe to my weekly newsletter here
TRANSCRIPT
Hey, everybody. Welcome back to a Front Porch Edition of the Chief Creative Podcast. I’m your host, Dustin Pead, founder and owner of Chief Creative Partners, where we help you protect the magic because we cover the operations while you create.
We get to do these episodes three or four times a year. It’s on the fifth week of the month. Whenever there’s a fifth Thursday, we release these more candid episodes I call the Front Porch Edition. Today I want to talk to you briefly about an event I have coming up called Show and Tell. It’s going to be held in West Georgia, but if you’re not in the West Georgia area, don’t tune out quite yet. I think there’s a message in here about creating things that will resonate with all of us.
When I was in school, one of my favorite days of the year, besides field day (obviously field day was number one), was Show and Tell. I got to bring something from my world, something from my own creative brain, my own universe, if you will. I got to stand in front of the class and talk about something I was passionate about, rather than some boring book report. We loved these days. We cheered each other on, we got a glimpse into each other’s lives, and it built a real sense of community and camaraderie.
I moved to the West Georgia area in 2020, shortly before the COVID pandemic. I quickly realized there are tons of creatives here, but they’re all operating in silos. You’ve heard me say on this podcast that we need creative community in order to thrive, and I’ve sought it in all sorts of places. I’ve joined a couple of coworking spaces in the Atlanta and West Georgia area. I’ve had lunches, dinners, drinks, and coffees with all sorts of creatives, and almost all of them are working in their own cocoon. But they have a lot of really cool projects and things they’ve picked up along their creative journeys.
Whenever I get together with them, I’m quickly inspired by their creative process, the things they’re making, the way they think, and the tools they’re using. We feed off that energy. I realized we need more of that in our community, and in our creative world as a whole.
That’s why I love CreativeMornings so much. If you don’t know it, it’s a global organization that gathers creatives once a month to inspire and equip a creative community. I wanted to take this concept of show and tell and see if there’s a way to put it into an event.
Backtracking a little, I have a weekly newsletter that has been through all sorts of iterations, and I feel like I finally found my stride. I recently rebranded it to the Show and Tell newsletter. It’s things I’ve seen or collected over the last week, five things I want to share with my subscribers: what to read, what to do, something to inspire, what to learn, what to listen to or watch. As I kept creating that and having these conversations, I wanted to do an event, and I didn’t know what to call it. I realized quickly we should just call it Show and Tell.
So we’re launching it for the first time. When this episode comes out, we’ll be about two weeks away from our first-ever Show and Tell event here in West Georgia. I don’t know what the future of this looks like. I don’t know if it will be monthly, quarterly, or annual. I don’t know if it will spread beyond West Georgia. I just know that right now, in this community and for me as a creative person, I need this.
At the event, we’ll have dedicated time to hang out, drink some really good coffee, and get to know each other. Then we’ll feature an artist from the area and showcase their work. That’s the show part of Show and Tell. Then I’ll interview some local creatives as a kind of keynote, so people can peek behind closed doors we didn’t even know existed. I’m really excited about it, and I know you need this too.
If you’re within driving distance of Carrollton, Georgia, or the West Georgia area (just look up where the University of West Georgia is), we’re meeting at Dream City Brewing at 8:30 AM on Thursday, November 12th.
Beyond that, I want to encourage you not to settle for whatever creative community may or may not be there. As someone dedicating their life to creating, look at doing something like this in your area as another thing you get to create. It’s an event, but it’s not a networking event. It’s not LinkedIn in person. That’s not what we’re trying to do at all. We’re just trying to expose a creative community that exists but needs some air blown into its lungs.
I just wanted to share that with you on this Front Porch Edition. These are rarely long. It’s a little more devotional style, if you will. But go create community where you are. Stop wishing that someone else would do it and start doing it yourself. Stop wishing that something would exist and just make the thing exist. That’s what makes you an artist. That’s what makes you a creative. You see a need, and you create the thing to fill that need. So go create community for yourself.
Starting in November, we have some really cool changes to the Chief Creative Podcast. You’ll get two episodes every month. One will have a guest. The other will be me, in traditional style, coaching through methods, systems, and things I’ve been thinking about. I’d love for you to keep tuning in. Like, subscribe, and share.
That does it for this Front Porch Edition of the Chief Creative Podcast. We’ll talk to you next week. Have a great week.