This is why Art for All People is a great activity for meetings at the Centennial Barn in Cincinnati. The Barn includes traditional meeting rooms in addition to some less traditional areas, such as a yoga studio and a small gallery, so it is already uniquely set up to bring peace to attendees. And one of the organizations that the Barn’s rental fees supports is Art for All People. This organization brings the process of creating art to non-traditional communities like the homeless and mentally ill.

So what can an organization such as this bring to your meeting? Art for All People also helps attendees create art during a meeting. For such a simple activity, it can help your meeting become extraordinary. Here’s how:

Everyone is at the same level

Taking the time to paint a beautiful picture is likely something that your attendees have not done since their early teens. So everything from holding a paintbrush to dragging it just so across a canvas feels brand new to them. Managers, CEOs and just your everyday employee end up being at about the same level, which can help bridge gaps. Confidence gained by this activity can lead to different people speaking up during more traditional parts of your meeting and hearing opinions that can solve problems in a new way.

Problems are solved differently

Yes, with different voices, the problems your meeting are designed to solve can find new solutions, but creating art can help everyone come up with different solutions. With this process of creation, you are solving the problem of showing others what you see and how it makes you feel. This relies on more of the emotional side of the brain versus the analytical side that business traditionally employs. Forcing attendees to use their brain differently in a business context can carry over throughout the meeting to accomplish more in a new and exciting way.

Attendees take home a memento

The best part of the creation process is the pride that one has in what has been created. In this case, it is a painting that can immediately be hung on their wall in either their home or office. And what happens when people ask them about that painting on their wall? The story of your meeting and this amazing activity that happened there gets told. There is no better way to advertise why everyone should become an attendee.