Productive Happy Hours
The idea arose from a collective zoom cocktail hour with a group of Wichita arts and culture organizers and advocates a few weeks ago, including Kristin Beal (Co-Founder, Program Director, Harvester Arts), Shannon Boone (Owner, Chief Chaos Coordinator, Shay Chic Productions), Emily Brookover (Director of Community Development, Downtown Wichita) Ann Keefer (Vice President Program Development, Wichita Festivals, Inc.), Lela Meadow-Conner (CEO & mother/founder, mama.film) and Kate Van Steenhuyse (Co-Founder, Executive Director, Harvester Arts.) Local artist Hannah Scott has been hired to design graphics for the campaign.
“We all work for arts and cultural and/or advocacy organizations. In our daily practice and throughout history, we know that the arts are fundamental to human existence. Preserving our local culture and the health of our community’s creatives is essential to the health of our ecosystem, which requires the constant infusion of artistic energy,” said the group.
“People have historically turned to the arts during times of strife, and now this cultural moment is no different. Artists are our keepers of history, they will reflect on the unprecedented times we are living in. If we want to have a vibrant city to come back to we have to support and engage our talent. If there ever was a time, it’s now. No donation is too small and we hope to continue our community fundraising efforts through the week (and beyond) so that we can support as many creatives as possible.”