Thank you to everyone who attended the first-ever Austin ArtWorks Festival that was held at the historic downtown Austin Utilities Power Plant last Saturday and Sunday.

Based on comments from close to 5,000 attendees and the artists who participated it was clear that it was a huge success.

This Festival would not have been nearly as successful without the strong leadership of community members like Bonnie Rietz, Belita Schlinder, Bruce Loeschen, Mark Nibaur, everyone else on the Steering Committee, and the countless other wonderful volunteers that helped make this special event happen.

I was thinking about their leadership while reading a timely blog post by the vice-president of Human Capital at Sibson Consulting, Michael O’Malley, in the “Harvard Business Review blog” where he discussed how every leader is an artist.

This concept seemed especially appropriate when it came to the ArtWorks Festival because although this event was organized to celebrate the artists many of these leaders may not consider themselves artists.

In the post O’Malley contends that leadership is an actual art form. According to him, “the best leaders and artists give us perspective on our social condition (good or bad) and greater appreciation of our world, ourselves, and our choices. They bring us closer together by providing a forum for shared experiences and by forging a sense of community.”

This idea could be seen in action during the planning and execution of the  2012 Austin ArtWorks Festival. Numerous attendees exclaimed that they were in shock yet pleased that an event like this could happen in Austin. Through the work of the artists participating, the leaders and volunters who helped make it happen, this event has highlighted what our community can offer now and in the future.

The Austin ArtWorks Festival will undoubtedly continue to expand and shape our community perspective in years to come.

It was a true celebration of the arts because art works.