Why your conference opening deserves more than stale coffee and awkward small talk.
Let’s talk about setting the tone for a conference. You’ve got a room full of people who (let’s be real) probably woke up way too early, grabbed a slightly-too-hot cup of coffee, and are gearing up for a long day of breakout sessions and PowerPoint slides. The first thing they experience when they walk into that space matters.
So when Agiliti Health, a company of 5,500+ healthcare equipment management pros, invited me to kick off their multi-day sales conference in Minneapolis (where it was literally -20°F, thanks for asking), they didn’t want any old start to the day—they wanted to ignite it.
Live Art = Instant Engagement. Here’s How It Worked.
The moment the doors opened, attendees weren’t greeted with a quiet stage or looping corporate slides. Nope. They walked in to find me, already on stage, music pumping, paint flying, and a blank canvas transforming before their eyes.
For 15 minutes, I painted—upside down, of course—while their team streamed in, trying to figure out what I was creating. And at the end of that 15-minute-jam-sesh, I flipped the canvas to reveal their company motto:
“Every interaction has the power to change a life.”
It was a cool painting, sure, but it was also a message that embodied their mission—one that would stick with them and set the tone throughout the event.
Why Conference Planners Should Pay Attention to Their Opening Moments
It’s easy to overlook how a conference kicks off. But first impressions set the energy for the rest of the day. Agiliti could have easily started with a standard welcome speech, but instead, they made a statement—they created a moment.
And while their event, The Art of Agiliti, leaned into an artistic theme (seriously, they had paint animations, a Bob Ross spoof featuring a C-suite exec, and artistic branding everywhere), you don’t need a paint-themed event for live art to make sense.
Speed painting is fully customizable—whether it's:
Reinforcing a keynote speaker’s message
Visualizing a company’s mission, like I did for Agiliti
Or creating an unexpected, high-energy performance that gets people talking
Live Art Works for ANY Conference (Yes, Even Yours)
If you’re an event planner, here’s the takeaway: You don’t need an art-themed event to make live art work for your conference. What you do need is a desire to surprise your attendees with something they don’t expect, create instant energy in the room, and make the experience memorable, interactive, and engaging.
That’s exactly what Agiliti did. And the result was that attendees walked in and immediately started jamming, chatting, and guessing what I was painting—before the first speaker even hit the stage.
So, if you’re looking for conference entertainment ideas and want to ditch the yawn-inducing introductions for something that actually sparks excitement, let’s talk.
Comments