Exploring the arts is essential to living greatly because they transform how each of us see and explore our world. Charlotte is a city full of creatives and artists who are helping us all better connect to our communities, and our friends at Charlotte is Creative (CIC) are committed to ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to tap into their innate creativity. The organization has spent years creating initiatives, programs, grants, and events that connect people together and help make Charlotte a place where everyone can work, create, and flourish. I sat down with Matt Olin, CIC’s co-founder, and Setu Raval, the program director at CIC, to talk more about the city, creativity, and how we can build a more artful future for the Queen City.
Matt Olin: At Charlotte Is Creative, I see our role as both amplifying and equipping the creativity that’s already alive in this city. Creativity is our community’s innate superpower—it’s what allows us to problem-solve, dream, connect across differences, and access economic mobility. Through initiatives like CreativeMornings/Charlotte, our HUG micro-grants, the Creative Entrepreneurs Initiative, and partnerships with institutions like Novant Health, we’re building platforms where Charlotteans can meet one another, collaborate, and thrive. My day-to-day is really about holding space for that creativity to flourish—whether it’s on a stage, in a boardroom, or on the street.
Setu Raval: I first encountered Charlotte Is Creative at CreativeMornings/Charlotte in May 2022. The pandemic was still hovering, I’d just moved back home after twelve years in Los Angeles, and I was one year postpartum with my second child. I was craving creative spirit, connection, and inspiration – and it all arrived in one morning. I emailed Matt and Tim right away, asked to meet, and soon told them outright that I wanted to get involved with their programs in any way I could. Less than a year later, I joined the team.
Now, as Program Director, I lead our cornerstone Creative Entrepreneurs Initiative – capacity-building programs for emerging creatives that include online talks, a cohort-style experience, and public symposiums. At the heart of all our work is fellowship and social capital – essential ingredients for thriving as a creative anywhere. Over the past year, I’ve also managed several grant-funding efforts and am leading the research and development phase exploring an adaptation of the Helsinki-inspired Culture Kids program for Charlotte, supported by The Gambrell Foundation
Matt Olin: CreativeMornings/Charlotte is where this whole adventure began. It’s part of a global movement that celebrates creativity in every corner of our lives, but here in Charlotte, it’s become a monthly gathering point for tens of thousands of people over the past nearly ten years. On the surface, it looks like a free Friday morning talk series—coffee, breakfast, mocktails, music, and a keynote from a local creative voice. But at its heart, it’s a platform for connection.
By bringing people together across industries, backgrounds, and neighborhoods, CreativeMornings/Charlotte builds a sense of belonging and fosters a sense of purpose. It reminds us that creativity isn’t reserved for a select few—it’s in each of us, and it thrives in community. I’ve watched countless collaborations, friendships, and even new ventures take root because two people happened to sit next to each other at a CreativeMornings event. That’s the real magic: creating a consistent, joyful space where Charlotteans can show up as themselves, be inspired, and leave ready to contribute their creativity back into the city.
Matt Olin: Charlotte is bursting with creative talent, and it’s growing by the day, but too often our artists and makers find themselves trying to build careers without the basic infrastructure that other sectors enjoy. The challenges usually boil down to access—access to resources, to funding, to affordable spaces to create and share work, and to the kinds of networks that can help sustain a long-term creative practice.
We also hear from creatives who feel isolated or siloed—working incredibly hard, but without the safety net of a community that understands their journey. That’s compounded by the fact that the arts ecosystem here, while growing, is still developing pathways for creatives to make a living wage doing what they love.
At Charlotte Is Creative, we see these challenges not as roadblocks, but as opportunities. They drive us to create programs that put money directly into artists’ hands, to build spaces where connection and collaboration are the norm, and to advocate for a city that values creativity as essential to its future—not just a nice-to-have.
Setu Raval: As Matt mentioned earlier, many artists feel isolated. Even in collaborative fields like film or live performance, the hours spent truly creating together are brief compared with the solitary work. Yet humans are tribal by nature – we need to lean on, learn from, and sit with others to find inspiration and the fuel to keep going.
At CIC, we see every day how bringing creatives together sparks innovation, strengthens support systems, and builds deep friendships. Our Charlotte Reciprocity Circles event shows this beautifully: we connect creatives with one another and with people across the nonprofit and business communities for a powerful social-capital exchange. So many projects stall because of a single missing resource, an undiscovered collaborator, or a needed contact. CRC helps remove those small but critical barriers.
Connection also creates belonging. From the FOMO Museum Block Party on Levine Avenue of the Arts, to OneBand, our flash-band experience, to Coffee with Creatives, an intimate meet-up for local makers – the creative sector here is vibrant and rooted in community. There’s a place for everyone.
Setu Raval: Nurturing creativity means advocating through storytelling, policy, and funding, that:
Matt Olin: Strengthening Charlotte’s creative connections starts with showing up—with curiosity, with generosity, and with a willingness to invest in the creative people who make this city vibrant. That could mean attending a local performance, buying or commissioning work from a Charlotte artist, offering your professional skills or contacts to a creative entrepreneur, or simply sharing someone’s project with your network. Come to CIC’s events – they’re all free, all year long, and you’ll leave so much richer. Every small act of support builds momentum.
Our vision is for Charlotte to become known as the most welcoming and supportive city in the nation for artists, makers, and creative entrepreneurs. To get there, we need a cultural shift where creativity is valued not as an afterthought, but as a vital part of our civic identity. That happens when individuals, businesses, and institutions recognize the creative community as essential partners in building a city that’s both innovative and inclusive.
When Charlotteans take those steps—big or small—they’re not just supporting art, they’re helping weave a tighter, more resilient community fabric. That’s how we build a city where everyone feels they can belong, contribute, and flourish.
Matt Olin: For me personally, living greatly is about living creatively. It’s approaching each day with a mindset of curiosity and possibility, whether I’m hosting a CreativeMornings gathering, collaborating with our team, or just sharing a meal with family and friends. Creativity fuels connection—and connection is what gives life its meaning. Living greatly doesn’t require grand gestures. It’s about recognizing the creative spark in ourselves and others, and choosing to nurture it. When we do that—when we use our imagination to build bridges and to celebrate beauty—we not only enrich our own lives, we help shape a community where everyone has the chance to flourish.
Setu Raval: When I close my eyes and think about living greatly, I see a movie montage:
FADE IN:
FADE OUT.
My name “Setu” means “bridge” – so living greatly, for me, is living together. With a desire to feel connected – joyfully passing and creatively supporting others.