Creative art workshops for teams: more than “just” team building
People often come in thinking they’re about to do “a creative workshop”.
They leave with much more than a few paint stains on their hands.
When I lead art workshops in companies, using colour, texture, movement and intuitive creativity, I almost always witness the same things:
faces begin to relax,
conversations shift in nature,
people discover each other differently through the act of creating.
In this article, I want to share what actually happens in these workshops, why they go beyond traditional team building, and how we can design one together for your teams.
Why art belongs in the workplace
We hear a lot about well-being at work, team cohesion, creativity, emotional intelligence, burnout prevention…
And yet, the formats we use are often the same:
presentations, brainstorming sessions, serious games, keynote talks, round tables.
A creative art workshop for teams brings something entirely different.
It invites people to move:
from the head to the senses,
from “doing” to feeling,
from “I must” to “I’m curious to try this”.
Art becomes a pretext for genuine connection:
connection to oneself (how do I react when I create?),
connection to others (how do I look at what they’ve created?),
connection to a different kind of time: slower, more open, less goal-driven.
What I see happen during workshops
At the beginning of a corporate art workshop, there is often a bit of resistance:
“I can’t draw.”
“I’m not creative.”
“I’m bad at art.”
And then, gradually, something shifts.
I see:
shoulders dropping,
small smiles appearing,
people surprising themselves,
conversations moving away from task lists and deadlines towards things like:
“This reminds me of…”
“I felt this while making that gesture.”
“I didn’t think I’d ever do something like this.”
The aim is not to become “good at drawing”,
but to reconnect with gesture, colour, material.
More than team building: a sensitive experience
I often say that my workshops are not classic team-building activities.
There is:
no competition,
no ranking,
no performance objective.
My creative workshops for companies are designed as:
sensitive experiences,
spaces of freedom and exploration,
moments where trying, failing, and trying again are fully allowed.
Participants are given permission to:
experiment,
make “mistakes”,
change direction,
create together without knowing exactly where they’re going.
And this is where something important happens:
teams meet on a terrain where nobody is “the expert”,
and each person can reveal another facet of themselves.
What these art workshops bring to teams
The benefits I see most often after a creative team workshop:
Cohesion – people have shared something outside their usual roles.
Trust – colleagues have seen each other in a more human, more vulnerable light.
Creativity – many participants realise they are more creative than they believed.
Breathing space – the workshop creates a genuine pause within the workday.
Connection – conversations continue afterwards, about what was experienced together.
These workshops fit beautifully into:
well-being days for employees,
offsites and team retreats,
internal events focused on creativity, innovation or change,
broader people & culture or employee experience initiatives.
How I design these workshops
I’m an abstract visual artist.
My work revolves around:
colour and pigments,
movement and gesture,
textures and materials,
the idea of link – between artworks, spaces and people.
When I design a creative workshop for a company, I don’t pull something out of a generic catalogue.
I take into account:
your context (size, culture, industry),
the number of participants,
the timeframe available,
the space you have,
and most importantly: the intention of the workshop (cohesion, celebration, transition, kick-off, closure…).
From there, I build a tailor-made format, which can:
be done at tables in small groups,
include larger collective formats,
lead to a collective artwork that stays in your office,
or remain a more intimate, process-focused experience.
My compass is always the same:
creating LINK.
How we can work together
If what I’ve described resonates with the kind of experiences you want to offer your teams,
we can design a creative art workshop that truly fits your organisation.
You might be:
working in HR, internal communications, People & Culture, well-being,
organising special days or internal events for employees,
planning an offsite or team retreat,
or simply feeling that your teams need this kind of space.
📩 To talk about it: julia@juliaetedi.com
Tell me about your context, your teams, your constraints and your hopes.
Together, we can create a workshop that feels right for your people –
and that leaves traces far au-delà des feuilles et des couleurs.