CHICAGO – As political leaders have been campaigning for the Democratic Party and its nominees throughout the week, a contingent of Hollywood stars are making the case for the importance of funding the arts and the efficacy of the arts at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
They’re here with The Creative Coalition, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public advocacy organization that was formed in 1989. It’s led by actor Tim Daly, who serves as president, and CEO Robin Bronk. The organization has been bringing celebrities to both the DNC and RNC for 24 years.
I’ve been invited by the organization to exclusively trail the celebs — Yvette Nicole Brown, Dean Norris, Iain Armitage, Anthony Anderson, Uzo Aduba, Chris Witaske, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Yvette Nicole Brown, Busy Phillips, John Jacobs, Danai Gurira, Yolonda Ross, and Jon Cryer — as they meet with U.S. lawmakers and the general public to communicate how the arts impacts the world, not just those who make a career within them but youth programs that empower people over a lifetime across every kind of discipline.
“Our goals for being here are to meet people, collect more allies, and to also try to help people find some language to change the narrative about arts in this country,” Daly says, noting that England, whose population is a fifth of the size of the U.S. spends $1.4 billion, and Spain, which is less than a fifth of our population spends $1.6 billion, whereas the U.S. invests $200 million. Meanwhile, the first thing eliminated from U.S. schools is often arts programs.
“We have to make the case to people that arts are as important as math, science, history, and every other subject… So if we can convince people of that, which I think we are quite good at, then hopefully people all across this country will realize that if their kid plays in the band or acts in the school play or paints a mural, or does break dancing, that it gives them an outlet, a way of keeping their imagination and their creativity alive, so that whatever they become — an engineer, a gardener, a professional artist — they will have the enrichment of that experience,” he adds.
The organization also works to make positive impacts on social welfare concerns, such as homecare and being caregivers, a cause Brown and I discuss as being paramount, and it’s also personal. Her father has Alzheimer’s disease. She is the chairwoman of the Creative Coalition’s Entertainment Industry Commission on Caregiving and also just launched a podcast yesterday called Squeezed to help caregivers navigate the often-heartbreaking role. “[It] is all about those of us who are caregivers, those that know that they’re caregivers, and those that don’t. And it’s basically a love letter to those that care and those they care for. And it’s a way for us to feel less alone.”
The weekly podcast will include a variety of guests, “from parents to people that are parenting their parents. We talk to a couple of death doulas,” she explains. “We’re hitting care and grief, and we’re hitting all the points that are a part of the caregivers journey” along with those who are receiving the care, she says. “A lot of people that are caregivers don’t even call themselves caregivers… Every one of us is either going to be one or receive care before we leave this Earth. And so this podcast is for everyone to prepare you if it hasn’t happened to you yet, and to be a safe place to land for those that are in the trenches.”
Dean Norris, who has attended two DNC conventions thus far as part of the Creative Coalition (the first being in 2016 and he was also invited to the 2020 RNC but was working at the time), understands the impact of the arts on young people. He and his wife Bridget formed N-PAC Norris Performing Arts Center, which includes dance, theater, vocal, and acting programs.
“We realized that arts were being defunded,” he explains of the reason they created the space in Southern California eight years ago. “And it’s been so such a blessing. It’s given kids a place to go, where they feel comfortable, where they can express themselves.”
The center offers small classes and has 300 students. “This gives kids a chance to find their people, because they can’t find their people necessarily in high school anymore,” with drama programs being cut from schools. “When I see the kids, like the joy that they have of having a place where they can do this and experience and have like-minded people.”
The star power is evident throughout events that take place on Tuesday and Wednesday at the DNC. A private dinner draws luminaries including Kamala Harris’ campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodriguez, a POTUS speech writer, the CEO of Miramax, and execs from different Fortune 500 companies.
We travel together on a private bus to various events, including the convention at the United Center. On the way on Tuesday, there’s palpable excitement in the air, as this is the first time several of the actors — including hometown The Bear actor Witaske — have ever attended a DNC convention. As the bus drives by Chicago’s Trump Tower someone boos the building. When we arrive, the group splinters to take in the night’s events.
On Wednesday, the stars have a full itinerary of events, including a lunch program called “51 Stars D.C. Statehood: Making a Case for Kindness and Equity,” where each actor reads inspiring quotes to attendees, who later swarm them to take photos and chat. “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world,” Busy Phillips reads, quoting Desmond Tutu. Among the dignitaries in attendance at the Kindness event are Reverend Jesse Jackson. Filmmaker Steven Sawalich screens the trailer for his film, A Case for Kindness.
I speak with the youngest member of the celebs at this year’s DNC, and the youngest The Creative Coalition has ever brought to a convention, 16-year-old Iain Armitage, of Young Sheldon. The prodigious actor, whose first role was playing Ziggy on Big Little Lies at age 7, is also a voracious music fan. We discuss the use of music during the roll call (and tons of other music, too, including him singing songs in both English and Russian). Born in Savannah, Georgia, he gives props to his home state’s roll call, though he enjoyed all of it. “I am a massive music fan. And I think one really cool thing was getting to hear every state really, really represent themselves, because music is pretty much, in my opinion, at least, the ultimate form of representation everyone goes through in their life,” he says. “I think naturally, everybody has a playlist of their lives… And I think getting to hear people really show up and represent through music, it’s just an awesome thing, always.”
We make another quick stop at an event about clean energy, before we head to the convention, where once again, each of them is swarmed by fans, pulled away for media interviews, and are invited into private suites to watch the night’s speakers who include Oprah Winfrey.
The Creative Coalition’s big gala thrown with Giffords Law Center, Reproductive Freedom for all Foundation, and End Citizens United Let America Vote Action Fund takes place at Ramova Theatre following Wednesday’s convention. The night’s entertainment, Drive-by Truckers and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, drew D.C. elites, including Sens. Mark Kelly, Chris Murphy, Catherine Cortez Maso, and Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Diana DeGette, Sharice Davids, Gabe Amo, and Andrea Salinas, along with Mayors Jacob Frey (Minneapolis) and Kate Gallego (Phoenix) and EMILYs list President Jessica Mackler all on the tony guest list. They, along with the stars, cut loose until 2 a.m.
“It’s an ecosystem where really hard work and grassroots is rewarded, because it’s the delegates who are the real celebrities,” Bronk says of their DNC participation and the events surrounding it. “And we know our place there. The Creative Coalition — as I call it, the 51st state of Hollywood — we’re there as observers to learn and to bring the superpower of Hollywood to bear on the country and where the pendulum of priority swings, so that we’re the supporting cast. It’s nice to see that there’s an ecosystem where hard work, love of community, and love of country is rewarded.”
