“Performance artist” and “corporate meeting” don’t seem like a natural pairing. But when the performance artist is David Garibaldi, it’s not only a great partnership but one that benefits local communities.

Garibaldi’s performance art involves loud music and aerobic portrait painting, mixed with a recounting of his life story to this point—a life that could have veered to the wrong side of the law. Instead, he channels his passion and his talent toward helping others.

Performance artist David Garibaldi never stops moving as his portraits come together at lightning speed.

Garibaldi was brought to Financial & Insurance Conference Planners by Martin Bastian Productions, exclusively represented by PARADIGM, to complement the 2011 FICP Education Forum community giveback activity. In the ballroom at The Grand Del Mar in San Diego, site of the June 15–17 Forum, more than 180 attendees welcomed teens from San Diego County’s Neighborhood House Association, FICP’s designated charity recipient. The teens joined attendees at their tables and the groups together painted tiles that will be assembled into two huge murals that will brighten a wall of the Neighborhood House. FICP worked with Impact 4 Good to identify and plan the activity.

As attendees were putting away their brushes, Garibaldi took the stage. Leaping in the air, running from paint cans to canvas, and using his hands as much as his brushes, he speed-painted four portraits to the amazement and cheering of FICP attendees. Moving and dabbing and flinging paint to the rhythm of rock music, Garibaldi painted John Lennon, Audrey Hepburn, Nelson Mandela, and Albert Einstein. The Mandela portrait will be donated to Neighborhood House for them to display or potentially use as a fund-raising auction item.

David Garibaldi's portrait of John Lennon came together in minutes.

Other highlights from the second day of the FICP Education Forum included a presentation from Bruce Kimbrell, lead facilitator for the Disney’s Institute’s west coast headquarters at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., plenty of networking, breakout sessions on topics such as negotiation and mobile apps, and more fantastic fresh and seasonal California cuisine from The Grand Del Mar’s Banquet Chef Scott Mickelson.

On Thursday evening, attendees were transferred to San Diego’s iconic resort, The Hotel del Coronado, to enjoy a dinner at tables set up on the resort’s private beach. The picturesque setting and wonderful Mediterranean cuisine was provided by The Del, with the ambience (and flip flops!) provided by ACCESS Destination Services. Find a list of all of the Forum’s generous sponsors at the FICP Web site. And look for more coverage of the Education Forum in the July/August 2011 issue of Corporate Meetings & Incentives magazine.