Artists are activists
All artists need to have a mutual understanding that criticisms towards each other's work is purely professional-- especially in a professional setting. If you're too sensitive towards other peoples' criticism, you are not in the right field.
I say this with experience, and coming from a background of people who do not understand art at all. I learned to face the criticisms, and I display my work in public knowing the fact that not everybody will agree with my work. It's hard to do because putting your work out there is analogous to putting your own child on the line; it's a part of you, it's an extension of your body-- but you have got to learn to face the crits!
Being an artist in this era means you have dreams just as big as Walt Disney himself; you have enough faith to believe that you, as an individual, have something to offer the world; you are ambitious; you have balls that are bigger than the Cobra Guy on Youtube.
Artists are constantly studying economic crisis, culture, politics, social change, fashion (don't EVER underestimate the power of fashion), and self-reflection, which I believe makes us that much more intellectually aware, and emotionally invincible.