Dan Hopkins grew up just blocks from the Denver Zoo and the Museum of Nature & Science.
It was that close connection he forged as a boy that ensured he would pass on his love for arts and cultural organizations when he became a parent and later a grandparent.
“I was hoping to instill in them the love of these institutions that I had,” said Hopkins, the former press secretary for Gov. Bill Owens and chair of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD).
Hopkins isn’t alone in his admiration for arts and culture. Based on the millions who visit and the tens of millions of dollars personally given to support arts organizations, there’s plenty of affection across the region. That coupled with a strong creative industry and innovative funding for scientific and cultural organizations has created a perfect storm that makes it an important part not just of the quality of life but also the economy.
The Creative Industry
Arts in the Denver metro area sustain over 10,000 jobs and create more than $520 million in economic impact, according to the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) Economic Activity Study.
From individual artists to theater and dance companies to growing start-ups like the do-it-yourself online educator Craftsy, “we’re just as much a part of the economic engine as any other business,” said Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities Executive Director Philip Sneed.
And, other businesses like to be close to them because of the culture they can create.
Take the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post One. When the organization was looking for a new space, it chose the Santa Fe arts district—one of 12 certified creative districts around the state—and it created an opportunity to partner with the veteran-driven Art of War Project.
That connection to the arts is a key part of the region’s quality of life, business leaders said.
“Our interest and commitment to the arts springs from our commitment to Colorado and economic vitality,” said Edie Sonn, vice president of communications and public affairs for Pinnacol Assurance.
That buzz around the creative sector is another way to build interest about the region.
“Denver’s really acting as a creative hub to engage, inspire and educate folks,” said Craftsy founder and CEO John Levisay.
Whether the product or the creator of that hype, arts organizations are bringing in bigger exhibitions and shows and attracting cultural tourists—a desirable group.
“We know that cultural tourists spend more money and spend more nights in a region,” said CBCA Executive Director Deborah Jordy.
Those and local visitors—14 million last year—boosted the overall economic activity of the arts to nearly $2 billion. In fact, Colorado is top in the country for those who attend live performing arts events.
Arts: From STEM to STEAM
But beyond the dollars and cents, a connection to the arts at any age creates and reinforces a foundation of skills that encourage problem solving and outside-the-box thinking.
“You want a well-rounded, thoughtful, intelligent employee, and part of what helps create that is the ability to look and think creatively,” Jordy said.
Arts organizations of all sizes and disciplines put an emphasis on education. It creates a stronger connection with their audience and helps them build an appreciation for those who do so professionally,
Sneed said.
At Pinnacol, employees are encouraged to attend the CBCA’s Leadership Arts training program to help them advocate for arts organizations as board members and create artwork that is displayed at On My Own Time art shows, which showcase the works of employees and family members at local companies.
“It enriches anyone as an individual when you are engaged in the arts,” Sonn said. “That has its own multiplier effect.”
From the Arvada Center to Denver Botanic Gardens, there are classes that span nearly every interest, for those young as well as those young at heart. At Denver Botanic Gardens, students can get their hands dirty through a variety of classes and programs. Because of its therapeutic effects, the Gardens has developed a therapeutic horticulture program, and in particular a program for veterans that not only teaches a calming hobby but builds the skills participants need to work in agriculture.
“We love to give back to the community and use plants to enrich, soothe and heal in many ways,” said Gardens communications manager Erin Bird.
Classes for youth are focused on enriching those hours outside of school. As conversations around education focus on STEM—science, technology, engineering and math—arts leaders are encouraging more focus around STEAM, or STEM + Art.
project with the housing development Mariposa.
At organizations like Arts Street, students use creativity and technology in a real-world setting working with clients. During a recent visit, students were creating bright apartment unit signs, each with its own
unique bird, for a building in the Mariposa development.
During these six-week programs, students will earn a stipend from Arts Street.
“We use every opportunity for them to take their natural talent into what’s needed (by the client),” said Arts Street Executive Director Stella Yu. “Problem solving is the most important skill we teach at every level. We encourage students to seek their own answers.”
As an intern for Arts Street, Jaime Zapata has created city maps and street art.
“I’m getting paid to do what I love,” the 20-year-old said.
Downtown Aurora Visual Arts (DAVA) also gives its students the opportunity to participate in its family arts, open studios and job training programs. And, students can apply for positions to become junior
staff members. Students play a role at DAVA, from selecting the theme of the year and creating programs and events around it to teaching younger students.
“It’s really a way of infusing the community with a greater creative capacity,” said DAVA Executive Director Susan Jenson. “You’re really opening up different perspectives for kids, you’re broadening their horizons and they really are moving into careers that require high levels of creativity and critical thinking.”
And while DAVA students may move into creative careers like graphic design, they also get involved in other major industries like health care.
Mariana Leon, 14, says she’s interested in becoming a therapist. But, she loves being at DAVA over the summer. She and a team of students painted one panel of a mural displayed at the Biennial of the Americas.
Mariana Leon pose with their piece of a mural created for the Biennial
of the Americas.
“I love painting,” Leon said. “It was definitely an experience that I don’t think many people my age get.”
On the flip side, Wings Over the Rockies aims to show its visitors the cultural and artistic importance of flight and aviation, as well as the science behind it.
“In our case an airplane or space craft is just as much a work of art as a painting or a sculpture,” said Wings President and CEO Greg Anderson. “The A in STEAM means a lot to us.”
No matter their students’ career path, organization leaders said their goal for youth is the same: to teach them the 21st century skills they’ll need to be successful in any career.
“I love seeing them grow,” said DAVA arts instructor Rudi Monterroso, “not just in the art but in their ability to express and be responsible and mature.”
Building a Region
This broad landscape of arts and scientific organizations—and their focus on education—is a byproduct of the a penny-on-$10 sales tax that created the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), approved by voters in 1988 to serve the seven-county Denver metro area.
“There’s a whole ecosystem of all different kinds and sizes and geographic locations and programing … that would not exist today without the SCFD,” said SCFD Executive Director Peg Long.
Funds from the SCFD are available to cultural facilities for operations, which allows them to try new kinds of programming or offer it at no cost, arts leaders said.
It has also created a collegiality among those funded organizations, which in turn has encouraged them to work across organizations to create better exhibits. For example, the Gardens worked with the Denver Art Museum (DAM) for its latest exhibit, “Deborah Butterfield: The Nature of Horses.” The DAM loaned three horse sculptures for the exhibit and the Gardens will partner with the museum on its “Untitled” event and flower-focused activities to compliment its “In Bloom: Painting Flowers in the Age of Impressionism” exhibit.
“SCFD creates a really unique community … it creates a natural dialogue and connection for cultural organizations to partner and reach new audiences,” Bird said.
And it’s that spirit of collaboration—from how the district was set up to how SCFD-funded organizations work together to produce exhibits—that has kept SCFD going over the past 25 years. This regional sales tax district is considered a national model, Jordy said.
“The strength of the SCFD is because it’s a regional model,” she said. “It’s you and me who voted for it. It’s citizens who make this happen.”
Sneed agreed.
“The SCFD is huge and we have to all remind ourselves of how unique this in the country,” he said. “It’s such a bargain for taxpayers.”
The funding offers continuity and stability, arts leaders said. Before SCFD, “there were very few opportunities for community-based organizations like ours to grow and flourish,” Jenson said.
The outcome of SCFD has been the opportunity for organizations to start and grow—especially beyond the downtown area.
“It’s helped create a much more robust arts community,” Jordy said.
Looking back to the 1980s, when the talk was merely of getting by, not expanding or offering free admissions, Hopkins said without SCFD, arts and culture in the region would be very different. Arts leaders agree.
“SCFD is really a critical part of our success,” Bird said. “We would not be able to do so much community outreach and experiment with different programs without its support.”
And it’s that outreach early on that may make all the difference to these organizations’ success.
“What’s really important is introducing people while they’re young,” Long said.
Sara Crocker is the communications manager for the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.
[Feature image, courtesy of the Arvada Center: Students of the Teen Intensive program perform Legally Blonde.]