Cultural Organizations Summit: Advocating for the Arts
Wednesday, June 21 from noon to 1:30 p.m.
Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl Stree, Suite V3A, Boulder, CO 80301
Advocating for the arts at the local and state level is essential to ensure that funding and policies are in place to support artists and arts organizations. Join us to welcome Meredith Badler, deputy director at the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA), and Megan Wagner, Lobbyist at Brandeberry McKenna Public Affairs, to discuss the importance of building broad coalitions of support with state-wide arts advocates and key stakeholders. We will also be joined by Bob Yates from Boulder’s City Council to learn more about engaging with local leadership. Moderated by Boulder Arts Commissioner Caroline Kert. Free and open to the public; arts organizations are asked to send two or more representatives from staff and board. Light refreshments will be provided. To RSVP, email rsvp@bouldercolorado.gov.
Previous Events
Boulder Arts Week
April 7 to 15, 2023
Boulder Arts Week is Boulder’s only large-scale, inclusive celebration of our community’s vibrant arts and cultural offerings and our city’s thriving creativity. The Week enhances the visibility of Boulder’s thousands of artists and over 140 arts organizations and is an opportunity for the community to show the arts much-needed appreciation. Visit the Boulder Arts Week website for more information and to get involved.
The Year Ahead 👉🎉
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023 from 6 to 8 p.m.
R Gallery + Wine Bar, 2027 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80302
The Boulder Arts Commission invites artists and organizations to celebrate all the amazing arts and culture coming to Boulder in 2023 at this lively annual event. Come prepared with one-minute, informal presentations on the performances, exhibits, installations, and new works that you are looking forward to. Join us to share your part in the remarkable Boulder arts community with the Arts Commissioners and your colleagues, and let us know what you’re up to in 2023! Free and open to the public. RSVP to RSVP@bouldercolorado.gov to attend or present on your upcoming year.
Check out a video of The Year Ahead from 2023
Check out a video of The Year Ahead from 2022
Cultural Organizations Summit: 2023 Funding Info Session
Thursday, December 15 from noon to 1:30pm
Boulder Main Public Library, Boulder Creek Room, 1001 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder, CO 80302
Join this informative session of presentations on 2023 funding opportunities from arts supporters across the region. We will welcome representatives from the Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau, Boulder County Arts Alliance (BCAA), Colorado Creative Industries (CCI), Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), Create Boulder, the City of Boulder Human Relations Commission, Boulder Arts Commission, and the Office of Arts and Culture Public Art Program. Directors, staff, and board members of cultural organizations are welcome to attend, as are individual artists. All cultural organizations are encouraged to send two representatives. Free. RSVP to rsvp@bouldercolorado.gov.

Wednesday, September 7 at noon
1500 Pearl Street, Suite 300, Boulder CO
Significant and valuable community input shaped this plan, which was created by city staff as part of the City of Boulder’s work to advance racial equity. The Racial Equity Plan is a living road map that will guide the City of Boulder government through the process of prioritizing goals, specifying details, and assigning resources to achieve meaningful change.
Boulder Arts Commission Statement on Cultural Equity (established 2015, updated 2022)
The Boulder Arts Commission supports a full creative life for all residents and champions policies and practices of cultural equity that empower a just, inclusive, and equitable community. Review the full statement here.
Greening Your Art Practice
Thursday, June 23, from noon to 1pm on Zoom
Watch a recording of the session here.
The Boulder County Arts Alliance and City of Boulder Office of Arts and Culture welcome you to a discussion on greening your art practice. Panelists Danielle Melissa Bilot, University of Colorado-Boulder Instructor in the Program in Environmental Design, Artist Bryan Goldfeder of BGold Glass, and Art Parts Creative Reuse Center Executive Director Megan Moriarty will discuss environmentally responsible arts practices that will provide inspiration for your own work.
Cultural Organizations Summit: Research Past and Upcoming
Thursday, May 19 from 12 noon on Zoom
Watch a recording of the session here.
Join us to review some recent research on the arts, tourism, and post-COVID recovery trends! We will welcome staff from the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) to present on their recently published Economic Activity Study of Denver Metro Culture, and staff from the Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau to discuss travel and event recovery trends in the Boulder area. Also, we will briefly talk about the upcoming Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 Research that our office will be conducting. Free, RSVP to rsvp@bouldercolorado.gov for access information.
CBCA’s Economic Activity Study of Denver Metro Culture is a biennial report that quantifies the economic contributions that arts and culture make on the Denver metro area. In collaboration with Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), CBCA has been demonstrating the social and financial impact of the arts on our region for nearly three decades.
Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 is the Americans for the Arts sixth economic impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry in the U.S. The AEP series demonstrates that an investment in the arts provides both cultural and economic benefits. The Office of Arts and Culture has conducted the Boulder-specific research since 2012 with the help of our nonprofit arts and culture partners throughout the City.
Grant Writing for Artists
Thursday, April 14 at 12 noon
Watch a recording of the session here.
The Boulder County Arts Alliance and City of Boulder Office of Arts and Culture welcome you to a moderated panel discussion about strategies for successful grant writing with three leaders in the arts and culture grant writing community: Kathy Kucsan, Crystal Polis, and Alison Palmer Bourke. The discussion will cover general grant writing practices and strategies applicable to any grant proposal. The panel will touch on funding priorities, donor relationships, DEAI, collaborations, and more, followed by time for Q&A.
<Virtual> Cultural Organizations Summit: 2022 Funders Info Session
December 9, 2021
At this informative session of presentations we welcomed 9 presentations by arts supporters across the region on their 2022 funding opportunities. We had representatives from the Boulder Chamber, Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau, Boulder County Arts Alliance (BCAA), Colorado Creative Industries (CCI), Community Foundation, Create Boulder, Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), the City of Boulder Human Relations Commission, Boulder Arts Commission, and the Office of Arts and Culture Public Art Program. Watch a recording of the session here.
The Year Ahead 👉🎉
October 27, 2021
Thanks to those who joined us for The Year Ahead 2021! Watch as arts administrators and artists present lighting rounds on what is coming up in the arts and culture in Boulder. A special thanks to the Junkyard Social Club for hosting us, Fancy AF Catering, Mobile Pro Video, the Steering Committee, and our presenting arts and culture colleagues.
Ask Me Anything about NFTs with Chris Nunes
RECORDING
Wednesday, April 28 at 12 noon
There has been a lot of news lately about NFT’s (non-fungible tokens) and cryptoart as a way for artists to make a healthier living. From Beeple’s record-setting $69 million sale with Christies, to the NBA selling >$400 million in TopShots, NFT’s have generated over $1 billion in sales in the last four months alone. But there’s much more to NFT’s than these high-profile dollars. To learn more about this exciting and emerging space, please join our next Artist Forum: Ask Me Anything about NFTs with Chris Nunes (cryptoaddress: thegoodnunes.eth). Chris is the Head of Studio at HEAVY (www.heavy.io), an award-winning mixed reality art+tech studio. Chris has been in the cryptocurrency space since 2014, and started creating and collecting NFT’s in 2018 at the ETHDenver Hackathon, after moving to Boulder from the San Francisco Bay Area. Chris will offer a straightforward, practical introduction to the hottest thing in the art world, and respond to questions from guests. Hosted by the City of Boulder Office of Arts and Culture, the Boulder County Arts Alliance (BCAA), and the Lafayette Cultural Arts Commission.
Professional Artists Forum for Photographers
Monday, September 9, 2019
6 – 7:30pm
Boulder Public Library, Boulder Creek Room
Join other art, portraiture, nature, commercial, and event photographers throughout the community for the first artist forum specifically geared to photographers! Come meet with City of Boulder Office of Arts + Culture staff, network and hear about programs, professional development and scholarship opportunities available to you. We will guide an open discussion on the challenges faced by photographers, the state of the art and field, accessibility, and more. Mark Sink, co-founder of The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver and founder of the Month of Photography Denver, will share some his cutting-edge work and demonstrate a few ‘old school’ techniques.
Cultural Organizations Summit: Climate Change
Tuesday, Aug 27, 2019
5 pm – 6:30 pm
Boulder Public Library, Boulder Creek Room
In Boulder, how will climate change impact the arts? At this Summit of cultural nonprofits we heard an overview of climate change concerns by Paul Chinowsky, Director of the Environmental Design Program at CU Boulder, and practical strategies for artists and arts organizations by Marda Kirn, Director of EcoArts Connections.
Cultural Organizations Summit: Art in a Financial Downturn
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
12:30 pm – 2 pm
Museum of Boulder – 2205 Broadway
At this Summit we discussed what economists expect for the future should there be an economic downturn, what that might look like for the arts, and explored strategies to weather the storm. We were joined by Clif Harald, Executive Director of the Boulder Economic Council, Susan P. Ison, Cultural Services Director of the City of Loveland, and Ashley Harkrader, Director of Development for the CU Boulder College of Music Advancement.