On May 23, Arts for Colorado had the distinct pleasure of hosting Dr. Steven Tepper’s “Bigger than Me” lecture at the Center for Visual Art at Metro State University Denver on Santa Fe on the intersection of art and the economy, and history of how we teach the arts. Dr. Tepper is the Dean of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University.

“Two defining experiences have long informed Tepper’s work.After drawing a still life during a high school arts class, Tepper felt confident with his technical prowess, but noticed his boot, vase, and book looked far different than those of his classmates. “I’m not an artist; I’m not drawing weird things,” Tepper recalls thinking at the time. “A seed of doubt was planted.”

He entered college still considering a career in the arts where he encountered a professor who didn’t believe in grading art. Instead, he gave every student a ‘C’ grade, believing real artists shouldn’t care about grades.”That,” says Tepper, “was the last art class I ever took.”

Tepper believes that art and design more »

On Tuesday, December 8th, 2015, Arts for Colorado invited art advocates to attend a cocktail hour at Los Chingones to hear Craig Watson of California Arts Council to speak about the mission, vision and values of the California Arts Council and the arts advocacy success in the state of California.

Craig Watson led the effort to revitalize the relationship of the California Arts Council with the state legislature and California Governor Jerry Brown. Through his efforts and his effective collaborations with others, Watson has rebuilt the agency budget and cultivated an expanded group of dedicated legislative arts advocates.

If you weren’t able to make it, please visit these links to learn more about what Craig shared with the group. Be on the lookout for more events from Arts for Colorado with other industry professionals!

California Arts Council:

Official website for the California Arts Council

Arts-in-Corrections:

The state’s Arts-in-Corrections two-year pilot program is made possible by CDCR, which committed $2.5 million to add structured, contracted Arts-in-Corrections programs in selected state prisons. The program is administered by the California Arts Council. more »

Join Arts for Colorado and Craig Watson of California Arts Council for a cocktail hour at Los Chingones. Craig Watson led the effort to revitalize the relationship of the California Arts Council with the state legislature and California Governor Jerry Brown. Through his efforts and his effective collaborations with others, Watson has rebuilt the agency budget and cultivated an expanded group of dedicated legislative arts advocates. In his presentation, Watson will detail how he planned and executed the strategy that resulted in this significant success.

Craig Watson will be speaking about the mission, vision and values of the California Arts Council and the arts advocacy success in the state of California.

Attendees will receive two free drink tickets for beer or wine. This event is free, but please RSVP as space is limited!

RSVP HERE!

For more information on the California Arts Council, visit here.

Join Arts for Colorado and Matt Wilson of MASSCreative for a cocktail hour at The District.

Date:

Monday, September 21st, 2015

Time: 

5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Location:

The District

1320 E 17th Ave

Denver, CO 80218

RSVP HERE

MASSCreative works with creative leaders, working artists, arts educators and arts and cultural supporters to empower creative organization and the public with a powerful voice to advocate for the resources and attention necessary to build vibrant, connected, and creative communities.

Matt Wilson will speak on how arts and creative economy advocates organized and succeeded in securing new resources for the arts and creative economy in Massachusetts. A short Q&A will follow.

Attendees will receive two free drink tickets for beer or wine. This event is free, but please RSVP as space is limited!

About Matt Wilson:

Hired as MASSCreative’s first Executive Director in March of 2012, Wilson directs the advocacy campaigns and organizational development more »

On Friday, October 10th, Arts for Colorado will sponsor a lunch and dialogue with arts policy wonk and blogger Barry Hessenius and Executive Director for the Alaska State Council on the Arts, Shannon Daut.

The event will be held at Paris on the Platte, which is located at 1553 Platte in Denver. Lunch is $10.00 and reservations must be made in advance because space is limited. The event begins at 11:40 a.m. with informal conversation and lunch. The formal program launches at noon and will conclude at 12:30 p.m., followed by 10 minutes of Q and A. The session adjourns at 1:00 p.m.

To reserve a space at this event, please contact Stefan Runstrom via email at Stefan.Runstrom@WESTAF.org or Daniel Aid via telephone at 303-629-1166.

The Program

During the program portion of this event, Barry Hessenius, the editor of Barry’s Blog (blog.westaf.org), will answer questions posed by Alaska State Council on the Arts Executive Director and former Denverite Shannon Daut. Hessenius will answer questions about arts advocacy, blogging for the arts, the current state of the arts, and other questions posed by Daut. Daut will use more »