Art is the magic mirror you make to reflect your invisible dreams in visible pictures. You use a glass mirror to see your face: you use works of art to see your soul. — George Bernard Shaw
We have been surrounded by some positive cultural news of late. This week, the National Endowment for the Arts declared that Colorado was No. 1 in trips to theaters, concert halls and museums.
At the Community Foundation Serving Boulder County, arts and culture are major priorities. Just as funding nonprofits that help those in need uplift our neighbors and improve our quality of life, so too do the arts nourish the hearts and minds of those in our community and beyond. From Jan. 1, 2013 through Dec. 29, 2014, the Community Foundation issued more than $846,000 in grants to arts and cultural organizations, through both our Community Trust and donor-advised funds.
In the local arts community, some more good news. Our friends at the Museum of Boulder recently announced a $500,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. And the Dairy Center for the Arts received a $1 million donation from a couple; the largest single gift in its history. Both organizations also will benefit from the passage of 2A, a temporary sales tax that will fund several things, including arts and culture in Boulder.
As it happens, in the midst of all this talk about the arts, we were able to give a TRENDS presentation to the board at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art this week. Preceding our discussion about demographics and opportunity in Boulder County, there was a presentation by the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts. The total economic activity in the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, of which Boulder County is a part, was $1.85 billion in 2013. That includes everything from grants and donations, to jobs, to tickets and subscriptions.
Voters in the district will have an opportunity to extend the current tax (one-tenth of 1 percent sales and use tax) that funds the arts in 2016.
Boulder County has one of the highest concentrations of artists in the country (the last TRENDS report ranked us No. 8.) The high attendance rates in our state and financial support for arts and culture here is good news for artists and patrons, and it turns out to be a major boost to the economy as well.
