The View From Here

Rick Griffith, graphic designer, Matter Studio

Denver has become a very attractive city for artists to stay in (for me) and move to (for others). So there's a lot of momentum in all the arts, and that's always exciting. As a graphic designer who depends on commercial work, it would be nice to see some more big corporations relocate to the city and bring their client dollars with them. It seems like since Boeing, we haven't heard much about reeling in some big fish.

Chandler Romeo and Reed Weimer, artists

In a year, we would like to be able to walk into the Denver Art Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art knowing that we will always be able to see an exhibit by a local artist — a real living, breathing, Colorado artist showing current works of art. This in addition to exhibits by Colorado artists from the past, supporting the fact that our state has been home to many major artists. Additionally, we would like to see the reinstatement of the Colorado Biennial exhibition at the Denver Art Museum. 

Adam Lerner, executive director, the Laboratory of Art and Ideas at Belmar

Collector Kent Logan is leading an effort to bring together several contemporary arts institutions in a unified marketing effort. I would like to see this organization succeed in bringing Denver the kind of national attention that the arts scene in Santa Fe, New Mexico, currently receives.

Tony Shawcross, executive director, Deproduction

The Denver Office of Strategic Partnership, DOCA and the Denver Office of Economic Development have all been exploring co-op arts space ownership, holding focus groups and interviewing the arts community for years. I'd love to see the results of these efforts this year. Where has the mayor's Task Force on Creative Spaces been headed? What is the outcome of the work the OED took on in 2006 to explore and support the "cultural creatives"?

 I'd love to see tangible resources available at the city for cultural creatives — support and services that as of yet seem to only be available through NGOs like Colorado Lawyers for the Arts or Micro Business Development or the Colorado Enterprise Fund.

Finally, in the next year, I'd like the city to help me (and others) purchase Kitty's South. I'm in love with that building and want to expand Deproduction and DOM into that space and revive that soiled movie theater.

For this creative class's extra-credit answers on their view of the Denver art scene in 2028, go to westword.com; DOCA's Cultural Visioning 2028 report will be presented this summer. — Maher