YEAR AT A GLANCE

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Colorado Springs Arts - 2007

• YEAR AT A GLANCE

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Colorado Springs Arts - 2007

• 2007 was a historic and superlative year
• for the arts in Colorado Springs.
• The following highlights
• demonstrate singular achievements
• in just one year in the arts in the city.

3
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center

• The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
  successfully completed a 28.6 million capital
  campaign to remodel and expand by the center by
  48,000 square feet.

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Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center

• The center reopened with a sold-out celebration
  and weekend of events in August, highlighted by a
  contemporary art exhibit from the Frederick R.
  Weisman collection.
• Local construction company G.E. Johnson won the
  2008 Colorado Business Committee for the Arts
  Philanthropy Award for its support of this
  project.

5
Pikes Peak Center forthe Performing Arts

• The 2,000-seat Pikes Peak Center for the
  Performing Arts completed a 5 million capital
  campaign for renovations and technical
  improvements to the hall.

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Pikes Peak Center forthe Performing Arts

• An outdoor performance space was added, and a
  250-seat blackbox theater also was professionally
  outfitted.

7
Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center

• Throughout 2007, construction was under way on
  this new multidisciplinary facility at Colorado
  College. Designed by Antoine Predock, the center
  will include a theater space, studios, galleries,
  a screening room and much more. It opens in fall
  2008.

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Denver Post Ovation nominations

• The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Theatre
  Company and UCCS Theatreworks were honored with a
  collective 15 Denver Post Ovation nominations
  (for excellence in theater statewide).

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Denver Post Ovation nominations

• The recognition included nine nominations for
  the Fine Arts Centers Into the Woods and a
  nomination for Theatreworks founder and artistic
  director Murray Ross as Theater Person of the
  Year.

10
Partnership for Community Design Awards

• The local Partnership for Community Design Awards
  (presented in January 2008 for achievements of
  2007) recognized five arts-specific projects out
  of a total of eight awards in the areas of
  architecture, landscape architecture and urban
  planning.

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Partnership for Community Design Awards

• That was the strongest showing ever for the arts
  in these awards. Awards include a mural by local
  artist Kim Polomka marking the 250th anniversary
  of Mozarts birth, to functional art in Prairie
  Grass Park, a new city park.

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Chamber of Commerce Diversity Award

• Imagination Celebration, an arts education
  nonprofit, received the Colorado Springs
  Coalition of Chambers 2007 Small Business
  Diversity Award, a first for an arts
  organization. The Chamber honored the
  organizations many diverse arts programs and
  outreach.

13
A new chorus connects with audiences

• The Out Loud mens chorus completed its second
  year of operations and first full season of
  concerts with sell-out crowds so strong that by
  autumn it expanded from two concerts to a
  three-concert weekend run.

14
Womens Film Fest marks milestone

• The Rocky Mountain Womens Film Festival, the
  oldest film festival in the country showing works
  exclusively by women filmmakers, marked its 20th
  anniversary with a sell-out opening night. The
  festival also includes screenings in schools and
  community centers.

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Art on the Streets ona wholenew scale

• The U.S. Bank Art on the Streets program saw a
  significant improvement in the quality of its
  public art by - for its first time ever -
  securing a nationally recognized curator to judge
  submissions and awarding a total of 35,000 in
  cash to artists.

16
New website connects thousandsto the arts

• With support from the City of Colorado Springs
  and Experience Colorado Springs (the Convention
  Visitors Bureau), the arts-events website
  PeakRadar.com was launched by COPPeR, reaching
  nearly half a million page views by years end.
  More than 200 venues and 300 organizations are on
  the site.

17
Arts charter school earns national recognition

• The da Vinci Academy, a charter K-5 public school
  in Academy District 20, received the Creative
  Ticket National School of Distinction Award for
  excellence in integrated arts education. Founder
  Lew Davis and students traveled to Washington,
  D.C., to receive the honor.

18
Economic impact study garners wide notice

• In June 2007, COPPeR released the citys
  first-ever study of the economic impact of the
  arts as part of the national Americans for the
  Arts study. The report showed an annual impact of
  94.7 million added annually to the economy, and
  audience-spending rates significantly above the
  average for similar-size cities.

19
New playwriting Festival a hit

• The 6 Women Playwriting Festival was launched,
  with an impressive 80 submissions from
  playwrights in 24 states. First-year attendance
  was so strong that the festival will continue
  again in 2008.

20
Gay Lesbian Theatre Festival returns

• After a five-year hiatus, Upstart Performing
  Ensemble resurrected its popular Gay Lesbian
  Theatre Festival with performances of three plays
  in repertory The Normal Heart, The Laramie
  Project and The Amazing Amazon All-Stars.
  Gazette theater critic Mark Arnest cited the
  excellent cast, expertly directed, calling
  the fest the seasons best dramatic value.

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New festival celebrates cultural diversity

• With support from the City of Colorado Springs, a
  new festival was launched Everybody Welcome A
  Celebration of Culture and Diversity, featuring
  music and dance performances and childrens
  activities from numerous African American,
  Latino, Asian and East Asian organizations and
  cultural groups.

22
Pike Bicentennial ends successful year

• The Pioneers Museum wrapped up a yearlong
  observation of the 200th anniversary of Zebulon
  Pikes journey to Pikes Peak. One of three
  exhibits, Looming Large The Artistic Legacy of
  Pikes Peak, featured rare works by Charles
  Craig, Thomas Moran, George Caleb Bingham and
  other historic and contemporary artists. More
  than 60,000 children and adults participated in
  the bicentennial events.

23
50 years of song for the Colorado Springs Chorale

• The 130-voice Colorado Springs Chorale the
  oldest continuously performing community chorus
  in the State of Colorado marked its 50th
  anniversary season with a brilliant concert with
  full orchestra featuring works by everyone from
  Wagner and Verdi to Puccini and Gershwin.

24
New arts guidebook connects with residents

• In fall 2007, COPPeR published The COPPeR Pages,
  a first-ever free guidebook providing information
  on more than 180 arts and cultural organizations
  in the region. The guidebook is distributed at
  libraries, community centers, military posts and
  elsewhere.

25
Local media examines arts resurgence

• The Colorado Springs Gazette, the daily newspaper
  of the city, recognized the growing momentum
  around the arts by publishing its first-ever
  special State of the Arts issue, a total of 44
  pages.

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Webcasts focus on local arts, culture

• Springs Culture Cast emerged on the scene
  covering the arts and reaching new audiences
  through new media. The entrepreneurial venture
  produced exactly 100 webcasts of local cultural
  events in 2007. Segments also air on the Pikes
  Peak Library Districts cable channel, and audio
  versions air on KRCC public radio.

27
Art fountain makes a splash

• The City of Colorado Springs dedicated Continuum
  The Julie Penrose Fountain, a 1.8 million
  public art work in downtowns America the
  Beautiful Park designed by local artist Bill
  Burgess and local architect David Barber. The
  four-story steel work was called extremely
  impressive in a review by Westwords Michael
  Paglia.

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Colorado Springs Arts - 2007

• The positive happenings in the arts in 2007 were
  the result of years of planning by cultural and
  civic leaders and the enthusiasm, momentum and
  support from tens of thousands of arts patrons
  and donors. The city continues to build upon and
  reclaim its rich artistic legacy.