Arts Forum on March 20 at The Art Center to Address Creative Businesses

     Colorado is 2nd among all the states in concentration of architects, 5th in total number of artists, 7th in designers, writers, and authors, 8th in photographers, and 9th in producers, directors, and musicians.
     An arts forum to discuss ways to continue to grow these and other creative businesses, related industries, and the number of creative people in the state and in the Grand Valley, will happen on Saturday, March 20 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at The Art Center, 1803 N. 7th Street. Artists, arts organizations, cultural groups, and arts-related businesses are invited to participate.
     The Grand Valley Arts Forum is hosted by the Grand Junction Commission on Arts and Culture and The Art Center. The forum will include information from the Colorado Council on the Arts about Colorado's Creative Economy-what the state is doing to attract and promote creative businesses, and what might be done locally.
     The roundtable meeting offers an opportunity to explore what those working in creative fields need to grow their businesses, and what local arts organizations need to grow their organizations.
     The Arts Forum is free, and includes lunch sponsored by the Commission on Arts and Culture, but pre-registration is required. For more information or to RSVP, contact the Commission at 254-3865 or by e-mail at allisons@gjcity.org (or the Contact Us button on this site.)

City Hall Art Exhibits
Works of art by several local artists grace the hallways and lobbies of the Grand Junction City Hall at 250 N. 5th Street, which provides an excellent venue for art. The temporary, rotating exhibits augment the numerous sculptures and paintings which are part of the City's permanent collection on display throughout the building.  The City Hall building is open to the public from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM on Monday through Friday.

For artwork to be displayed at the City hall, artists are selected and invited to exhibit by the Commission on Arts and Culture.  The Commission organizes quarterly rotating exhibits in order to feature outstanding area artists and their work.  The temporary displays reflect the wonderful diversity of art and artists in the Grand Valley. They have included a wide variety of local painters, fiber and tapestry artists, sculptors, photographers, ceramic artists, and artists' guilds and clubs.

The current exhibit at City Hall includes some outstanding cibachrome photographs by Dr. Scott Lybrook, large landscape oil paintings by Janet Mayerik, several unique and interesting sculptures both small and tall by Thad Tuin, and many excellent photographs by members of the Southwest Photographic Arts Association Rod A. Martinez, and Beverly and Jack Kinsgley, displayed mainly on the second floor Community Art Wall above the auditorium.  The new work will be on display through the end of the year, and many of the pieces are for sale.

Grants Awarded for Grand Junction, Colorado cultural events and projects

     The Arts Commission's annual grant program has been in place since 1992 and was instituted in lieu of the Commission producing its own cultural events, and in order to increase high quality arts and cultural activities and projects, build audiences for the arts, encourage new events or the expansion of existing events, and support the many excellent local nonprofit cultural organizations and local artists.
     This year the Commission received 23 requests, asking for a record total of $74,700. With $35,000 from the City and $8,300 from the Colorado Council on the Arts, the Commission awarded funding to 21 organizations. Ten of those organizations were awarded 80% - 100% of their request, and the other half of the awards range from 25% - 75% of the request.
     In addition to City and State monies, the grant applicants expect to earn $122,000 in ticket sales, art sales, concessions, etc. and hope to leverage another $151,000 in donations from other outside sources. It is estimated in the applications that these events and activities will reach a total audience of 1,500,000 people.

     City Council approved the following grant awards on Monday, March 1, 2010 to support the following cultural events and arts projects:

Grand Junction Downtown Partnership Art & Jazz Festival $4,000
Grand Junction Symphony Children's Concert $4,000
KAFM Community Radio "Arts & Entertainment Calendar" $4,000
Museum of Western Colorado Two Rivers Chautauqua Festival $3,000
Rocky Mountain PBS KRMJ-TV "Western Bounty" arts segments $3,000
Artspace Spring and Fall Open Studios Tours $2,000
Grand Junction Centennial Band concert music purchases $2,000
High Desert Opera New Year's Eve Gala "The Sound of Music" $2,000
Legends of the Grand Valley Sister Mary Balbino Sculpture $2,000
Mesa County Public Libraries Culture Fest $2,000
Riverside Education Center After School Art Classes $2,000
Western Colorado Writers Center Poetry in the Streets Projects * $1,900
Grand Valley Art Students League Start-up * $1,700
Aspen Dance Connection Grand Junction Dance Showcase $1,500
Super Rad Art Jam $1,500
Western Colorado Center for the Arts Artability Art Education ** $1,500
Western Colorado Watercolor Society National Juried Exhibit $1,500
Bookcliff Harmony Barbershop Chorus Youth in Harmony Project $1,200
Messiah Choral Society "Messiah" Concert $1,000
Western Colorado Chorale South American Choral Music Concert $1,000
Pastel Society of Colorado International Juried Exhibit * $500
Total Support $43,300

* New/first time events or projects
** Second year events or projects