Adopted 2017 Annual Operating & Capital Improvement Budget

CULTURAL ARTS
Statement of Purpose
The Cultural Arts Program contributes to personal development and personal enjoyment and fosters a sense of
community.
Description
The Cultural Arts Program encourages the participation of residents in the arts through art exhibits, receptions and
lectures, art education, youth and adult art classes and community events, primarily at the Curtis Arts & Humanities
Center. Staff works directly with the Greenwood Village Arts and Humanities Council (GVAHC) on fundraising events
for the benefit of art programs and public art to enhance the Village’s cultural identity.
Accomplishments
The Cultural Arts program continues to find ways to provide art activities for the youth of Greenwood Village. This year
the “Teen Art Studio” was added for children ages 12-15. In 2016 18 students participated in this program. Pee Wee Art
and Art in the Park continue to be very popular and often have a waiting list. The adult art classes went from 4 weeks
each to 6 weeks. This allowed for a better learning experience and also gave teachers more flexibility with scheduling
and make up classes if needed. This change reduced the number of classes from 73 to 58 for 2016.
In addition to the traditional art instruction several special classes were added in 2016. Candice French came on in 2016
to teach pebeo and mixed- media classes and is teaching one of her classes in the evening. As part of the “Fire+Iron=Art”
exhibit Curtis offered 3 workshops on sand carving. The students then had iron poured into their carvings to produce
their very own piece of iron art. Also in October were two special pumpkin carving classes. World renowned pumpkin
master, Barry Brown, provided demonstrations and instruction on how to carve a professional pumpkin. The fall break
theater class was also offered in October. This year a professional actor, Troy Horn was brought in to conduct the class
and instruct the students.
In 2016, the senior programs moved to Mondays and is held in the workshop room at Curtis Arts & Humanities Center.
Dance and Harmonica continue to be a staple at the Center, while Focus 50+ has shown a slight increase in participation
from 8 to 16 over the year. The “Coffee and Canvas” class continues to be popular. This year there were 6 classes with
a maximum of 15 students in each class.
The Curtis Arts and Humanities Center presented seven exhibits in 2016. The year kicked off with “Less is More” an
exhibit featuring all large scale artwork. The annual “Youth Art Month” was held in March bringing in approximately 1600
visitors during the month. The next exhibit was the annual “Greenwood and Beyond” photography exhibit. Over 50 local
artists showed their photographic artwork. For the 33 rd year, Curtis hosted the “All Colorado” exhibit. The show featured
60 artists from around the state and brought in over 200 people for the opening reception. Four local artists that take
architecture as their subject matter were exhibited during the “Structured” exhibit that ran in August and September. In
October, Curtis partnered with the University of Colorado – Denver’s Art and Media Department to present
“Fire+Iron=Art.” The exhibit featured artists who use creative practice of casting molten iron to create artwork. As part
of the exhibit an iron pour event was held at Curtis with over 400 people in attendance. The year ended with an exhibit
showing the works of local printmakers.
Funding from the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) of $44,395 helped produce six special events for the
Greenwood Village community. All of these events were free and open to the public. In February the Cultural Arts
program hosted a special production of the opera, “Carmen”. The production was held at the Aspen Academy’s
auditorium with over 300 people in attendance. In June the program also hosted a production from the Colorado Youth
Orchestra. Also held at the Aspen Academy, the production attracted over 250 music lovers. The Colorado Honors Band
and the Wind Ensemble returned to Curtis Park for their annual concert in the park. Once again the event was a big
success with over 400 people in attendance. As part of the “Fire+Iron=Art” exhibit, the Curtis hosted an Iron Pour event.
Patron were able to purchase a sand tile, carve their own design and then have iron poured into their carving to create
their own piece of iron artwork. The event was very popular with an estimated attendance of over 500 people throughout
the evening. Rounding out the year, the Cultural Arts program hosted a special production of “Beethoven’s Wig”. The
production pairs the music of Beethoven with child friendly lyrics with the idea of promoting classical music to children.
The event was held at the Cherry Creek High School auditorium to a packed house.
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