Kids who join programs at Downtown Aurora Visual Arts (DAVA) are encouraged to engage with their own creativity in every way possible.

A bastion of visual arts for students of all ages, DAVA has found ways to expand on its already broad scope, offering creative approaches to health and wellness rooted in scientific discovery. Kids are eagerly exploring subjects like microbiology and oceanography as the non-profit heads toward its 30^th anniversary in May.

“We’re focused on bringing every word of our mission statement to life,” said Krista Robinson, DAVA Executive Director. “We engage diverse youth in meaningful arts education that sparks creativity, increases opportunity, and strengthens community.”

For 7-year-old Luis and University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Student Annie Cao that meant an unusual learning experience together.

After pandemic closures, DAVA expanded its college intern program to provide more opportunities for hands-on learning for all ages. The interns were not only diverse, emerging leaders and incredible role models for DAVA kids, they were also able to bring best practices and research from their own degree programs to deepen student learning. Recently, The University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine selected DAVA to host a medical student intern as a part of their service-learning program. That’s where Luis and Annie met.

Thanks to the voters and residents of the seven-county metro area, SCFD has come a long way in its more than 30 years of existence. SCFD is the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, a tax collected and distributed to more than 300 cultural organizations in our seven-county Denver metro region including Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties. Just one penny on every $10 spent in the district creates vibrancy for us individually and collectively.

The already internationally lauded Cleo Parker Robinson, founder of Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, recently received one of our nation’s highest arts honors along with four other groundbreaking dancers of color who together founded the International Association of Blacks in Dance. Along with her colleagues, Parker Robinson received the National Medal of the Arts from President Joe Biden in a White House ceremony. The association was founded to focus on creating opportunities for funding Black-led organizations as well as creating career opportunities for dancers of color. This effort led to the growth of Black dance in individual communities, the country and internationally.

Organizations from across the metro area provide hundreds of free days and free programs each year made possible, in part, by funding from SCFD.

The City of Boulder is the home to thousands of artists and over 140 arts organizations. In fact, Boulder has the nation’s third-highest concentration of artists, right behind Los Angeles and Santa Fe, according to the National Endowment for the Arts. This year, the Boulder's arts community will demonstrate the reason they are nationally ranked with an incredible array of cultural experiences from murals and installations to music and dance. Join Boulder’s only large-scale, inclusive celebration of arts and cultural offerings at the 10th Annual Boulder Arts Week from April 7 through April 15. In 2023, Boulder Arts Week will feature digital and in-person arts and culture offerings, including art walks, exhibitions, performances, dance, music, theater, public art, lectures, readings, and workshops at venues throughout the city. You can learn more.