Ginger White (photo provided by Arts & Venues)
To our friends in the arts and culture community: Mayor Michael B. Hancock recently announced the City of Denver’s plan to allocate more than $700 million to help our community recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. “RISE Denver: Rebuilding for an Inclusive and Sustainable Economy,” is intended to return economic prosperity to the community through a series of building and other projects that will spur economic growth.
We encourage you and those in your groups of fellow arts and culture supporters – with all of our many interests – to weigh in on the City’s options. Public engagement is beginning now and your willingness to advocate for arts and culture-related funding ensures that this segment of our economy is well-considered.
As you may know, Denver Arts & Venues is self-funded and the COVID-related closure of our venues resulted in a 2020 loss of more than $50 million and a significant spend-down of our capital reserve dollars just to stay afloat while our stages were dark and our industry struggled to survive. As a result, projects intended to improve patron safety and experience may be put off for years. The potential for inclusion in RISE Denver funding is vital to getting the agency back on track.
Denver Arts & Venues has submitted requests for a number of needs that might be addressed with appropriate funding:
● Rehabilitation of 30-year-old backstage areas at the Arts Complex to bring them into compliance with accessibility standards
● Visitor Center enhancements at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and infrastructure improvements to bridges and walkways
● Installation of Wi-Fi and broadband services at all venues, resulting in upgraded security protocols and touchless venue management functions.
Here are two ways you can weigh-in on the investments that matter to you:
Take the online survey at http://risetogetherdenver.org.
Sign up on the same website to participate in a Telephone Town Hall. The days and times are below.
~ Thursday, June 3 at 6:30 p.m.
~ Saturday, June 5 at 9:00 a.m.
~ Sunday, June 6 at 11:00 a.m.
Thanks in advance for taking the time to provide input so Denver can RISE up stronger!
Sincerely,
Ginger White
Executive Director
Denver Arts & Venues