Arts vs. funding delicate balancing act

BOULDER — As individual donations and state funding for the arts shrink due to the weak economy, The Dairy Center for the Arts has expanded its outreach program to find new supporters.

Even though some sources of funding have declined, Boulder’s arts and performance center continues on course, said Karen Gerrity, executive director of The Dairy. The center’s total operating expenses this year amounted to $419,000, she said. In fact, the annual budget continues to grow at about 15 percent a year.

Still, Gerrity said the organization tries to be cautious in its spending. “We try not to get in too deep because we don’t know what’s going to happen to the economy. We’re relying on donations,” she said.

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The Dairy Center for the Arts is a 40,000-square-foot performing and visual arts center located in the former Watts Hardy Dairy at 2590 Walnut St. in Boulder. It serves as the city’s largest multidisciplinary art center. It offers classes, exhibitions and performances in dance, music, theater, literary, visual and media arts.

The center serves as home to 17 arts organizations with performance theaters, practice rooms and galleries.

Rent from the resident tenants covers about 55 percent of operations, Gerrity said.

That also includes revenues from ad hoc rentals of space in the building. The balance of the funding comes from a variety of donations.

“We have an interesting mix of individual donors, guest artist series, two big fund-raising events, and we get money from government grants,” Gerrity said.

Although total revenues have increased, “what we’re seeing is that we’re not getting the big checks from individuals and corporations anymore. With everyone’s budget getting cut, we’ve been turning over every stone and doing more grassroots outreach and writing more grant proposals,” she said.

Diversifying the funding sources has helped The Dairy build a stronger outreach program.

Gerrity said she actually started expanding the outreach for donors when she took over as executive director in August 2001, shortly before the national economy soured after the catastrophes of Sept. 11.

“As a strategy, we decided to begin a more grassroots effort and make sure we were going to as many corporations as we can, and granters. It diversifies your giving,” she said.

That includes approaching corporations outside Boulder County for funds. “We go into the whole Denver metro area,” Gerrity said.

Corporations also give in other ways besides pure funding. “HW Home provided new leather couches for our lobby. BankOne sponsored our community outreach program. We’re still relying on business partnerships in the community to help us,” she said.

Both staff members and volunteers help raise funds for the center. The Dairy’s programs director writes the bulk of its grant proposals, and Gerrity also shares that task.

The special events coordinator, a part-time employee, helps organize the center’s big fund-raisers.

“And then our board is very active, too. They chair the big fund-raisers, and they solicit corporate sponsors. They make it happen,” she said. “We work at all different levels.”

This year the Center has raised $53,500 from foundations and $37,500 in government grants.

“The government grants are down, and we’re feeling that,” Gerrity said.

In 2002, the center estimated its total attendance at about 127,500 people, making it number one on The Boulder County Business Report’s list of local cultural attractions.

The Dairy’s 17 tenants pay rent at less than half the market rate, leaving their hard-earned funds for programming.

Some of these groups include the Boulder County Arts Alliance, Boulder Conservatory Theatre Company, Community Television of Boulder, GPI Productions/Flamenco Fantasy Dance Theater, Frequent Flyers Productions Inc., Helander Dance Theater, Imagination Makers Theater Company, International Tap Association and Lemon Sponge Cake Contemporary Ballet.

Naropa University’s Arts Department, Continuing Education and Events Coordination has left the facility. “Their departure vacated a lot of space,” Gerrity said.

New tenants include Third Law Dance, Mariposa Collective and Collaboration Collective a professional accompanist and chamber pianist who rehearses with other musicians.

Peak Arts has dissolved into two organizations now occupying space Boulder Arts Academy and the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra.

Almost all of the space now is occupied, although there are some small office rooms available, Gerrity said.

The Dairy features new artists’ exhibits every eight weeks. These represent local, national and international artists.

Each exhibit begins with an opening that is free to the public. A featured part of each exhibit is a free evening talk by the artist sometime during the weeks of the exhibit.

The Dairy Gallery is a 1,600-square-foot exhibit space with 23-inch-high walls and state-of-the-art lighting. Features for the gallery are chosen through The Dairy’s community curator program.

This program provides space for visual arts exhibits unified around a compelling theme.

The gallery recently featured photographs by Tom Kumpf. Other programs planned this fall include China, photographs by John McGee; Installation, a mixed media installation by Garrison Roots; Maternal Legends, a mixed media by The Women’s Caucus; and Survivors, photographs of penguins by Brian Slobe.

The center also offers a variety of workshops, including a free poetry workshop with Jeffrey Ethan Lee on Sept. 20.

Several free field trips and workshops for students in the Boulder Valley School District also are planned for the upcoming season.

An onsite field trip on Non-violent Conflict Resolution will be presented by the Play for Peace founder and The Dairy to learn how to resolve conflict in everyday situations.

Other workshops scheduled are a Hip Hop Class with Art as Action Space, Steps in Time with the Boulder Ballet to provide students with a historical look at dance, and Art as Contemplative Experience. This workshop offers participants the chance to discover their creativity in a safe, supportive environment.

A musical program scheduled for Sept. 20 features the Razumovsky String Quarter performing Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” and Lehar’s “Merry Widow Waltz.”