October 25, 2011

New drive to partner on Loveland projects

A new drive to partner arts and community projects in Loveland is raising money for an emergency safe house to shelter women and children.

The third annual Loveland Art Studio Tour and Sale, which began in mid-October, offers visitors an opportunity to meet artists in their working space, see their work in progress and purchase fine art. This year, 10 percent of all sponsorships and advertisement sales are being donated to the Alternatives to Violence Southern Larimer County Safehouse project.

Leading this partnership is Engaging Loveland, a nonprofit organization that serves as an advocate and catalyst to develop and support community-wide events and celebrations. Part of its mission is to enhance tourism in Loveland, and the organization sponsors the Corn Roast Festival, the Sweetheart Balloon Rally, and the Snow Sculpture in the Dark, among other events.

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“The Studio Tours Board and I met,´ said Kristine Koshke, executive director of Engaging Loveland, “and we talked about how we could raise funds to build a safe house. There’s such a need and a decrease in donations.”

The partnership builds on the momentum started by Pastels on 5th, a chalk-art festival held in September to raise funds for the Alternatives to Violence Southern Larimer County.

Koschke said this is the first time that Engaging Loveland has partnered in this way. “We really want to find a way to give back and make a difference to the community. And we will be meeting with the board to discuss making this a continuous process, so that each of the large events we hold make a difference.”

Already there are plans in the works for the Snow Sculpture in the Dark competition, which attracts local, regional and national artists to Loveland. Working with 8-foot blocks ice, the artists must sculpt their works by hand. Koschke said that Engaging Loveland is planning to work with the Boys and Girls Club to create mini-sculptures around town.

The Loveland Studio Art Tour Exhibition is on display at the Loveland Museum and Gallery until Nov. 6.

FCMOA raising above the tide
In late September, a failing HVAC system flooded the Fort Collins Museum of Art, causing severe water damage and shutting down the building’s livelihood. Now the museum is raising donations to help repair and restore the original post office building and prepare for an exhibition of glasswork from artist Dale Chihuly’s Venetians series.

“We have insurance to fix damage to most of the building’s interior,´ said Marianne Lorenz, executive director of FCMOA. “What we don’t have on hand is the $3 million to fix the building’s out-of-date HVAC system that is now approximately 10 years past its useful life.”

The museum’s budget is around $300,000 annually, raised through memberships, grants and sponsorships.

Lorenz said the FCMOA board is working to develop a plan to raise funds to correct the immediate infrastructure failings of the building. “Everyone has been very sympathetic,´ said Lorenz. “It’s a really difficult thing to go through. The building is the cornerstone of Old Town.”

While the museum building is on life support, the FCMOA is focused on opening the Dale Chihuly contemporary glass exhibition in December. “We will be concentrating initially on repairing the interior infrastructure and modulating the gallery temperatures,´ said Lorenz. And the flooding brought one small benefit. “With the original schedule we had less than a month to install the exhibition. Now we have more time to focus on it, and the galleries are going to look great.”

Chihuly’s Venetians series are intricately formed and brilliantly colored glassworks inspired by art-deco Venetian glass from the 1920s and 1930s. The exhibition will include a magnificent five-part chandelier that has two components hanging from the ceiling and three that come up from the floor. Chihuly started the Venetians in July 1988 with Lino Tagliapietra and Rich Royal as gaffers. This exhibition is being presented in honor of the 50th anniversary of the American Studio Glass Movement.

“This particular Chihuly glass series has never been exhibited in Colorado,” noted Lorenz. “Lots of people know about him and are interested in his work. It’s a body of work not seen a lot, and it will be fantastic.”

Information about how to donate money to the Fort Collins Museum of Art and the Dale Chihuly Venetians exhibition is available at http://www.ftcma.org/index.php.

Kiki Gilderhus, Ph.D., Dean of Fine + Liberal Arts at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design in Denver, covers the arts for the Business Report. Contact her at news@ncbr.com.

A new drive to partner arts and community projects in Loveland is raising money for an emergency safe house to shelter women and children.

The third annual Loveland Art Studio Tour and Sale, which began in mid-October, offers visitors an opportunity to meet artists in their working space, see their work in progress and purchase fine art. This year, 10 percent of all sponsorships and advertisement sales are being donated to the Alternatives to Violence Southern Larimer County Safehouse project.

Leading this partnership is Engaging Loveland, a nonprofit organization that serves as an advocate and catalyst to develop and support…

Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood is editor and publisher of BizWest, a regional business journal covering Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties. Wood co-founded the Northern Colorado Business Report in 1995 and served as publisher of the Boulder County Business Report until the two publications were merged to form BizWest in 2014. From 1990 to 1995, Wood served as reporter and managing editor of the Denver Business Journal. He is a Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder. He has won numerous awards from the Colorado Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Alliance of Area Business Publishers.
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