Museum to use $1.5M grant for north Boulder project

BOULDER — Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art has been awarded a $1.5 million grant it will use to build a new museum in north Boulder, museum officials announced Monday.

The grant comes from the Colorado Community Revitalization Tax Credit program, administered by Colorado Creative Industries, a department of the state Office of Economic Development and International Trade.

According to the announcement, the 54-year-old BMoCA’s new museum will include five exhibition spaces, two classrooms, an event space for education and community gathering, a cafe and spaces for a shop, lobby and offices. The new BMoCA will offer expanded exhibitions, multigenerational education programs and inclusive community initiatives.

“CCI and OEDIT are thrilled to celebrate the progress and momentum surrounding the re-imagined Boulder Contemporary Art Museum,” Josh Blanchard, director of Colorado Creative Industries, said in a prepared statement. “We are energized and honored to be a funding partner to support this vision for the next chapter for BMoCA, and we look forward to witnessing how this transition will transform NoBo, the wider Northern Colorado community and beyond.”

The museum will be part of the proposed North Boulder Creative Campus. New York-based SO–IL and Boulder-based Coburn Partners were selected in February 2025 as the architectural design team for the planned campus. SO–IL stands for Solid Objectives – Idenburg Liu, which was founded in 2008 by Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu.

“This award is a tremendous vote of confidence in BMoCA’s vision and in the transformative role contemporary art can play in our community,” David Dadone, the museum’s executive director, said in a news release. “The Future BMoCA is about more than a new building, it’s about creating a place where artists can dream boldly, where creativity and learning intersect, and where people of all ages come together to experience the power of contemporary art.

“We’re deeply grateful to the State of Colorado for helping make this vision a reality.”

The purpose-built museum will significantly expand opportunities for artists and creative practitioners by providing flexible galleries designed to accommodate large-scale installations, immersive exhibitions and new commissions. The new dedicated education spaces and community gathering areas will allow BMoCA to broaden its educational programming, deepen partnerships with artists and local organizations, and reach more people through expanded exhibitions, creative experiences and learning opportunities.

“This significant investment from our state arts agency is both a meaningful source of funding and a powerful affirmation of the importance of this project to Colorado’s cultural landscape,” added Maria Cole, president of BMoCA’s board of directors. “The award underscores the need and desire for the future BMoCA to become a reality and reflects growing confidence in the museum’s vision and potential impact.”

The grant is one of 12 announced last week by Gov. Jared Polis and Colorado Creative Industries. 

BMoCA, founded in 1972, serves more than 240,000 people through more than 20 exhibitions and 500 programs at its flagship facility at 1750 13th St. in Boulder and more than 40 partner locations across the Denver metro area.

Share on Facebook on LinkedIn