Media pro buys Boulder Digital Arts

BOULDER — The COVID-19 era has been a roller-coaster ride for Boulder Digital Arts, a digital media training provider that formerly operated a co-working space on Range Road in Boulder.

In 2020, the company, founded nearly 20 years ago by Bruce Borowsky and Zach Daudert, moved its educational programming online, got out of the co-working business and eventually gave up its physical location. 

Now BDA has a new owner. 

Photographer and long-time publishing and media professional Galen Nathanson bought the business this month for an undisclosed sum.

“I really wasn’t looking for this opportunity, but I’ve known Bruce [Borowsky for years] … and found out that he was looking to sell,” Nathanson told BizWest. “…We made the deal happen, and here we are.”

First priority for Nathanson: Bring back in-person classes. 

“My goal is to try to get things back to where they might have been before the pandemic happened,” he said. “… We’re kind of at square one again.”

In-person programming is “what really separated BDA from other online learning [offerings],” Nathanson said. “Having a good teacher in the room to walk you through things and answer questions, and being able to interact with other students, was key.”

Nathanson, who has worked as a photographer and editor for local media operations such as the Denver Post and Active Interest Media, told BizWest that he’s not sure if he’s “going to lease a space right away necessarily. But I’m looking to partner with local organizations and institutions that might have classroom space available.”

In addition to finding a new physical home for BDA, Nathanson said he hopes to introduce educational programming aimed at kids and students. 

He also wants to modernize some of the curriculum to make sure classes “are [providing] the skills that people are really looking for.”

While Borowsky and Daudert may have moved on from BDA, both are still active in the local business and arts scenes. 

Borowski, who serves on the Boulder County Film Commission, will continue to produce videos at Pixel Mill Studios, a media company he co-founded, and Daudert is focusing on Vanlife Outfitters, a business he founded to help support do-it-yourself van and camper builders. 

“This was our baby, so we were sorry to have to say goodbye,” Borowsky said in a prepared statement. “Zach and I are just so busy with our other projects, that we simply didn’t have the proper amount of time to devote to it anymore.”

Editor’s note: BizWest’s Boulder offices operated out of the Boulder Digital Arts space until summer 2020 when the company gave up its lease as staff members worked remotely.

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Bruce Borowsky’s name.

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