Artists, arts groups win state grants

Artists and arts organizations in Boulder and Larimer counties are among 25 recipients of Folk and Traditional Arts Project Grants, according to an announcement Monday by the Colorado Creative Industries Division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.

The grants are designed to help preserve, celebrate and document the local artistic traditions and heritage of unique Colorado communities. The program was developed in response to a two-year planning process with a stakeholder group engaged in Colorado’s folk arts. A total of $75,000 is being awarded to 25 artists and art organizations, funded in part by a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

“Folk and traditional art holds a deep connection to the cultural identity and history of a community,” Josh Blanchard, the division’s director, said in a prepared statement. “We are grateful to these artists and organizations for serving as a living record of their community’s traditions, and sharing their talents to celebrate Colorado’s unique background.”

Recipients in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado include:

• The Dairy Arts Center in Boulder: $3,000 for advancing Native American traditional arts by holding classes led by Native knowledge-keepers in specific artistic disciplines.
• eight16 creative LLC: $3,000 to film a documentary focusing on the Rocky Mountain Indigenous Dancers, an intertribal Native American dance group dedicated to sharing its cultural heritage through dance.
• Banda La Patrona in Fort Collins: $3,000 to introduce Mexican Banda music to Colorado State University and the Fort Collins community to increase visibility to the genre in academic and cultural institutions.
• Foco Flava in Fort Collins: $3,000 to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of Northern Colorado through the art of break dancing, a pillar of hip-hop culture.
• Inception Flow in Fort Collins: $3,000 to engage the community in the creation of Amate painting through workshops where participants can learn about the traditional art form’s history and create their own pieces.

“We are thrilled to celebrate the culture and heritage of communities across our state and help ensure these traditions continue into the future,” Eve Lieberman, OEDIT director, said in a prepared statement. “The recipients announced today embrace the values and traditions from past generations through their preservation of folk and traditional arts, offering all of us the opportunity to realize the rich history our state holds.”

The Folk and Traditional Arts Project Grants seek to enhance community well being, cultural identity, economic vitality and sense of place, especially in areas that are often underrepresented in the contemporary art space. Funds will support the creation, presentation, or teaching of folk and traditional arts, and/or the documentation of folk or traditional arts and cultural heritage through community archiving, oral histories, photojournalism, video or other creative works.

Among other recipients, the Grand Lake Creative District will film a documentary about the craftsmanship behind Cowboy Artisans’ traditional cowboy gear, which includes leatherworking and silversmithing. In Bent County, artist Douglas Crow Wolf will lead Native American moccasin-making workshops for residents of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless Fort Lyon Supportive Residential Community and will share completed projects with the local community.

As part of the grant’s preservation efforts, all funded projects will be archived in the State Archives and made accessible to the public through History Colorado.

To help make the grants more accessible and equitable for individual artists and organizations with limited grant-writing capacity, the division developed a Grant Navigator program to assist applicants. Prospective applicants are able to meet one-on-one with consultants to get their questions answered, receive feedback on their draft application materials, and get assistance in navigating the application process. This does not guarantee the applicant will receive funding through the grant for which they are applying.

on Facebook on LinkedIn