August Arts News from COPPeR

Get Ready for Arts Month 2015

If you weren’t able to join us at the Millibo Art Theater on July 23 for our Arts Month Update, here’s the scoop

• Visit the “home base” for Arts Month at: www.peakradar.com/artsmonth. From here, you can get a general overview of the program and find links to useful resources.
• Visit www.coppercolo.org/resources/arts-month-toolkit/. The Arts Month Toolkit includes lots of great stuff, and we’re adding to it all the time!

If you have any questions, please call Andy at 719-634-2204 or reach out via email at andy@coppercolo.org. Thanks, in advance, for your support and participation in Arts Month 2015!

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Light the Drake

COPPeR made the front page of the The Gazette last week when our Executive Director Andy Vick inspired the Colorado Springs Utilities Board/City Council with a proposal to creatively illuminate the stacks of the Drake Power Plant. Regardless of future usage of the Drake, the stacks will be part of our built landscape Downtown for many years. COPPeR is leading the charge to use dynamic, state of the art lighting to make the stacks an attractive backdrop for economic development in Downtown and an enticement for travelers on I-25. We are working with a committee of local stakeholders to make this project a positive example of how creativity can brighten the future for our city.

Read the full article here

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Arts Advocates Inspire Over 500 New Subscribers

This summer, our Arts Advocates volunteers inspired folks across the region at festivals, farmers markets and community gatherings to get more involved in the local arts scene. Over 500 people signed up to receive the Peak Radar Picks e-blast every week! Our sincere thanks to Tony Gioia, Sarah Barad, Dawn Eeh, Stephanie Von Fange, Adison Quin Petti, Rebecca MacNamee, Morgan Bak, Jessica Gladney, Stephanie Hall, Ta Nichols, Tracy Miller, Jennifer Ryan, Amy Whitesell, Allie Romo, Alex Drew, Kyle Sansom, and Daniel Mozer for volunteering to share the arts this summer! And our special appreciation to Kimiko Tanabe, our Summer Outreach Coordinator and Colorado College Public Interest Fellow.
We’re still in need of volunteers for Destination Fort Carson, the What If? Festival of Innovation, and Colorado College’s New Student Orientation. E-mail Angela Seals at angela@coppercolo.org to learn more.

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Arts Leaders Must Work Across Sectors

The Colorado Springs Business Journal recently published an article by COPPeR Executive Director Andy Vick on the topic of using the arts to make connections across sectors. “When we work in close cooperation with non-traditional partners – like the sports community, military and various social service agencies – the arts also have the ability to create “ripple effects” that will transform our community in many compelling ways,” he writes, and tells multiple stories from organizations doing this kind of work in the Pikes Peak region.

Read the full article here

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COPPeR is Seeking Your Input

As part of its strategic planning process, COPPeR is reaching out to community members for input. Local artists and representatives from arts organizations are invited to RSVP to attend one of three Arts Partners Meetings to take place on:

• Session A: Tuesday, August 11, 6:15-8:00 p.m.
  at the Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts

• Session B: Wednesday, August 12, 8:15-10:00 a.m.
  at the Cottonwood Center for the Arts

• Session C: Thursday, August 13, 3:15-5:00 p.m.
  at the Manitou Art Center

If you’re an artist or representative from a local arts organization and would like to attend one of these meetings, please RSVP to info@coppercolo.org with your (1) name, (2) email address, (3) phone number and (4) preferred meeting date.If you have any questions about COPPeR’s strategic planning process, please email Andy Vick at andy@coppercolo.org.

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Nonprofit News Debuts

The Gazette recently debuted a new publication exclusively covering stories across the nonprofit sector. The Nonprofit News editor, Hannah Blick, is looking for exciting content from creative nonprofits in the Pikes Peak region on an ongoing basis. Send her your content ideas at hannah.blick@gazette.com.

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Applause, please…

Each month, COPPeR shares exciting stories of success and impact from across the arts community of the Pikes Peak region on our Facebook Page. Here are just a few inspiring stories from the past month:

• The Space Foundation Discovery Center announced a new partnership with Pikes Peak Children’s Museum. (7/3)
• The Colorado Springs Business Journal profiled Claire Swinford, the Colorado Springs Philharmonic’s education and community outreach coordinator. (7/9)
• The Green Box Arts Festival commissioned three world premiers, including a piano septet by Ofer Ben-Amots, to commemorate the dedication of three new public art installations in Green Mountain Falls. (7/13)
• THEATREWORKS at UCCS welcomed a new Managing Director, Will Prenevost.(7/13)
• Local artist Karen Khoury was commissioned to create a new work at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center in response to their current Georgia O’Keeffe exhibition. (7/18)
• The Gazette spotlighted the important community-building work of The Concrete Couch. (7/20)
• Honorees of the Delta Sigma Theta Hats Off Luncheon for public service, included two lights in our local arts community: Anabela Crooks, co-founder of Sankofa, and Linda Weise, Executive Director of Colorado Springs Conservatory and The Mezzanine. (7/22)
• Governor Hickenlooper announced a new “Space to Create” initiative that will benefit artists in 9 yet-to-be-announced rural communities across Colorado. (7/28)

Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/artsculturefun.

Let us know about YOUR stories at info@coppercolo.org.

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Save the Date! Artini 2015

Thursday, Oct. 1, 6:00-9:00p.m.

The Mansion/ The Mezzanine

(20 N. Tejon St., Downtown Colorado Springs)

Headlining musical performer: Miguel Dakota