The Boulder Arts Blueprint sets out shared goals that support artists, creative businesses, strong neighborhoods and public cultural life, and connects this vision to practical tools, including policy, funding approaches, programs and partnerships, to help leaders and arts staff put it into action.
Overview
Creativity is central to Boulder’s identity, shaping its quality of life, economic vitality and ability to evolve. For generations, the city has drawn artists, culture-makers and independent thinkers whose contributions continue to define Boulder’s creative spirit. Today, strong community participation, public support and ongoing investment underscore the vital role arts and culture play in the city’s character and future.
Beyond being a defining strength in our identity, the arts are a key driver of economic vitality. Boulder County has the nation's third-highest concentration of artists per capita. The city ranked among the top 10 most arts-vibrant medium-sized cities in the U.S., with creative employment three times the national average. In 2022, the nonprofit arts and culture sector generated $115.1 million in local economic activity. The arrival of the Sundance Film Festival will further Boulder’s future as a creative and economically vital place in the west. Yet Arts Blueprint research reveals that these strengths exist alongside serious pressures: creative employment in Boulder declined in recent years; affordable workspace and rehearsal and performance venues are increasingly difficult to find; and the very conditions that make Boulder a creative place are at risk without intentional investment and action.
The Boulder Arts Blueprint builds on this foundation by outlining shared goals to support artists, creative businesses, vibrant neighborhoods and cultural life. Developed over 18 months with input from nearly 2,000 community members, the Blueprint connects vision to action through policies, funding strategies, programs and partnerships. It offers a clear ten-year roadmap for investment while identifying practical steps to sustain and strengthen Boulder’s creative ecosystem.
The vision summarizes our community’s possibilities and potential for arts, culture and creative endeavors:
Creative expression is at the core of Boulder. Creativity energizes and renews Boulder’s spirit. It is central to the city’s sense of self, to its quality of life, to its global reputation. Here, the arts are supported and seen; here, culture threads the fabric of everyday life. Here, talent is nourished, cultural heritage honored and risk-taking embraced.
The Arts Blueprint is organized into seven goals, each with clear actions, shared measures of success, potential partners, and best practice highlights to guide Boulder's arts and culture work over the next ten years.
Goal: Accessibility and Inclusion
Ensure cultural amenities and creative experiences are widely available and accessible to all Boulder communities. Every Boulder community member, regardless of age, ability, income, or background will have access to creative experiences where they live. This goal affirms arts and culture as a public amenity that serves all community members.
Make resources, programs and training available to build pathways for creative enterprises and entrepreneurship. Solidify the creative economy as a viable career path that pays a living wage. Help creatives build business skills, connect to local and regional markets and fiscally sound enterprise.
Celebrate arts, culture and creativity as central to Boulder’s identity, reputation and attractiveness. Boulder is renowned for its creative spirit — a place that attracts generations of makers, writers and dreamers drawn to its signature “eclectic” vibe. This identity must be continually honored, renewed and celebrated.
Expand public art and creative expression across public spaces. Public spaces are viewed as canvases, stages and playgrounds for artistic production and cultural events. Public art shapes identity, animates shared spaces and invites people to engage with public life in meaningful and unexpected ways. This goal supports a more fluid, dynamic and authentic public art ecosystem.
Amplify the impact of the nonprofit cultural sector to strengthen sustainability, partnerships and collaboration. Broadcast and promote the consequential work of non-profits to entice greater financial investment and resource sharing. Sustain nonprofit institutions while enticing greater financial investment and encouraging resource-sharing.
Incentivize cutting-edge, innovative and experimental practices. Boulder champions emerging practices across the changing creative landscape, including the use of technology, artificial intelligence, regenerative practices, contemplative arts and other ideas. This goal positions Boulder as a “living lab” for creative experimentation, where arts and culture are empowered to engage with the defining questions of our time.
Encourage dynamic, informal communities of affinity or practice such as nightlife, Burner, gallery hopping, happy hour, all-ages culture and more. Scenes grow naturally when people with shared interests find each other and build culture together, often in informal and low-cost spaces. They depend on small venues, flexible rules and affordable places to gather and they can fade when costs rise, rules are too strict, or attention turns them into tourist products.
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