Boulder is home to more than 140 different organizations dedicated to the arts, plus thousands of individual artists. So many sculptors, painters, dancers, singers and other creatives call Boulder home that it has the third-highest concentration of artists of cities across the country, trailing only behind Los Angeles and Santa Fe.
Now, you can help celebrate our beloved city’s artistic greatness during Boulder Arts Week, which runs this year from April 7-15.
Now in its 10th year, this week-long celebration includes insightful masterclasses, thought-provoking discussions and hands-on workshops, as well as gallery shows, murals, installations and performances. There are so many great events scheduled you may have a hard time deciding which one to attend—and that’s not a bad problem to have. Even better, many of the events are free or low-cost, which means more people from all walks of life can access them.
A few highlights include the opening for “Still of Space” at The Crowd Collective, which features work by painter and carver Helen Howe Braider and ceramicist Eleonor Boström, and “It’s All In Your Head,” an exhibit at Cafe Aion featuring the work of 16 Boulder High School students. There’s also a Persian classical dance class at Hamsa Design and Arts, as well as mini pop-up concerts by the Boulder Philharmonic at Organic Sandwich Company. Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance is having an open house, and 3rd Law Dance/Theater is holding an open rehearsal for its next production, INTERZONE.
If you’d prefer to participate virtually or your schedule just lines up better with a Zoom call, Boulder Arts Week is also offering several online events, including free dance classes for people with mobility considerations, a UI/UX certification program, screenings of Boulder International Film Festival shorts, and class to help you master Spanish language vocabulary through drawing.
Also be sure to check out the 42 new lamp pole banners on Pearl Street, created by artistic students at Columbine Elementary School, Casey Middle School and Boulder High School. The theme of this year’s Student Banner Project is “Finding Joy,” and the banners will be up through mid-April.
Want to explore on your own two feet? Join a guided walking tour of downtown murals, the Boulder Alley Galleries and the Student Banner Project. Led by Street Wise docents, tours include chats with artists and a free pint at Mountain Sun Pub. Featured artists for this year’s walking tours include Amanda Lenz, Linda Park, Juls Mendoza, Cal Duran, Alissa Davies, Koko Bayer and Chris Haven. The tours are scheduled for April 8 and April 12.
Boulder Arts Week is a collaborative event put on by the Boulder County Arts Alliance, the Boulder Office of Arts and Culture and dozens of other sponsors and partners. This year, event organizers were able to provide an impressive $8,000 in sponsorships to 18 different artists and arts organizations so they could put on a program, talk, exhibition or performance during Boulder Arts Week. They are:
- Andrew Barker
- Art of Modeling
- Belgin Yucelen, Foggy Night
- Beth Naumann
- Bonnie Lowdermilk
- Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art
- Butterfly Effect Theatre of Company
- Courtney Griffin
- Creativity Alive
- Karen Dombrowski-Sobel
- Luna Cultura,
- Megan McCarthy
- NoBo Art District
- Parisa Tashakori
- Rick Dallago
- Tiffany Crowder
Boulder Arts Week also held an image contest and has selected the five images that best reflect Boulder’s unique cultural landscape. Those images are being used for the Boulder Arts Week marketing materials, including the website, social media account and posters.
