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Starving artists in Colorado no more?

Durango creatives could get housing
Elizabeth Kinahan works Monday afternoon at Studio &, 1027 Main Avenue. The state of Colorado is pioneering a program to create affordable housing for artists, and Durango is a prime city to participate. The first test program is scheduled for Trinidad.

DENVER – Durango has been identified as a competitive area for a new effort that would provide the first-ever state-driven program offering affordable housing to artists.

Space to Create aims at developing affordable housing and work space for artists and arts organizations. Colorado would pioneer the program, which was announced Monday.

Much of the focus is on rural Colorado. State officials said nine projects would be launched in eight rural regions of Colorado. The first test program is scheduled for Trinidad. After that, regions would be prioritized based on readiness, interest, commitment of local resources and housing demands.

Margaret Hunt, director of Colorado Creative Industries, said Durango is in a region identified by the Department of Local Affairs that is considered a competitive site for the project.

“Durango, I think, would be in a position to have a really competitive shot at that because you have that concentration of artisan creative sector,” Hunt said.

Local governments and communities would need to contribute their own resources as well, which could come through public-private partnerships, including charitable opportunities. Hunt spoke to community leaders about a year ago in Durango, focused on the STEAM Park, a community project that would provide a riverfront venue for arts programs.

“What is the community or the town, what skin are they going to put in the game?” Hunt said state officials are looking for. “That will really help determine which community is most ready to launch this initiative.”

The development projects would be mixed-use, blending affordable housing and work space for artists and their families with nonresidential space for businesses and organizations.

Cristie Scott, executive director of Durango Arts Center, was excited to learn of the potential opportunity for Durango. City officials are examining all planning options for Durango, especially as the cost of living has increased while development has lagged, causing prices to soar.

“Artists work several jobs to make it here, and they love it here, and there really is a nice vibrant community. But it’s becoming more and more expensive,” Scott said. “We’re going to price ourselves out of our creative economy if we’re not careful.”

Elizabeth Kinahan, co-owner of Durango-based Studio &, a studio and gallery operated by five artists, said she would like the affordable housing and workspace to also offer artists the opportunity to sell their work.

“That would be a whole extra step so the artists could actually be selling out of their house and have it be a place where they make tourist traffic,” said Kinahan, who paints portraits of domesticated animals.

She rejects the notion of the “starving artist,” pointing out that artists are often quite business savvy.

“I don’t think that it is as real as many people believe it to be. I think that the arts are thriving, and I think that to be a nonstarving artist, you just have to get a little more creative with your marketing and getting your work out there,” Kinahan said. “I don’t know a whole lot of starving artists myself. I know a lot of thriving artists.”

pmarcus@durangoherald.com



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