It’s that time when we reflect on the events of the last year, and the world of Arts & Entertainment certainly didn’t lack for excitement in 2023 – local theater companies, authors, musicians, visual artists and artistically inclined residents did some pretty cool things over the last 365 days.
Here are just a few that stuck out in 2023.
This past spring, Fort Lewis College launched its inaugural monthlong celebration of the arts with a show at the Community Concert Hall featuring the FLC String Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Choir and Colla Voce Singers, along with community musicians in a performance of Handel’s oratorio “Messiah.” Throughout the month of April, FLC celebrated the arts with many free events and a few ticketed concerts and plays.
With the retirement of C. Scott Hagler from top post as executive director of 3rd Ave. Arts earlier this year, an opportunity arose to discuss a merger with the San Juan Symphony. After months of discussion, key people in 3rd Ave. Arts and the San Juan Symphony signed an agreement on April 11. Final details of the merger took effect on July 1.
“I’m very pleased about the merging of these two organizations,” Hagler said. “From the very beginning, 3rd Ave. Arts has provided opportunities to perform for local and regional musicians, and I couldn’t be happier that these opportunities, along with our educational programs, will continue and grow.”
The former Basin Printing building went from empty to full of life – and art – for a month in November when it was taken over by Rodeo Odyssey’s SPACE Pop-Up Arts Market. The project was headed up by Emily Ciszek and Marissa Hunt, Durango artists who saw a need for more space for local creators to show and sell their work. They were able to rent the Basin building for a month thanks to a $24,500 grant from the arts and culture allocation of the city of Durango’s lodgers tax fund.
“One of the big things about this space is bringing the community together, making it fun,” said Hunt, who is deputy director at Manna when she’s not at SPACE or working on her art. “It’s cool because in Durango you feel like you know everyone, right? And then all of a sudden, there’s just like 20 people you’ve never met before being like, ‘here’s my art,’ And the artists within here are making connections, too. People have been coming in with heir laptop. There have been people coming in and crocheting and knitting. It’s awesome.”
In August, Carol Fleisher was named new executive director of Durango Film, taking the helm of the film festival from Joanie Leonard, who ran it for 18 years. The festival is slated to run Feb. 28 to March 3 in various venues around Durango.
And when it comes to all things film, Fleisher knows what she’s talking about: Not only has she been an award-winning filmmaker for more than 40 years, she owns her own production company, has worked for Rocky Mountain PBS and teaches film at Fort Lewis College.
“I’m a filmmaker and a festival goer as well as a festival lover, and I think I can bring all my passions together in this job to help other filmmakers and also our community,” she said. “It’s a really exciting opportunity.”
Longtime KSUT employee Stasia Lanier, who did just about everything at the station – from being station manager, music director, digital content editor, and managing the Four Corners social media and a lot of the website content for the last several years – signed off March 2. She leaves behind a legacy that includes not only a longtime on-air presence, but also, according to the station’s website, helping grow KSUT into a regional media organization.
“It’s really an honor and a pleasure to have worked for KSUT and connected with people through our community. And so I’m so super grateful,” she said. “I could not be more grateful for having had this experience and getting to live here. I had no idea that this would be where I would end up, but I couldn’t be happier that it is.”
After 25 years leading the Durango Choral Society, Linda Mack Berven has decided to change things up. Word got out that she was retiring after the annual holiday concert on Dec. 3. Not true: “I’ve reflected on my life in music, and I needed a change,” she said. “Our December concert is not a farewell, I’m in transition … I’m not leaving. I’ll be singing. I’ll conduct occasionally. I’ll do clinics for singers,” she said. “I’ll be a pianist as needed, or you might be seated next to me in the audience.”
So, there you have it. Now, let’s raise a glass to 2023, and here’s to an artsy – and entertaining 2024.
katie@durangoherald.com
