Art doesn’t care if you ate too much pie or your pants don’t fit. It doesn’t care if you sneaked a smoke to escape the house during the holidays, or if you spent too much money. The odds are good that you’ve already decided to clean up your act as part of your debut into 2024, and art is here to welcome you, in whatever shape you’re in.

Want to feel better about your body? Join figure drawing classes on Tuesday nights with Mike Scieszka and learn how to see and truly appreciate the human form. It’s nothing short of a miracle, in its shadow shapes and graceful contours. Buy bigger clothes and forgive yourself. You’re beautiful. Perhaps a little extra holiday weight just means more to love.

Want to feel rich? Get involved in a live performance. You’ll find yourself surrounded by encouraging friends who will lift you up as you step out! Every one of your talents will shine like the gifts they are, and you will revel in prosperity as you share these gifts with a grateful and receptive audience. Your talent is truly the gift that keeps on giving. The Durango Snowdown Follies are on their way, and the word on the street is that the talent lineup this year is the best one yet.

Want to fall in love? Prevailing wisdom says that self-love is the best path to true happiness. There’s no better gift to yourself than that of a creative pursuit. Being creative and making something beautiful or interesting or expressive or even bananas-crazy is your highest and greatest power as a human on planet Earth. Exercise it. Find something that lights you up. You will walk taller and feel brighter. My guess is that with your newfound creative mojo, you will be pretty much irresistible to others. What you do with that animal magnetism is up to you.

Don’t forget the young ’uns in your life. Their world is also crazy for them after the holidays, but we don’t often stop to recognize this. They need a place to unwind, too, and find a safe place for creative expression. After school art and theater classes are usually just the ticket.

We have all the things you need right here downtown at the Durango Arts Center, from youth and adult art classes to community theater performances, film festivals and special events, to a gallery and local art exhibits all year long.

Seems there’s something just about every evening. There’s absolutely no pressure here. We get it – you need to do things in your own time and in your own way. Forget the usual new year’s rubric to crank up the self-improvement machine to 11. It won’t last anyhow, and soon you’ll be back to your old ways, regretting that overpriced gym membership you didn’t use. That’s OK, we don’t judge – we’re artists.

If you or a friend would benefit from engaging with the DAC or learning more, please email me to set a coffee date at brenda@durangoarts.org.

2024 Theater Season Theme: Murder, Mystery & Mayhem: Season passes and performance lineup available online.

Youth theater classes begin in January:

Email info@durangoarts.org.

Brenda Macon has been executive director of Durango Arts Center since 2018.