After completing 17 local art projects in 2021, the Durango Art Brigade is looking toward the possibility of securing new funding to present more art to the community in 2022.
Durango Art Brigade is a partnership between the Durango Creative District, the city of Durango’s Creative Economy Commission, Local First, the Durango business improvement district and the Dumpster Beautification Project.
The brigade hopes that new money the city has collected through its lodgers tax increase will be allocated to help with more art projects in 2022.
“Not only are we working to fund these projects, but we also want to make creativity accessible for all,” said Durango Creative District Director Hayley Kirkman. “We want to make Durango feel like a safe space for all people to live.”
In the city’s lodgers tax increase that was approved last April, 14% of money collected will be allocated for arts and cultural organizations.
“There’s so many ideas for what could come out of the lodgers tax dispersion,” she said. “It seems like a big pot of money, but at the end of the day, we are going to have to be very discerning as a community with how it gets dispersed.”
In early January, the Brigade will meet to discuss grants to apply for to fund 2022 projects, as well as see how much funding was received through the lodgers tax fund for arts.
“Right now, the creative district is operating on a lean budget, and we’re trying to get creative with the projects and programs that we’re able to make happen,” Kirkman said.
Future goals include getting a quicker start on grants and continuing to fundraise, she said.
Since the Brigade began in 2020, 30 community art projects have been completed. This past year, more than 60 artists applied to have their art projects funded through the Art Brigade. Kirkman said it was difficult to decide which projects to fund.
“We’re looking for unique proposals,” she said. “It’s fine and well to have people want to display photography of mountains, but what gets us intrigued as a committee is thought-provoking work and things that are unusual to find here in Durango.”
She said about 90% of the projects the Brigade does are temporary, but the remaining 10% are permanent fixtures.
The Durango Art Brigade stems from discussions between the Creative District and the city of Durango’s Creative Economy Commission.
“This is the type of project where we’re hoping to lower the barriers to creation, especially for young artists and kids,” she said. “I see this as a really powerful program we’ve launched, and want to continue to run.”
Kirkman and Creative Economy Commission board member Elsa Jagniecki worked to form the Durango Art Brigade largely as a response to the pandemic and racial injustice being felt nationwide in 2020, Kirkman said.
“Other parts of the country were spawning these pop-up projects that didn’t need a whole lot of money to be impactful, and that really inspired us to launch this,” she said.
Kirkman commended the Creative Economy Commission on its ability to provide money for local art projects. The Creative Economy Commission works with an annual funding of around $20,000 to $30,000 depending on what it receives through grants.
“Grants can go as high as $5,000 per project, which is pretty small for big murals and sculptures,” she said. “It’s amazing how artists have leapt to the opportunity.”
Kirkman said as the creative district director she’s always looking for new business owners or property managers who have space where they would like to feature artwork.
“I have a ton of artists that want to work and have ideas, I just need blank canvases,” she said.
njohnson@durangoherald.com
