Arts programs get boost from Pikes Peak Community Foundation | Arts & Entertainment

Months after artwork has been hung for public viewing and the curtain has dropped on a theatrical finale, the Experiential Arts Collaboration program is literally all middle and high school students at the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind talk about, says Allie Unker, art teacher for the school.

“They get excited about it all year long,” she said. “They can’t stop talking about it.”

For the third year, a new $15,000 grant from the Pikes Peak Community Foundation is funding the program in its entirety and ensuring the collaboration continues between the school and the Fine Arts Center at Colorado College.

“Our partnership with the Colorado School of the Deaf and Blind is incredibly special and deeply meaningful to the Fine Arts Center,” said Executive Director Nicole Herden. “It reflects our commitment to creating accessible, inclusive and enriching arts experiences for all members of our community.”

It’s one of two art-focused awards the foundation has made on the cusp of October being recognized as National Arts and Humanities Month.

“For many of our students, this is such an amazing opportunity — it’s a chance to express themselves creatively, build confidence and feel a sense of pride in their accomplishments,” Unker said. “It means a lot, and I’m grateful the foundation has made it possible.”

About 70 of the school’s 105 secondary students participate in the program that includes field trips to the Fine Arts Center and its Bemis Art School, where 10 potters’ wheels are kept busy spinning clay.

Also, visiting artists come to classrooms to teach students about art; this year will bring a local potter and a fiber artist.

The learning culminates with an art show at the Fine Arts Center and a student-curated theater performance with live music also by students at the end of the school year.

Last year’s performance was a theater-in-the-dark auditory experience by the School for the Deaf and the Blind. This year’s art exhibit, titled Threads of Connection, still can be seen at the Fine Arts Center.

Students write thank you notes at the end of the academic year to express their gratitude, Unker said.

The grant comes from funding from two deceased benefactors who specified that their endowments be used to support programs for people who are blind, deaf or have impairments, said Kevin Farley, spokesman for the Pikes Peak Community Foundation, which manages a total of $78 million in donated assets.

In addition to the arts, the foundation’s areas of focus include conservation efforts such as trail improvements, emergency response for El Paso and Teller counties, and health and human services.

“These two separate funds have a very narrow scope, and we take very seriously their intentions,” Farley said. “This project creates accessible experiences for students, which we think honors the intent of both of these donors.”

Another grant of $20,000 went to the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region’s program called LEVEL UP! The program started last year to help starving artists prosper by addressing key challenges that arts, nonprofits and creative businesses face, such as audience development, business expansion and marketing.

The money is pulled from the foundation’s Fund for the Arts, which was founded in 2005 and has distributed more than $600,000 in grants to arts organizations, Farley said.

LEVEL UP! is the only program of its kind in the area, emphasizing economic development for the creative sector, said Angela Seals, the Cultural Office for the Pikes Peak Region’s executive director.

This is the first big grant for the initiative that costs about $60,000 annually, she said. Other support has come from El Pomar Foundation and Alpine Bank.

“The support of the Pikes Peak Community Foundation for the Cultural Office’s efforts to strengthen the creative economy is a powerful statement,” she said.

“Informed by solid strategy and listening to community needs, both of our organizations are working together to benefit creatives because we value their impact and understand their place in the future of our region.”