HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023 - Cultural Resources Board - Annual ReportCULTURAL RESOURCES BOARD
ANNUAL REPORT - 2023
BACKGROUND
Cultural Resources Board
215 N. Mason St.
Fort Collins, CO 80524
970.416.4225
The Cultural Resources Board (CuRB) consists of seven members. Regular meetings were held at
The Lincoln Center on the fourth Thursday of the month. The November meeting was held on
November 16, 2023 and the December meeting was held on December 14, 2023, due to the
holidays. The April and August meetings were cancelled due to a lack of agenda items. The
July meeting was held at the Museum of Discovery and included a tour of the facility. The
September meeting was held at the Gardens on Spring Creek and included a tour of the facility
and gardens.
The Board receives monthly updates from Cultural Services staff and acts in an advisory capacity to
City Council and the Cultural Services Department that includes The Lincoln Center, the Fort
Collins Museum of Discovery, the Gardens on Spring Creek, Cultural Community Programs, and Art
in Public Places. The Boards’ specific advisory functions as defined in the City Ordinance No. 049,
2021 are:
(1)To advise and make recommendations to the Director of Cultural Services and Facilities
and the City Council as to rules, regulations, policies, administrative and budgetary matters
pertaining to the Cultural Services Department's programs, services and facilities and any
other cultural facility constructed or operated by the City.
(2)To review proposals for funding from the Cultural Development and Programming Account
and the Tourism Programming Account, following established and published guidelines, and to
submit recommendations regarding such proposals to the City Council to be approved by the
City Council by resolution.
(3)To advise and make recommendations to the City Manager regarding any proposed
revisions to the guidelines used by the Cultural Resources Board to make the funding
recommendations referred to in Paragraph (2) above.
(4)To assist, advise and make recommendations to the Director of Cultural Services and
Facilities and the City Council on arts and culture related matters and regarding opportunities
to promote awareness, understanding, and appreciation for the value of cultural resources in
the community.
Members who served in 2023 were Kelly Barber, Jessica MacMillan, Jean McGinnis, Vicki Fogel
Mykles, Nandini Singh, Audra Vaisbort, Timothy Vavra, and Leslie Walker. Leslie Walker served
as Chair and Vicki Fogel Mykles served as Vice Chair. The Council Liaison was Susan Gutowsky.
Staff Liaisons in 2023 were Jim McDonald, Director of Cultural Services and Solara Clark, Project
Coordinator. In the absence of a Cultural Services Director from October through December, Jack
Rogers, Kim Manajek and Nick Heimann attended the various meetings.
YEARLY HIGHLIGHTS - 2023
1. The Board administered three funding sessions for Fort Fund and recommended grants
for distribution as follows:
Project Support ll January 2023 $65,000 to 17 applicants
Project Support March 2023 $205,000 to 28 applicants
Organization Support May 2023 $185,000 to 9 applicants
Total: $455,000 awarded through 54 grants
2023 Fort Fund Recipients:
ACT Human Rights Film Festival
ARCINDA
Bas Bleu Theatre Company
Blast n’ Scrap
Body/Speak (CSU Dance)
Canyon Concert Ballet
Centennial Children's Chorus
Colorado Bach Ensemble
Control Group Productions
Dance Express
Debut Theatre Company
Foothills Symphonic Band
Fort Collins Children’s Theatre
Fort Collins Comic Con
Fort Collins Mural Project
Fort Collins Museum of Discovery
Fort Collins Musicians Association
Fort Collins Symphony Association
Fort Collins Wind Symphony
Friends of the Gardens on Spring Creek
Friends of the Symphony
Front Range Chamber Players
Global Village Museum of Arts & Cultures
Gregory Allicar Museum of Art
Health and Wellness Community Orchestra
High Performance Dance Theatre
Howdy Neighbor Events
IMPACT Dance Company
International Keyboard Odyssiad & Festival, Inc.
Larimer Choral Society
Launch: Community Through Skateboarding
Lincoln Center Support League
LuneAseas
Museum of Art | Fort Collins
National Association for Interpretation
New Horizons Band of Northern Colorado
Northern Colorado Equality
Northern Colorado Intertribal Pow-wow Assoc.
Off the Hook Arts
Openstage Theatre & Company
Opera Fort Collins Guild
Opera Fort Collins, Inc.
Poudre Landmarks Foundation, Inc.
Sound Affects Music
Sustainable Living Association
The Center for Fine Art Photography
Trees, Water & People
United Way of Larimer County
Wolverine Farm Publishing
2.CuRB members served as liaisons to events funded by Fort Fund, attending cultural events in the
community and virtually, lending support and assuring that the Fort Fund monies were being well
spent and acknowledged.
3.Over the past two years, CuRB members collaborated with staff to revise the Fort Fund grant
guidelines, in accordance with the FoCo Creates Arts and Culture Masterplan. The 2023 Cultural
Resources Board Work Plan specified the Board's responsibilities:
•IE 1.3a Assess and edit the Fort Fund guidelines, applications, and reporting documents
for clear, inclusive and welcoming language.
•STS 4.3a Evaluate current Fort Fund funding categories for alignment to the vision of Fort
Collins being a creative center and destination, engaging the entire community and
visitors.
•STS 4.3b Identify opportunities within Fort Fund to support a broad spectrum of creative
activities, ranging from those produced by previously supported and established nonprofits
to new funding opportunities in areas such as lifelong learning in the arts, artists-
entrepreneurs and capacity building.
•IE 1.3 Foster inclusion and equity within the City’s Fort Fund grant program and within the
Cultural Resources Board and Art in Public Places Board.
Following the development of these guidelines, two community meetings were held in March to
discuss the proposed changes with current grantees and the general public. The Board then refined
and finalized the guidelines. Afterward, a recommendation for their adoption was made to Kelly
DiMartino, the City Manager. Kelly DiMartino has approved of these changes. A community meeting
was held in October to inform the community of the new guidelines. These changes will come into
effect in the 2024 funding cycle.
4. CuRB members continued to support the Visit Fort Collin’s online events calendar and continued
to require Fort Fund grantees to list their events on the calendar.
The 2023 Cultural Resources Board Annual Report was approved by a vote of the Board on 12/14/2023.