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On the plus side

After upswing year, arts groups eye challenges, future

Rocky Mountain News

Published February 16, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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They're on a roll: The 13 arts and culture groups surveyed for the seventh annual State of the Arts report combined for attendance of 6.08 million, the highest total since the Rocky started tracking the groups in 2000. No single event drove the increase from 2006, but the new addition at the Denver Art Museum did increase attendance there by more than 300 percent. And there's more good news ahead after voters in 2007 approved nearly $120 million in bonds for improvements at Boettcher Concert Hall, the Botanic Gardens and the Museum of Nature and Science.

Cherry Creek Arts Festival

* What went well: The festival built its reserves to $450,000, a fund that can be tapped if bad weather wipes out the event. Director Terry Adams said the addition of fireworks proved popular.

* Challenges: The festival lost some attendance because of rain on two of the three afternoons.

* What's next: Expect fireworks to return for the 18th annual event (July 4-6). Adams said there will be continued focus on year-round programming in metro-area schools.

Denver Art Museum

* What went well: The museum ended its fiscal year with attendance of 630,000, about 30,000 above what officials said was needed to balance the budget. It also boosted its budget and wiped out its debt. "I don't think I've ever felt better about where we are and where we're going," director Lewis Sharp said.

* Challenges: Went through a wrenching staff reduction in April. Membership grew slowly; Sharp said he'd like to see it stabilize at about 35,000 households.

* What's next: The museum's fall season (October through December) attracted 168,000 visitors, and there are high hopes for upcoming shows such as "Inspiring Impressionism" (Feb. 23) and "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt" (April 13).

Denver Museum of Nature & Science

* What went well: The museum scored big when voters approved $50 million in bonds to fix existing infrastructure and build a collections facility and new areas for education and science. "It's (2007) probably the most significant year at the museum in a long time, simply because of the bond issue," President and CEO George Sparks said.

* Challenges: "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" brought in 424,637 visitors (100,000 above projections), but 2007 attendance overall was down after the 2006 blowout with "Body Worlds 2," which drew 688,000. Membership, too, slipped, which officials expected after strong one-time sign-ups in 2006.

* What's next: Officials just announced the new Expedition Health installation, an $8 million project of which $4 million is funded by Kaiser Permanente Colorado. It will replace the Hall of Life, set to close April 27.

Arvada Center

* What went well: The Black Box Theatre showcased serious work in its first full year of programming. Most important was the September arrival of new executive director Gene Sobczak, former executive vice president of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.

* Challenges: Attendance and subscriptions suffered a minor dip, which Sobczak attributes to increased performances because of the Black Box. Overwhelmed patrons chose not to renew their subscriptions, and the competing theaters siphoned audience from each other.

* What's next: Sobczak wants to renew emphasis on development, increasing the department's staffing. He also hopes to offer online versions of classes such as yoga.

Central City Opera

* What went well: The company celebrated its 75th anniversary by staging its first four-production season, including the premiere of Poet Li Bai. The opera subsequently was well-received in China and will be staged in Rome this summer.

* Challenges: "We learned where the strain is (of adding a fourth production)," general director Pat Pearce said. "Was it worth it to do four? Absolutely." But the company will do three this summer.

* What's next: Co-hosting the National Performing Arts Convention in June; celebrating former general director John Moriarty's 30 years with the company at a June performance by Denyce Graves.

Children's Museum of Denver

* What went well: Rising attendance, which museum director Tom Downey attributes to "a million little things," has the place bursting at the seams. Successes also include a show on the Blue Man Group last summer and a new 911 Interactive call center in the fire station display.

* Challenges: The 11,000-square-foot museum needs to grow, so officials are negotiating with the city to purchase the plaza in front of the building and find ways to expand programming into Gates-Crescent Park.

* What's next: The museum turns 35 this year and will celebrate with a birthday party/fundraiser. It will host the Association of Children's Museums annual conference in April and have a show on construction in July.

Denver Botanic Gardens

* What went well: Attendance grew to a record number for the second straight year. Four employees were added, and Brian Vogt was hired as CEO. Highly attended events (besides the sold-out concert series) included the Big Bugs Eco-sculptures and the seven-month- long Chapungu stone sculpture exhibit from Zimbabwe. The facility opened Denver's first publicly accessible "green" roof above the gift shop, and more than $1 million in improvements were made.

* Challenges: A capital campaign hopes to raise $45.5 million over three to five years for further improvements detailed in the facility's new Master Development Plan.

* What's next: "Urban Nature" (April 19-Nov. 30) will focus on the ways the urban world relates to nature. The $18.6 million in bond funds approved by Denver voters will be used to replace the gardens' 40-year-old irrigation system and build a new 34,000-square-foot greenhouse and parking structure. The Chatfield facility is adding a tree house and water feature for kids and will host an inaugural World Music Festival in September.

Opera Colorado

* What went well: Two new productions (Elixir of Love and Masked Ball) were co-produced with other American companies; Opera Colorado also underwent a smooth leadership transition, with Peter Russell succeeded by Greg Carpenter as general director.

* Challenges: Presenting a four-production season in 2007-08, with John Adams' Nixon in China as a major part of the National Performing Arts Convention, which the company will co-host in June.

* What's next: A live recording of Nixon for the Naxos label; presenting the company's first concert opera: Wagner's Flying Dutchman with James Morris.

Denver Zoo

* What went well: Attendance was the third-highest in the past decade; the monthly membership count of 63,000 in June was the highest in the zoo's 111-year history. Construction was completed on the high-tech Avian Propagation Facility, and five staff positions were added.

* Challenges: Tragedy stuck in February when zookeeper Ashlee Pfaff was killed by a jaguar. The death of Clayton Freiheit, the zoo's nationally known president of 37 years, left a leadership void that was filled in November when Craig Piper, an 11-year zoo administration veteran, was named president.

* What's next: Animals joining the zoo in 2008 will include two male gorillas and a male Malayan tapir. The zoo will continue fundraising toward building the 10-acre Asian Tropics habitat for elephants, rhinoceros and tapirs.

Butterfly Pavilion

* What went well: Funding for the facility was up more than $200,000 over the previous year. The major improvement was the addition of the exterior Discovery Garden at a cost of $377,000. The site boasts xeriscaping, more than 1,200 plants to attract native butterfly species, a water feature, gazebos and a small amphitheater.

* Challenges: Membership declined, in part because the price of family membership increased to $65 from $45. CEO Bob Bonacci is in search of funding to hire a full- time development director; he adds that the building is aging and infrastructure investments will be needed soon.

* What's next: Look for a stronger emphasis on environmental concerns and endangered habitats in educational programs. Bonacci hopes to add the world's largest insect, the weta from New Zealand, to the attractions.

Comments

  • February 17, 2008

    2:44 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    moviedream writes:

    Congratulations on Opera's 75th Anniversary.
    That is a remarkable milestone. They should consider
    getting a video biography or historical documentary made about their story.

    Best wishes,

    RJ McHatton
    Inventive Productions
    "the Video Biography Company"
    www.inventiveproductions.com