Program Summary
The Creative Industries Summit is the annual event for Colorado creatives to connect, learn, and be inspired. More than 300 creative stakeholders from over 60 Colorado cities and towns attend the summit.
The two-day event offers exhibits, performances, networking opportunities, speakers, classes, and workshops.
The event is ideal for both early to late-career creative leaders including artists, board members, community leaders, creative entrepreneurs, creative industries advocates from all sectors, elected officials, emerging creatives, executive directors, municipal and nonprofit cultural workers, and program staff.
Save the date! The 2025 Colorado Creative Industries Summit will be held May 1-2 in the Grand Junction creative district!
Session proposals for the 2025 summit are now being accepted. To submit a proposal, please fill out this form no later than September 27, 2024. Email Libby Barbee (libby.barbee@state.co.us) for questions.
Overview
Type: Summit
For: Creatives and artists
Date: May 1-2, 2025
Location: Grand Junction
OEDIT division: Colorado Creative Industries
2024 CCI Summit Schedule Overview
Pueblo Convention Center
320 Central Main St, Pueblo, CO 81003
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Creative Districts Convening
- *For registered Creative District staff only
- Location: Fortino Grand Hall, Pueblo Convention Center
1:00 - 4:00 PM Change Leader Workshop
- *For registered Change Leader alumni only
- Location: Hero’s Pavilion, Pueblo Convention Center
4:00 - 6:00 PM Change Leader & Creative Districts Happy Hour (Sponsored by Visit Pueblo)
- *For registered Change Leader alumni and Creative District staff only
- Location: Blo Back Gallery, 131 Spring St, Pueblo, CO 81003
6:00 - 8:00 PM Change Leader Certification Dinner
- *For registered Change Leader alumni only
- Location: Fortino Grand Hall, Pueblo Convention Center
Thursday, May 9, 2024
9:00 - 10:30 AM Registration with coffee and light breakfast
- Location: Pueblo Convention Center
9:30 - 10:30 AM Coffee Chat with CCI Director, Josh Blanchard
- Location: Bernstein Brothers Room, Pueblo Convention Center
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Concurrent Sessions
- Locations: will be published in the program
- Colorado’s Evolving Arts & Culture Philanthropy: A Continuing Conversation to Share Progress, Ongoing Community Needs and Opportunities
- Healing Community Through Cross-Cultural Collaboration
- Demystifying the Public Art Process: from application to installation
- Belonging And Creative Cultivation (One Musician's Journey) with Antoine Zamundu
- From Groundwater Flows to Air Pollution: A Multimodal Dialogue Among Artists, Scientists and Communities
- Tour: Clay at the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center
12:30 - 2:00 PM Welcome Luncheon and Plenary Session
- Location: Fortino Grand Hall
- Colorado Inter-Tribal Dancers performance, presented by Colorado Native Organization
- Breaking Cultural Preservation Barriers, Presented by Lucha Martínez de Luna
- Song of Pueblo: Giving Power to Collaboration, Presented by Deborah Espinosa, Producer of Song of Pueblo, and Juan Espinosa, Artistic Director of Song of Pueblo Song of Pueblo performance, Directed by Mireya Rinna.
Performed by Dr. J. Michael Beck, Carlos Crull, Juan Espinosa, Felicia Gallegos, Mireya Rinna, Aavalajn Wiggins, Wayne Wilkinson
2:30 - 4:00 PM Concurrent Sessions and Tour
- Location: will be published in the program
- Advancing the Arts through Advocacy & Legislative Priorities
- Drop Dead Artists
- Building Welcoming Community Spaces: Perspectives from a Trio of Town Leaders
- Lights, Camera, Community: Resource Mapping and Networking for Creatives
- Tour: Williams' Studio
- Tour: Palette for Progress: Accessibility in our Built Environments
4:30 - 7:00 PM Van Gogh Shuttle Creative Corridor Tour
- Location: Various stops throughout downtown Pueblo; shuttle picks up in front of the Pueblo Convention Center
7:00 - 9:00 PM Neon Alley Welcome Reception (Sponsored by Visit Pueblo)
- Location: Neon Alley, downtown Pueblo
Friday, May 10, 2024
7:30-8:30 AM Grab and Go Breakfast
- Location: Pueblo Convention Center
8:00-8:30 AM Everyone Can Hum- Humming to Heal Interactive Activity
- Location: Meeting Room 1, Pueblo Convention Center
8:30-10:00 AM Concurrent Sessions
- Location: will be published in the program
- ART, TRANSPORTATION & THE EXPERIENCE ECONOMY
- Addressing a Vital Community Need Through your Art Form
- Expanding Opportunities for People with Disabilities - Accessibility Case Studies
- Rest as Resistance: A Community Nap for Deep Healing
- Weaving Lived Experience, Dance and Dialogue to Craft Spaces of Belonging
- Tour: Revitalizing Communities Through Public Art: A Journey of 30 Years
10:30 AM-12:00 PM Concurrent Sessions and Tour
- Location: will be published in the program
- A Pueblo Salsa. Ingredients: Engaging community in cultural arts while connecting the traditional with the contemporary
- Who Owns Public Art?
- Communicating Your Vision: Grant Writing in the Creative Sector
- Exploring Pueblo's Soundscape Through Community-Engaged Research
- Tour: Artistry Along the Arkansas: Guided Tour of Pueblo's Levee Murals
12:30 - 2:30 PM Governor’s Creative Leadership Awards Luncheon
- Location: Fortino Grand Hall
- Nolen Bivens, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts
- 2024 Governor’s Creative Leadership Awards Presentation
- CSU Pueblo Ballet Folklórico Performance
- Colorado State Poet Laureate, Andrea Gibson, Performance
- Pikes Peak Region Poet Laureate, Ashley Cornelius, Performance
3:00 - 4:30 PM Concurrent Sessions and Tour
- Location: will be published in the program
- Creative Routes: Cultural Trails and Colorado's Cultural Tourism
- DBA: Doing Business as an Artist
- Salida Circus with a Purpose presents: "How to Build Your Own Big Top!"
- Building community + capacity: Cultivating future arts & culture leaders through values-based internships
- Tour: DesertArtLAB: Chicanx Environmental Art
4:30 - 4:45 PM Goodbye and Final Remarks
- Location: Visit Pueblo Welcome Center, next door to the Pueblo Convention Center
Session highlights:
Healing Community Through Cross-Cultural Collaboration
Storytellers of the Ancestral Red Road (SOAR) is a Southern Colorado collective of traditional Indigenous teachers and allies, sharing cultural wisdom in multi-generational educational settings and practicing well-being and community-focused healing through creative expression. This immersive session will feature Indigenous Wisdom, a presentation of the cross-cultural collaborations the organization has facilitated over the past two years, and an experiential community-building component. While the session centers around Indigenous knowledge, SOAR encourages our non-native community members to join us in learning what acting as an ally of service can look like.
Colorado’s Evolving Arts & Culture Philanthropy: A Continuing Conversation to Share Progress, Ongoing Community Needs and Opportunities
First offered at the 2021 CCI Summit, this ongoing conversation between arts and culture creators, administrators and funders provides an open forum to reflect on the impact of changing times on the creative sector, the role of arts in meeting evolving needs, and how arts philanthropy must change to support the sector. The Philanthropy Colorado Arts & Culture Funders Group continues to collect feedback and track shifts in funder practices. This session will report on how arts philanthropy has progressed with actions taken and changes yet to come, with time for ongoing candid conversation on the continued evolution of philanthropy in service to the community.
Demystifying the Public Art Process: from application to installation
This session will feature a conversation between two longtime public art administrators alongside practicing public artists, who will shed light on the public art process. Topics covered will include applying, preparing proposals, contracting, working with fabricators and subcontractors, and more. Session will allow ample time for questions with the goal to make artists feel more comfortable with public art commissions.
And more!
DesertArtLAB: Chicanx Environmental Art
DesertArtLAB is an internationally recognized Chicanx environmental art collaborative based in Pueblo, CO. Their work promotes Indigenous/Chicanx perspectives on ecological practice, food sovereignty, self-determination, and climate change. In this session, DesertArtLAB will share the development of their project from its roots in Phoenix to its realization in Pueblo. They will discuss how development in desert cities such as Pueblo create new homes/opportunities in the Southwest but also strip away parts of the natural environment and its rich history. The session will explore how DesertArtLAB’s land art practice is sustainably revitalizing degraded land to create ecological and cultural value of indigenous desert ecological systems as a response to our current climate realities. An on-site reception will follow this participatory discussion.
Revitalizing Communities Through Public Art: A Journey of 30 Years
Through our public art installations, workshops, and collaborative projects, we have witnessed the positive impact on the community. Crime rates have decreased, businesses have thrived, and a renewed sense of pride has emerged among the residents. Our art has become a catalyst for social change, igniting a sense of ownership and responsibility among community members. The transformation of once-neglected spaces into vibrant art installations has spurred conversations, encouraged unity, and sparked a sense of belonging.
Artistry Along the Arkansas: Guided Tour of Pueblo's Levee Murals
Join us for an immersive tour along the picturesque Arkansas River levee in Pueblo, Colorado. Led by mural artist and guide, Karen Foglesong, this session offers a unique opportunity to witness the stunning transformation of the levee wall into a vibrant canvas of over 60 newly created murals. Gain insights into the artistic process, stories behind the murals, and the rich history of this cultural landmark. Discover the intersection of art, heritage, and community spirit in this inspiring excursion.
Palette for Progress: Accessibility in our Built Environments
Join us for an accessibility walkthrough of the convention center, both interior and exterior. Together, we’ll identify and discuss both the positive and negative aspects of the physical environment in relation to accessibility and basic requirements of the ADA. Participants can take this knowledge and process back to their built environments in order to start taking steps in improving the accessibility of their buildings, signage, and accommodations for visitors of their space(s).
The Arts For All: Creating Access and Community Through Clay at the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center
During this session, participants are welcome to explore the Sangre de Cristo Arts & Conference Center’s Clay Studio and current exhibits at their leisure. Throughout their visit to the Clay Studio, participants are welcome to speak with Education & Programs Manager, Cayla Salas, and Art Center Instructor, Cristine Boyd, about the studio, its history, the mission of the arts center, equipment, class offerings, and the trends and patterns they have seen in guest participation. Cayla Salas is able to discuss the Art Center’s approach to running a multifaceted community studio which offers classes and programs for a diverse range of guests and target audiences, as well as efforts the studio is making toward increasing accessibility. In addition to their visit to the Clay Studio, participants are welcome to enjoy and explore the Art Center’s multiple fine art galleries, which are located in the same building.
Williams’ Ceramic Studio Tour
Ken Williams will give pottery demos and show how we make clay, mix glazes, fire the kilns etc. Ken and his wife Judith began a collaborative career in the arts in 1969 and turned their passion into a thriving family business. Their focus on ceramic started in college and became their lifetime pursuit when they established their studio. They soon had an opportunity to create a brick sculpture and build a clientele for their pottery business.
The Williams continue to be very excited about the possibilities and are drawn to the versatility and expressive potential of clay. Over four decades of work within this medium and working closely with Summit Brick Company, has given them and their four daughters (Alison Musso, Audrey Williams – Durham, Gwyn Williams and Brooke Williams) rich insight into the many aspects of ceramics; from massive sound barrier walls to coffee mugs. They like the challenge of integrating our work with the man-made and natural world. They see their art as a connection between these two. The Williams are intrigued by how their personal expression is shaped by the requirements and methods involved in creating public artwork and still find enjoyment in creating personal works of art that became part of families lives and homes.
CCI has limited discounted rooms available at the Courtyard Marriott and SpringHill Suites next to the Pueblo Convention Center. You will receive special links to reserve your room in your confirmation email. There are of course numerous wonderful lodging options in the Pueblo area if you decide not to book at either of those hotels.
If you are not ready to say goodbye, extend your stay and enjoy a local art exhibit in the Welcome Center (Hosted by Visit Pueblo).
Don't miss Pueblo’s special after-summit evening! Plan to relax, enjoy, and be entertained on the beautiful Riverwalk immediately following the summit closing. Join Pueblo artists, crafts-persons, and performers for our special After Summit Event—the Faux-First Friday Art, Food & Drink Crawl. Starting at 4:45 pm, enjoy a local art exhibit in the Welcome Center with our local Mariachi Lobos band performing right outside. Stroll the Riverwalk, visiting the booths of more Pueblo artists and makers, while enjoying the live performances of 5 different musicians spread out over the Riverwalk. All Summit attendees will be given a passport to attend this event. Your passport will grant you discounts at local businesses on the Riverwalk. The more businesses you visit, the more drawings you will earn to receive special Pueblo mementos. First prize grants the winner a free dinner at the Courtyard and a weekend-stay at the Marriott. Buy that Mother's Day gift you almost forgot about. Let Pueblo provide a night to remember.
Platinum Level
- Bonfils-Stanton Foundation
- KUNC and The Colorado Sound
- Visit Pueblo
Gold Level
- Denver Meow Wolf
- Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority (CECFA)
Silver Level
- CU Boulder Office for Public and Community Engaged Scholarship
- University of Denver | University College | Arts and Culture
- Denver Botanic Gardens
- Arts Management at Colorado State University
- Startup Colorado
- Margaret Hunt
Contributing Sponsor
- Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA)
- Colorado Office of Film, Television, and Media
- Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways
Community Partner Levels
- Sticker Giant
Exhibitor Sponsors
- Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center
- Creede Repertory Theatre
- Real Academy of Art
The summit is an annual opportunity for experienced creatives and emerging leaders to sit side-by-side, learn from each other, and improve Colorado’s statewide creative community.
All sponsors have the opportunity to include one giveaway in conference bags at their own expense.
For the full sponsorship packet or to learn more, please email Libby Barbee at libby.barbee@state.co.us.
Platinum Sponsor 1: Governor's Creative Leadership Awards Luncheon– $5,500
This sponsorship supports the performers and keynote speakers for the Governor’s Creative Leadership
Awards luncheon. As a platinum sponsor, you will receive:
- Five conference registrations
- One vendor table
- Name and linked logo recognition as a Platinum sponsor in event program, website, on-site signage and individually with selected sponsorship option
- Reserved seating at head table during large group events/meals and Governor’s Awards
- Opportunity to briefly address all attendees during luncheon event
Platinum Sponsor 2: Friday Plenary – $4,500
This sponsorship supports the performers and keynote speakers for the Friday luncheon plenary session. As a platinum sponsor, you will receive:
- Five conference registrations
- One vendor table
- Name and linked logo recognition as a Platinum sponsor in event program, website, on-site signage and individually with selected sponsorship option
- Reserved seating at head table during large group events/meals and Governor’s Awards
- Opportunity to briefly address all attendees during luncheon event
Gold Sponsor 1: Opening Reception – $3,000
Attendees will tour the Pueblo Creative Corridor on Thursday evening and convene in Neon Alley for a welcome reception. This sponsorship supports local pop up performances and arts programming during this evening event. As a gold sponsor, you will receive:
- Three conference registrations
- One vendor table
- Name and linked logo recognition as a Platinum sponsor in event program, website, on-site signage and individually with selected sponsorship option
- Reserved seating at head table during large group events/meals and Governor’s Awards
Gold Sponsor 2: Arts Engagement – $3,000
This sponsorship supports up to 3 regional artists in providing engaging hands-on arts experiences during the summit. As a gold sponsor, you will receive:
- Three conference registrations
- One vendor table
- Name and linked logo recognition as a Platinum sponsor in event program, website, on-site signage and individually with selected sponsorship option
- Reserved seating at head table during large group events/meals and Governor’s Awards
Gold Sponsor 3: Arts Immersion – $3,000
This sponsorship supports up to 2 art installations showcasing the innovative work of Colorado creatives. As a gold sponsor, you will receive:
- Three conference registrations
- One vendor table
- Name and linked logo recognition as a Platinum sponsor in event program, website, on-site signage and individually with selected sponsorship option
- Reserved seating at head table during large group events/meals and Governor’s Awards
Silver Sponsor 1: Sponsorship of a selected session – $1,500
There are ten of these sponsorships available. The sponsoring organization selects a session from the summit program line up and has the opportunity to briefly address attendees of this session. Sessions are identified by a call for proposals and selected by a review committee. Sessions available for sponsorship will be available in February 2024. As a silver sponsor, you will receive:
- Two conference registrations
- Name and linked logo recognition as a Platinum sponsor in event program, website, on-site signage and individually with selected sponsorship option
- Reserved seating at head table during large group events/meals and Governor’s Awards
Silver Sponsor 2: Sponsorship of a selected session – $1,500
This sponsorship provides six need-based scholarships for conference attendees. There are five of these sponsorships available. As a silver sponsor, you will receive:
- Two conference registrations
- Name and linked logo recognition as a Platinum sponsor in event program, website, on-site signage and individually with selected sponsorship option
- Reserved seating at head table during large group events/meals and Governor’s Awards
Contributing Sponsor – $750
As a contributing sponsor, you will receive:
- One conference registration
- Name and linked logo recognition as a Bronze sponsor in event program, website and on-site signage
Exhibitor – $500
As an exhibitor, you will receive:
- One conference registration
- One vendor table
- Company name on website as exhibitor
2024- Pueblo
2023 – Crested Butte
2021 – Steamboat Springs
2019 – Salida
2018 – Greeley
2017 – Breckenridge
2016 – Carbondale
2015 – Fort Collins
2014 – Salida
Program Manager
