BRIGHTON —The city is working to promote its deep-rooted collection of hundreds of local artists who live and work in Brighton by establishing mainstay events and programs that help those artists build their names and businesses.
“There’s so many artists who are underfunded when they begin their business,” said Laurie Lozano-Maier, coordinator for Brighton’s Eye for Arts program, an arts and culture affiliate for the city’s arts, culture and tourism division. “What I foresee is being able to help these artists get started by getting their name out there, giving them opportunities to show their work and giving them the opportunities to sell their work.”
The Eye for Arts program started in 2011 and was created as an opportunity for visual artists living in or connected to Brighton to display their work in City Hall for four-month installations.
To date, there are nearly 400 artists registered for the program, and more than half of them live in Brighton. The rest either used to live there, or know people who live there now.
“The amount of artists who live and work here was kind of like our best kept secret,” said David Gallegos, event planner and arts and culture coordinator for Brighton. “For our last (Eye for Arts) show, we had around 500 entries that just wanted to get in, and 90 percent of them are Brighton residents — and that’s just the visual arts community.”
Sensing a need for publicity and business resources for these artists in the city, Lozano-Maier utilized a grant from the city’s lodging tax to refine the . She said there are many talented and successful artists working hard every day to do what they love, but for many artists, that income is not enough to consider it a living.
The site is full of resources for artists in the city, including the Brighton Small Business Development Center, which has information, business advisers and many resources that will help artists navigate through the licensing and permitting requirements, and other regulatory issues, of starting and managing a small business.
“We are accomplishing so much to provide those avenues for all of our artists,” Lozano-Maier said. “With the creative arts, you have so many potential opportunities for young people and seniors to get involved, and it’s something that we want to see happening in Brighton, and it is happening.”
Robert Gallegos, 66, has lived in Brighton for about 12 years, but has been painting and photographing as a hobby and method of therapy for more than 15 years. He said the city has helped him turn his work into a business through its programming.
“I’ve had 11 pieces in the Eye for Arts program, and that was really a gateway for me to show as an artist,” he said. “I was able to sell several pieces after the fact … I actually had an eye doctor call who needed artwork for the clinic. I showed him what I had, and they purchased eight of my pieces.”
The grant also helped the city plan its first arts and culture symposium, which was held at the Armory Performing Arts Center last week.
The symposium featured the work of about 20 local artists who set up small displays of their work in the loft and atrium of the armory event center at 300 Strong St.
The center stage in the main showroom hosted dance troupes and musicians from all over Colorado throughout the day in an effort to paint Brighton as a hub for local arts and culture.
The city is also planning its first arts festival, which Lozano-Maier said will be held outside City Hall next spring, and will feature the work of at least 100 local artists. She said the city will also roll out a public art sculpture walk at the same time.
“We want to let people know that we can become a hub for arts and culture in this region,” David Gallegos said. “We also want to foster that fellowship and community with all of the arts and culture organizations throughout Colorado. It’s a big job, but this symposium is proof that we can successfully take the small steps necessary to join that network.”
Megan Mitchell: 303-954-2650, mmitchell@denverpost.com or @Mmitchelldp
