Panel Discussion on Artist Displacement

If you had the opportunity to attend BCAA's Annual Meeting in October, then you were greeted at the door by Nicolas Pinkowski, Chip Bollendonk, and Sarah Lafasto. They are students in CU's Leadership Minor Program who are using their engineering skills to study the issue of Artist Displacement. Anecdotally, artists and arts administrators have been noting a trend of artists who work/perform in Boulder moving out of the city to live, due to the shortage of affordable housing/studio space. These students have gathered and studied data from the IRS to factually describe the issue. 

We would like to build on the work that was initiated by the fall semester team. We know that artists are attracted to Boulder County but conditions are becoming increasingly challenging which, we expect, will eventually cause them to leave.  Cost of living and lack of venue/exhibit/rehearsal space make it difficult for artists to produce work. We are also interested in looking at other factors, such as lack of diversity and prohibitive city ordinances that may contribute to an inhospitable environment for the arts. As cities across the Front Range create Cultural Plans that are intended to outline strategies to increase sustainability for artists and arts organizations, we’re finding some gaps in the research and incorrect assumptions. We are interested in identifying the issues and imagining solutions so that Boulder County and cities along the Front Range can thrive as arts hubs.

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