The objectives of BCAA's Arts Advocacy Program are to inform the arts community about issues impacting their lives now and in the future and encourage their activism. This includes: voter registration; publicizing the value of the arts and the need for government funding, to candidates for public office, identifying their position on support for the arts, and educating the community accordingly; monitoring legislative activities; and alerting the community about the impact of pending legislation. The goal is to remain aware of legislative issues, stay in constant contact with policy makers to educate and influence their policy decisions.

Click here to subscribe to Arts Advocacy Alerts

The Community Cultural Plan

Boulder's City Council voted unanimously in November 2015 to adopt The Community Cultural Plan!  The plan launched on January 1, 2016. The City's Office of Arts and Culture is planning a celebration to roll-out the plan early in the year - stay tuned!

Thank you to everyone who engaged in the process through surveys, conversations, convening and feedback on the drafts!

Boulder Civic Area Project

The Civic Area concept planning and public parkland design has begun.  This is the land in front of the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. You can share your ideas for the space and/or attend a public workshop about the process.  For more information, click here.

Arts for Colorado Arts Advocacy Day

Join us for Arts for Colorado Arts Advocacy Day. AFC makes it easy for you to tell your legislators why the arts deserve to be funded. Connect and network with fellow arts advocates and learn more about innovative advocacy tools.  

Wednesday, March 2 from 7:30 - 4 pm

First Baptist Church, 1373 Grant Street, Denver, CO 80203 

Contact Stefan Runstrom for additional information about this event.

How to Talk to City Council

The best way to make your voice heard is to:

• Personalize your message
• Email all members of Council
• Write letters to the editor
• Speak to Council at their Meeting

For the City of Boulder:

Email Council as a group at: council@bouldercolorado.gov
Send letters to the editor at: openforum@dailycamera.com, and letters@boulderweekly.com,
Find dates, agendas and materials for upcoming Council meetings here: https://bouldercolorado.gov/city-council/city-council-meetings

On October 8, 2015, BCAA and Boulder Art Matrix co-hosted a Candidates Forum with the persons running for Boulder's City Council.  There was a lively question and answer session related to funding for the arts.  To read a transcript of the discussion, click here.

Canadian Report examines relationship between the arts and personal well-being

Many arts goers have better health, higher volunteer rates, and stronger satisfaction with life

Vol. 11 No. 2
January 30, 2013
Report funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council 

The Arts and Individual Well-Being in Canada, the 39^th report in the Statistical Insights on the Arts series, examines whether connections exist between Canadians' cultural activities and their personal well-being.

The data in the report show that there is a strong connection between 18 cultural activities and eight indicators of health and well-being (such as health, mental health, volunteering, feeling stressed, and overall satisfaction with life). Cultural participants have significantly better results than non-participants for 101 out of 144 cross-tabulations (or 70%). Cultural participants have significantly worse results for only 10 of the cross-tabulations (or 7%). Read the entire article.