CBCA Announces 2024 Business for the Arts Awards Honorees

By Meredith Badler, CBCA Deputy Director

CBCA Announces 2024 Business for the Arts Awards Honorees

Denver – Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) announces 12 honorees for its 2024 Business for the Arts Awards, the only statewide event honoring companies and individuals for their outstanding partnerships and engagement with the arts.

All of the honorees will be celebrated at the Business for the Arts Awards luncheon, presented by MSU Denver and U.S. Bank, on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 in the Seawell Ballroom at Denver Center for Performing Arts (DCPA). This annual arts-infused event is CBCA’s largest fundraiser and sells out every year with 700 corporate, cultural and civic leaders in attendance, as well as statewide livestream participants.

“The 2024 Business for the Arts Awards honorees illustrate the diverse benefits of arts and business partnerships for the broader community,” says Christin Crampton Day, CBCA executive director. “These cross-sector collaborations are fostering healthier communities, spurring tourism, creating jobs and advancing equity and accessibility for all.”

2024 Arts & Business Partnership Award Honorees

The Arts & Business Partnership Award honorees are exemplary organizations that have gone above and beyond to support the arts and creative industries.

  • Black Cube Nomadic Art Museum exhibits site-specific art installations across Denver and Colorado with unique partnerships, such as FEMA and the Frontier Drive-Inn in the San Luis Valley, plus numerous business, civic and cultural partners.
  • Colorado Resiliency Arts Lab (CORAL) is a collaborative research initiative between Children’s Hospital Colorado, CU Anschutz Medical Campus and Lighthouse Writers Workshop to evaluate creative arts therapies to build resiliency for healthcare workers.
  • Frasier Life Plan Community partnered with Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMoCA) to establish an extensive, high-quality art program with curated exhibits and a permanent art collection to benefit their senior residents, staff and guests.
  • Fuel & Iron Food Hall is a visionary culinary arts hub in Pueblo, Colo., featuring a creative restaurant incubator, apprenticeship program, commissary kitchen, workforce housing units, a visual arts gallery and dedicated public art program.
  • Jubilee Roasting Co., with a mission to “create well and be good neighbors,” is dedicated to building community and supporting local creatives, including offering artist studio spaces in their main location in Aurora.
  • Klein Makerspace, based in La Junta, Colo., is fostering creativity and innovation for the betterment of their entire community through education, tourism, economic development, inspiration and local pride.
  • The Aurora Highlands is a new master-planned community going above and beyond to integrate a substantial, meaningful and accessible public art program that features nationally renowned artists.
  • The Underground Music Showcase (UMS) is a three-day music festival in Denver that is strengthening the music sector through thriving wages, mental health, accessibility, career development and harm reduction programs.

MSU Denver Next Wave Leadership Award

The MSU Denver Next Wave Leadership Award honors rising professionals who are leading the future of our cultural community.

  • Clelyn Chapin, Artistic Director, Denver Women’s Chorus (DWC) under the Rocky Mountain Arts Association and affiliated with the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses (GALA), has stewarded impactful collaborations with nonprofits and businesses whose values align with DWC’s mission to promote social change through music.

U.S. Bank Cultural Leadership Award

The U.S. Bank Cultural Leadership Award recognizes an outstanding graduate of CBCA’s Leadership Arts program who has made an impact on arts and culture in Colorado.

  • Donald Rossa, Owner, DazzleJazz, Inc. has supported an inclusive local music scene for over 25 years. A 2015 Leadership Arts alum, Donald facilitated vital resources for struggling musicians during the pandemic, such as transforming Dazzle into a food pantry and a livestreaming venue.

Volunteer Attorney Impact Award

The Volunteer Attorney Impact Award recognizes an outstanding attorney who has provided pro bono legal services to Colorado creatives and advanced CBCA’s Colorado Attorneys for the Arts (CAFTA) program.

  • Liz Hartsel, Partner, Fortis Law Partners, LLC, leverages her employment law practice to provide legal assistance to CAFTA clients and recruits her Fortis colleagues to get involved. Liz is also active in Colorado Symphony’s Crescendo Society, a 2016 graduate of Leadership Arts and a former CBCA board member.

John Madden, Jr. Leadership Award

Named for CBCA’s founding chairman, the John Madden, Jr. Leadership Award recognizes a lifetime of extraordinary leadership and a legacy of support for the arts.

  • Jandel Allen-Davis, MD, CEO and President, Craig Hospital, has infused creativity into every aspect of her life as a physician, healthcare executive, board member, philanthropist and renowned fiber artist. Jandel has stitched a professional and artistic legacy guided by equity and community service.

The 2024 Arts & Business Partnership Award honorees, MSU Denver Next Wave Leadership Award, U.S. Bank Cultural Leadership Award and John Madden, Jr. Leadership Award were selected by an independent panel of judges.

  • Alex-Marie Baez, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP
  • Ashley Cornelius, Pikes Peak Region Poet Laureate and Co-Director, Poetry719
  • Lindy Eichenbaum Lent, President and CEO, Rose Community Foundation
  • Dave Goe, Community Engagement Manager, Downtown Grand Junction
  • Charles Leslie, Director, Community Concert Hall, Fort Lewis College
  • Curtis Robbins, Community Health & Engagement, Kaiser Permanente Colorado
  • Ana Valles, Vice President of Marketing, Fitzsimons Credit Union

The Volunteer Attorney of the Year Award was selected by the CAFTA Advisory Committee.

CBCA thanks our generous sponsors who make this event possible. The Business for the Arts Awards are presented by Metropolitan State University of Denver & U.S. Bank. Generous support is also provided by HealthONE,  Anythink Libraries, East West Partners, Moye White, Bellco Credit Union and PNC Bank. In-kind sponsors are CBS Colorado, Moxtopia, Philosophy Communications and The Publishing House.

Tables and tickets are on sale now at https://cbca.org/event/2024-business-for-the-arts-awards-luncheon/ for the Business for the Arts Awards on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 at the Seawell Ballroom, DCPA. Premier Tables have additional benefits. Livestream tickets are also available.

Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) advances Colorado’s creative economy by connecting business and the arts through arts engagement, advocacy, training, research, and volunteerism. CBCA is a 501c3 nonprofit membership organization of leading Colorado companies who recognize the link between cultural vitality and economic success.  Learn more at www.cbca.org.

CBCA Announces 2024 Business for the Arts Awards Honorees – Press Release 12.12.23 PDF version