CBCA Announces 2025 Business for the Arts Awards Honorees

Celebrating 40 Years of Arts & Business Partnerships

Denver – Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) announces 12 honorees for its 2025 Business for the Arts Awards, the only statewide event honoring companies and individuals for their outstanding partnerships and engagement with the arts.  The 2025 awards program will also celebrate CBCA’s 40^th anniversary.

All of the honorees will be celebrated at the Business for the Arts Awards luncheon, presented by MSU Denver, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 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.

“In celebration of our 40^th anniversary year since CBCA’s founding, we are excited to celebrate these diverse cross-sector partnerships and individuals for their innovative and inspirational achievements and community impact,” says Christin Crampton Day, CBCA executive director.

2025 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.

• Breckenridge Grand Vacations, a real estate development and property management company, supports cultural opportunities in Summit County through event sponsorship, in-kind lodging for visiting artists, bilingual employee engagement programs in the arts and more.
• Clear Creek Makerspace, powered by Localworks, is a public/private partnership with the City of Wheat Ridge to provide a new state-of-the-art, business-oriented makerspace to fuel creativity, economic growth and entrepreneurship.
• Cultura Chocolate, a Latina-owned bean-to-bar chocolate making company, is providing platforms for uplifting cultural expression and heritage, supporting local talent, and economic development through a café, cultural space and the Hecho en Westwood initiative in SW Denver.
• Havana Business Improvement District – On Havana Street works with Aurora’s Art in Public Places program to present the “Art2C on Havana Street” rotating exhibit, plus community cultural events, which benefit local businesses, artists and the public.
• Mexican Cultural Center is dedicated to elevating Mexico’s unique arts, customs, traditions and destinations throughout Colorado by partnering with various municipalities, corporations, schools & universities, cultural organizations and international artists.
• The Museum of Friends has transformed Walsenburg and Huerfano County through its dedication to cultural enrichment, historic preservation, economic vitality, education and community-driven development with unique partnerships.
• The People’s Building, a city-owned facility in the Aurora Cultural Arts District, provides a high-quality, affordable and accessible space for artists to explore, educate and perform while engaging in vital economic stabilization and development.
• WeldWerks Brewing Co., based in Greeley, partnered with the inaugural artist-led WeldWalls Mural Festival by providing in-kind marketing and operational support, in addition to hosting the festival at the brewery for a mutually beneficial weekend.

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.

• DNA Picasso, a Recording Artist, Songwriter, Culture Curator, Community Advocate and Co-Founder of Colorado Music Industry Alliance (CMIA), is cultivating a strong music community and advocating for underrepresented genres through events like the R&B Jam Fest and Aux Wars and volunteer leadership with The Auditorium, Sonic Guild and more.

Cultural Leadership Award

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

• Laura Moody, Redevelopment Revitalization Manager for the City of Longmont and the Longmont Urban Renewal Authority, has been advancing economic development through the arts since she graduated from Leadership Arts in 2014. Her professional and volunteer roles span the Aurora Cultural Arts District, 40 West Arts and West Colfax BID in Lakewood, and now revitalization projects in Longmont.

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.

• Max Hass, Founding Partner, Holon Law Partners, has been an active volunteer with CAFTA since moving to Colorado in 2019. A professional musician, as well as an entertainment attorney, Max is dedicated to helping creatives of all kinds to thrive and regularly gives workshops and presentations around Colorado and the country.

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.

• James A. Holmes, Executive Director, Cherokee Ranch & Castle Foundation, has a legacy of community leadership in the arts and business sectors. Ranging from his fundraising chairmanship for the MLK I Have A Dream Monument in City Park to over two decades of trusteeship with Denver Art Museum, James has held dozens of community and cultural leadership roles. With a background in real estate lending and sales, James is also now an active visual artist whose artworks are exhibited and sold throughout the metro area.

The 2025 Arts & Business Partnership Award honorees, MSU Denver Next Wave Leadership Award, Cultural Leadership Award and John Madden, Jr. Leadership Award were selected by an independent panel of judges.

• Roopesh Aggarwal, Senior Director, Investor Relations, Xcel Energy
• Peter Bernstein, Senior Vice President, UMB Bank
• Andy Mountain, President & CEO, GBSM, Inc.
• Erin Ogletree, City Councilmember, City of Trinidad
• Casino Perosi, Artist/Musician and Event Coordinator
• Vicki Sterling, Founding Executive Director, CBCA
• Nina Waters, County Commissioner, Summit County

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. Generous support is also provided by HCA HealthONE, Anythink Libraries and PNC Bank. In-kind sponsors are CBS Colorado, Philosophy Communications, Occasions and The Publishing House.

Tables and tickets will go on sale in January 2025 for the Business for the Arts Awards luncheon on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 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.

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