Creativity Powering Boulder
Create Boulder believes that arts, culture, and creativity make us stronger, as individuals, families, and as a community. They fuel innovation, prosperity, and a sense of belonging. The arts are a high-return investment that enrich life for everyone in Boulder.
Create Boulder At A Glance
We’re a Boulder-based, volunteer-powered 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2015, championing policy, investment, and creative space so arts and culture can thrive. Every dollar you give supports Boulder’s arts ecosystem: building awareness, community connection, funding, advocacy, and the spaces artists and organizations need.
Building Community
Create Boulder Nights is a new, quarterly series that showcases local arts organizations and their work, helping community members discover new experiences and helping organizations build audience. Learn more about Create Boulder Nights.
Create Boulder’s Recent Wins
$875,000
delivered for Boulder artists and arts and culture organizations, from 2020 – 2025
Colorado Local Arts Advocacy Field Guide
featured as a case study in this statewide guide, demonstrating how successful advocacy helps local communities
~ $3.5 million
in dedicated annual funding starting in 2025 from the Arts, Culture & Heritage Tax
Join us for Create Boulder Nights
Create Boulder Nights is a quarterly event series taking place at eTown Hall, introducing the community to the diversity of performing arts in Boulder in a fun and exciting social setting. Our Next event is on Saturday, October 3rd at eTown Hall and will feature performances from the Boulder Ballet, Colorado MahlerFest and the Boulder Symphony.
A Pivotal Moment for the Arts in Boulder
Boulder is entering a new era for arts and culture. The City’s new Boulder Arts Blueprint, a long-range plan for arts and culture policy and investment, and new Cultural and Economic Development Office are elevating creativity as a priority for Boulder’s future. The arrival of the Sundance Film Festival will bring international attention and new opportunities to our community. And, for the first time in Boulder’s history, long-term, dedicated City funding is available through the Arts, Culture & Heritage Tax, a community campaign initiated and led by Create Boulder.
Boulder’s arts & Culture Opportunity
Boulder has a strong foundation for its creative economy's future. The opportunity now is to translate plans, resources, and growing recognition of the arts into strategic investments that strengthen our creative community and cultural life.
Create Boulder prepared the Arts & Culture Briefing Memo as a primer on the state of the arts in Boulder: where we are today, the challenges facing our creative community, and the opportunities ahead. Originally developed for the 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts & Culture, it is a resource for community members, civic leaders, and anyone interested in Boulder’s future.
Create Boulder, in partnership with the Boulder County Arts Alliance and the Boulder Chamber, hosted the 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts & Culture to explore these issues with the candidates and raise awareness of the opportunities ahead.
Create Boulder: Why Our Work Matters
Even with this new momentum, Boulder’s arts and culture ecosystem continues to face significant challenges, including affordability, gaps in venues and cultural infrastructure, limited access to affordable creative spaces, the need for greater public awareness and audience development, and competition for creative talent from other communities.
Create Boulder works to address these challenges by advocating for strategic investment, advancing cultural infrastructure, strengthening connections across the creative community, elevating Boulder’s artists and arts organizations, and staying closely engaged with the City to help ensure that adopted plans and commitments are translated into action.