More than a designation: Creative District builds connections across Gunnison County

Now in its sixth year as a state-designated creative district, the Gunnison Creative District is working to become more than a title. Executive Director Arly Landry said the nonprofit aims to be a hub connecting the valley’s artists, businesses and cultural organizations.

 The Gunnison Creative District received its state designation in 2021, with its board forming the following year. Colorado requires creative districts to recertify every five years, which the group completed. Today it helps support an 80-artist regional directory, is recruiting for two open board seats, and is reviewing its strategic plan. Landry describes its role as connective tissue among existing groups, including the Gunnison Arts Center, the Heritage Center, and First Friday Art Walk, rather than a single project or program.

Landry joined the organization in 2022 and became executive director in 2023, wanting a hand in making Gunnison “a place where people want to stop, not just drive through,” she said.

The Creative District remains a young, all-volunteer nonprofit, and Landry said one of its biggest hurdles has been name recognition: many residents still don’t know it exists, let alone what the designation means. The label, from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, requires proof of creative activity and community support for the arts.

Landry compared the designation to Tree City USA, saying both reflect a community’s commitment to investing in something it values. “In Gunnison’s case,” she said, “that investment is creativity through official commitment and residents choosing to ‘plant’ art into their own lives.” 

The Creative District’s funding runs mainly through grants, with its largest grant coming from OEDIT. It has also received support from the Resiliency Project, Arts in Society, the Community Foundation of the Gunnison Valley, and the Tourism and Prosperity Project. It has received roughly $53,700 in grant funding since its founding, and also sells merchandise, including hoodies, hats and T-shirts.

Last year’s Community Talent Show at Western Colorado University’s Taylor Auditorium drew about 400 attendees and 28 performers; Landry called it “a genuinely joyful night,” and one the organization hopes to make an annual fundraiser. This year’s show is coming together, and Landry said it needs volunteers to pull it off again.

One of the Creative District’s clearer wins is its artist directory, now home to 80 artists across 19 categories, from ceramics and painting to boutique sportswear and wooden boats. Found at gcbcreativedirectory.com, it’s a countywide collaboration built with the Gunnison Arts Center and the Gunnison Chamber of Commerce and hosted by Artists of Crested Butte, whose director, Nola Abrams, manages it day to day. Artists can add a listing through the site’s application page.

The Creative District has facilitated five public art projects: the Little Corner of Mexico mural at Agave Mexican Restaurant, funded through Arts in Society with Immigrantes Unidos; the “Gunnison Country Blooming” mural at Auto Corral; the “Elevate Your Fun” mural at Wheelies and Waves; a sculpture repair at the Chamber of Commerce; and a papel picado display at IOOF Park during September’s Welcoming Month.

The Little Corner of Mexico mural was shaped by community feedback on how residents wanted their culture portrayed. The project also included community painting days where residents helped bring the mural to life.

The Creative District tends to act as a partner rather than the sole organizer of a project, with collaborators the City of Gunnison, the Hartman Castle Preservation Corp, Western Colorado University, the Gunnison Farmers Market, South Main and the Creative Districts Alliance of the Western Slope 

That partnership approach carries into First Friday Art Walk, held 5 to 8 p.m. on the first Friday of each month. The Creative District and Chamber are inviting more downtown businesses to take part however fits them.

“We are actively working with business owners who aren’t focused on artwork specifically to participate through hosting musicians, theatrical pop-ups, food and drink offerings,” Board President Kit Wijkowski said.

The Creative District is conducting an ongoing community survey to gauge what residents want to see. Two themes have emerged: interest in more public art highlighting LGBTQ+ and BIPOC artists, and demand for more artist markets, fairs and pop-up events. The survey is available at gunnisoncreativedistrict.org.

The Creative District’s board currently has seven of nine seats filled: President Kit Wijkowski, Ricardo Esqueda, Maryo Ewell, Heather Hughes, Desirae Penton, Anton Sinkewich and Alysa VanHouvel. Wijkowski said the organization's current strategic planning process and board recruitment make this an important time for community involvement.

This spring, the Creative District held its inaugural Hartman Castle Art Fair over Memorial Day weekend, the first public event held at the newly designated historic Hartman residence, with the Hartman Castle Preservation Corp. The fair drew about 20 artists and vendors, live music, kids’ crafts and castle tours, attracting roughly 300 attendees and raising more than $7,000 for the preservation corps. The Creative District plans to co-host the fair again next year. Artist and vendor applications for next year’s fair open March 1.

The Creative District has also held two Roundtable Roundups, informal socials combining guided dialogue, art-making, and a shared meal for artists and community leaders.

Residents can get involved by taking the community survey on the Creative District website, following the Creative District on social media, or volunteering with First Friday Art Walk, the Community Talent Show, or the Public Murals, Sculpture and Beautification Committee, by emailing gunnisoncreativedistrict@gmail.com.

In its sixth year, the Creative District has moved beyond proving the designation means something. Now it’s asking the rest of Gunnison to help decide what comes next, one public art project, one talent show, one open board seat at a time.