CBCA Announces 2015 Business for the Arts Awards Finalists
Awards Honor Arts & Business Partnerships in Colorado
Denver, CO – Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) announces the finalists for its 2015 Business for the Arts Awards, Colorado’s signature event honoring companies and individual’s for their exemplary partnerships and engagement with the arts. CBCA will reveal winners at its Annual Business for the Arts Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 in the Seawell Ballroom at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Over 700 business, cultural and civic leaders will attend this high-energy, entertaining event. This event will also kick-off CBCA’s 30th Anniversary of connecting businesses and the arts to advance Colorado’s creative vitality.
“CBCA has been celebrating arts & business partnerships for 30 years. The 2015 Business for the Arts Awards finalists showcase a history of excellence, innovation and philanthropy,” says Deborah Jordy, Executive Director of CBCA.
2015 Business for the Arts Awards Finalists
Winners will be announced in the following five categories from these fifteen finalists:
Create Award acknowledges an outstanding, for-profit creative business that has made a significant impact on Colorado’s creative economy
Boulder Digital Arts is a resource for digital artists and creative professionals
Kadoya Gallery exhibits and engages southern Colorado artists in the heart of Pueblo’s creative district
NINE dot ARTS, an art consulting firm, transforms public spaces, fuels artists’ careers and fosters dialogue
Impact Award highlights innovative use of the arts to propel business success, programs that engage employees with creativity and community activities to foster arts and business partnerships.
Community College of Denver designed the welcoming, art-infused Confluence Building
General Services Administration is a federal agency committed to integrating and celebrating the arts Sage Hospitality, a hospitality management company, uses art to create unique, memorable experiences
John Madden, Jr. Leadership Award recognizes a business sector individual who has made significant contributions to advancing arts and culture in Colorado
Dana Crawford has been preserving and revitalizing Denver’s historic urban spaces for forty years
Bill Marino spearheaded the creation and development of the Lakewood–West Colfax creative corridor
Craig Ponzio’s vision for Children’s Hospital Colorado transformed treatment and healing through arts
Ernst & Young Next Wave Leadership Award (NEW IN 2015) honors rising professionals who are leading the future of our cultural community. Finalists must be under the age of 40 as of March 11, 2015.
Ely Corliss is impacting Greeley’s Creative District and their emerging music industry
Katie Kruger galvanizes young professionals’ involvement in the arts through board service and leadership of Cross-Cultured
Ben McConahey was instrumental in the founding and ongoing success of Denver Museum of Nature & Science’s Young Professionals program.
Philanthropy Award honors exemplary corporate citizenship and generosity to arts and cultural projects and organizations
Bellco Credit Union has a long-standing commitment to support diverse cultural activities and partnerships across the metro area
DaVita HealthCare Partners advances arts and culture through community service and collaborations to support arts education
Janus Capital Group’s Student Art Buying Program engages students with the creative economy and the value of art in their schools.
The distinguished judging panel for the 2015 Business for the Arts Awards consisted of:
Jandel T. Allen-Davis, MD, Vice President, Government and External Relations, Kaiser Permanente
Joe Blake, Chancellor Emeritus, Colorado State University
Margaret Hunt, Director, Colorado Creative Industries
Rich Kylberg, Vice President, Global Marketing & Communications, Arrow Electronics
Sacha Millstone, Senior Vice President, Investments, The Millstone Evans Group of Raymond James & Associates
CBCA thanks our generous sponsors who make this event possible. Corporate sponsors include Ernst & Young, Kaiser Permanente Colorado, Delta Dental Colorado, GE Johnson Construction, John Madden Company and Snell & Wilmer. Media and in-kind sponsors are CBS4, ColoradoBIZ Magazine, Comcast, The Denver Post Community, Ligature Creative Group and The Publishing House.
Colorado artists Theresa Haberkorn, Mark Lunning, Jim Milmoe and Tony Ortega have created unique prints as part of CBCA’s PrintFolio project, an initiative of CBCA’s Leadership Arts Alumni Network. A complete set will be awarded to each winner. Additional information about the project is available at www.cbca.org.
Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) works to advance Colorado’s creative economy by connecting business and the arts through ongoing advocacy, research, training, and arts engagement efforts. CBCA is a nonprofit member organization of leading Colorado companies that have a commitment to the creative industries and recognize the link between cultural vitality and economic success. Over 130 metro-area businesses are members of CBCA. Established in 1985 by local business leaders, CBCA is now an affiliate of Americans for the Arts and formerly the National Business Committee for the Arts founded by David Rockefeller in 1967. CBCA has been recognized by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and is a proud recipient of the 2010 Denver Mayor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts. Learn more at www.cbca.org.
For photos or more information, contact:
Meredith Badler
CBCA Administrative & Events Coordinator
303-282-5135
mbadler@cbca.org