CBCA Announces 2020 Business for the Arts Awards Honorees

Denver - Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) announces 12 honorees for its 2020 Business for the Arts Awards, the only statewide event honoring companies and individuals for their outstanding partnerships and engagement with the arts.  CBCA will also be celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2020.

All of the honorees will be celebrated at the Business for the Arts Awards Luncheon, presented by EY and PNC Bank, on Tuesday, March 10, 2020 in the Seawell Grand Ballroom at the Denver Performing Arts Complex.  Over 700 corporate, cultural and civic leaders will attend this inspiring, arts-infused event. 

“The 2020 Business for the Arts Awards honorees illustrate the variety of shapes and colors that arts and business partnerships can take,” says Christin Crampton Day, CBCA executive director. “Spanning the state, these companies and individuals demonstrate the power of creativity, collaboration and civic engagement.”

2020 Business for the Arts Awards Honorees

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

• America’s Mattress of Western Colorado, located in Montrose, leverages their financial, business and human resources to help Weehawken Creative Arts produce performances.
• Anythink Libraries, serving Adams County, inspires and facilitates creativity through their open art studio space, interactive public art and welcoming cultural programming.
• Centura Health’s Denver Metro Group (seven hospitals) is fostering a holistic healing environment through live therapeutic music and visual arts to address whole person care.
• Downtown Denver Business Improvement District is reimaging the urban landscape as a site for engaging art installations by creatively activating alleyways and forgotten spaces in downtown Denver.
• Mountain Sun Pubs and Breweries have been infused with art for 26 years, from live music and ever-changing creative chalk drawings to activating an empty storefront window with unique rotating installations.
• Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA) partnered with Carbondale Arts to create the Rio Grande ARTway, a creative placemaking project that activates a portion of an outdoor trail with cultural and historic arts installations.
• Youth on Record is advancing economic opportunities and careers in the creative industries, all while advancing youth success through the power of music and art.
• Zeppelin Development has been incorporating creativity into their projects for 40 years, including artist-in-residence programs, innovative retail models and providing spaces for arts and business to interact.      

EY Next Wave Leadership Award

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

• Rob Applegate, Research and Analysis Associate Director at IHS Markit, brings strategic thinking and civic commitment to his volunteer leadership roles at Think 360 Arts and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science’s YP Committee.

PNC Bank Cultural Leadership Award

The PNC 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.

• Kendall Smith, Partnerships and Events Manager for Colorado Public Radio, is an arts advocate and community leader in the creative sector, making his mark on the Underground Music Showcase and Englewood Block Party, to name a few.

Volunteer Attorney of the Year Award

The Volunteer Attorney of the Year 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.

• Zach Warkentin, Principal at Warkentin, LLC, supports Colorado’s cultural community by offering pro bono legal assistance and educational workshops for artists, as well as being a professional musician and creative himself.

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.

• donnie l. betts (intentionally lowercase), is a producer, filmmaker, playwright, actor and activist who has been sharing stories of marginalized communities in Colorado for 40 years.

The 2020 Business for the Arts Awards honorees, EY Next Wave Leadership Award, PNC Bank Cultural Leadership Award and John Madden, Jr. Leadership Award were selected by an independent panel of arts, business and community leaders.

• James Holmes, Executive Director, Cherokee Ranch and Castle Foundation
• Chuong Le, Partner, Snell & Wilmer
• Kate Perdoni, Artist and Producer/Director/Host, Rocky Mountain PBS
• Kevin Pitts, Publisher, Denver Business Journal
• Ruth Rohs, Vice President of Corporate Communications, IMA Financial Group and Executive Director, IMA Foundation
• Suzi Q. Smith, Artist, Activist, Educator, Lighthouse Writers Workshop
• Maureen Tarrant, President & CEO, Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center and Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children

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

CBCA thanks our generous sponsors who make this event possible. Corporate sponsors include EY, PNC Bank, HealthOne, Bellco Credit Union, East West Partners, Xcel Energy and Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. In-kind and media partners are CBS4, ColoradoBiz, Moxtopia and The Publishing House.

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.