Arts are alive and well in Alamosa

Alamosa Creates reports to council 

By PRISCILLA WAGGONER, Courier Reporter
Posted 1/22/25

ALAMOSA — Only one year after it was formed, Alamosa’s Creative District Committee – now renamed as “Alamosa Creates”- has made significant progress in the city being officially designated by the state as a Colorado Creative District. Alamosa Creates intends to apply for the designation in late 2025. 

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Arts are alive and well in Alamosa

Alamosa Creates reports to council 

Posted

ALAMOSA — Only one year after it was formed, Alamosa’s Creative District Committee – now renamed as “Alamosa Creates”- has made significant progress in the city being officially designated by the state as a Colorado Creative District. Alamosa Creates intends to apply for the designation in late 2025. 

Being recognized by the state as a Creative District is a big deal that will open the door to a variety of tools that help to grow “the arts” within that community, including access to marketing, access to data and other types of support. That support is offered to the community in order to grow their economy, increase the number of jobs and enhance the quality of life.  In other words, it’s a program designed to make an already strong creative culture in a community even stronger and more beneficial to their local economy.  

The philosophy behind the program is based on the idea that designation as a Creative District will attract artists and creative entrepreneurs to a community, leading to an infusion of new energy and innovation, which in turn enhances the economic and civic capital of the community. Creating these hubs of economic activity enhance the area as an appealing place to live while also attracting visitors.  

It may not have always been obvious, but the “arts” – a broad term referencing a variety of artistic expressions - have played a significant role in shaping Alamosa’s culture and serving as one of its economic drivers. Live concerts at Society Hall by touring singer-songwriters and seasonal concerts by SLV Community Band; theater productions at Adams State University (ASU); rotating art exhibits at ASU, Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative,  Milagro’s Coffee Shop and Alamosa’s annual ARTwalk, ARTscape and ARTsFestival; book signings at the Alamosa Public Library; monthly “story slams” at Narrow Gauge, and historic exhibits at the San Luis Valley Museum are just some of the events occurring in the city on an ongoing basis. 

It’s an impressive list that suggests designation as a Creative District is clearly a realistic goal. 

At last week’s meeting of the Alamosa City Council, Lares Feliciano – chairperson of Alamosa Creates – gave city council an update on how the members spent their first year.  

In addition to appearing at different events to let members of the public know of the committee’s existence and soliciting input on what the committee should be named, the ten members of the committee each played a key role in the highly successful 2024 Alamosa ARTsFestival.  

They also made great progress in creating an infrastructure to make the committee even stronger and more effective, beginning with compiling a comprehensive list of artists, art partners and stakeholders. From among their own members, the committee formed three working groups – Marketing and Design, Outreach and Community Engagement and Administration and Fundraising.  

The Colorado Creative District Program was allocated a budget of $210,000 in 2024, something Feliciano and Alamosa Creates see as an opportunity not to be missed. 

“This further emboldens our efforts,” Feliciano said. “Now is the time for us to seize this opportunity.” 

A key step in being designated as a Creative District involves establishing a “unified zone” – an area whose boundaries encompass those places in Alamosa where the cultural and creative endeavors are largely located.  

As Feliciano explained to council members, the committee established those boundaries to include Adams State University as the point furthest to the west, a line that runs from Rio Grande Farm Park down to Main Street as the most eastward point and, to the south, the Boys and Girls Club of the San Luis Valley.   

While there are other steps to becoming designated, Feliciano said the committee will continue to manage the city’s current art programs while also gearing up to apply for designation in late 2025.