Cultural Community Program || Cultural Services

Cultural Community Programs#

Local musician Bevin Luna performs for community members at the Poudre Whitewater Park.

Integrating Art and Culture into Fort Collins

Cultural Community Programs aim to integrate arts and culture experiences into the Fort Collins community by activating unconventional public spaces. The Program includes a broad focus on all art forms and disciplines with an equitable engagement strategy.

The Program is envisioned in the 2019 FoCo Creates Arts and Culture Master Plan. The Program has been funded through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) appropriations initially in 2022, and again for the 2023-2024 budget cycle.

View Current Programming

Program Approach#

The Program intends to provide accessible opportunities for Fort Collins community members to experience and engage with local arts and culture. The following approaches are used by the Program:

Pop-up performances: Artists and creatives pop-up in public spaces such as along trails, in parks, or within neighborhoods. Pop-ups series are often aligned monthly to a specific art form and theme.
Supporting external events: Events planned by local non-profit organizations and community members may align to the Program's vision for accessible arts and culture experiences and the Program may support events by funding artists and creatives when alignment is strong. The Program does not support fundraising or for-profit events, events that charge admission or ask for donations, and does not engage in grant making.
Co-creation: By deferring to community members and artists, the Program leads with co-creation in nearly all engagements to elevate and highlight the ideas of community members.
Curation: The Program curates arts and culture programming while aiming to include all art forms and disciplines over time to highlight the diversity of creative people and artistic disciplines in our community.

2023 Annual Report#

Artist Seojung Lee instructs a community member on the process of screen printing.

Cultural Community Programs celebrated one year of public programming in June 2023. The Program's Annual Report is available to view by following the button below. Between June 2022 and June 2023, the Program accomplished the following:

108 unique engagements
33 internal and external partnerships
249 artists hired, including individuals part of groups
4,700+ community members engaged, actively and passively

View Annual Report

Where can you engage with the Program?#

Two community members read a free poem during a pop-up at a transit station.

Cultural Community Programs are designed to meet people where they are in places they already plan to be. This approach is intentional and leads to serendipitous and meaningful experiences. You may notice our promotional posters in the community. Often, they lack specific information about where to find the program. This is intentional! We hope to generate a buzz and excitement within the community that you can stumble upon unique art and culture any time, while also being intentional about where we introduce programming. The Program also empowers artists facilitating engagements to spread the word on their own platforms.

Check back often as we will include more specific information on this page from time to time. And, be on the look out for unique, unexpected art pop-ups wherever you may be, especially during warmer months when outdoor activities are most suitable. During colder months, we tend to curate programming that supports specific partners.

Programming in 2024#

As our season wraps, take a look at our featured programming from 2024.

April 2024 Creative Confluences Pop-ups#

Image of a young performing artist in a park

Join Cultural Community Programs and Colorado State University's Arts Management Program for Creative Confluences, a series of immersive spring pop-ups featuring opera, visual arts activities, and more. Enjoy micro opera performances from Hansel and Gretel, and get hands-on with various arts activities including jewelry making, cyanotype printing, and stone painting. Activities vary by date. Details below:

April 18 at CSU's Lory Student Center from 3-4 p.m.
April 20 at Library Park amphitheater from 1-3 p.m.
April 23 at Whitewater Park pavilion from 3-5 p.m.
April 25 at Library Park amphitheater from 2-4 p.m.

Performances and activities are free and supplies are provided. Drop-in anytime and stay for as long as you like.

May 2024 Art at the Stops Pop-ups#

Graphic design of a bus stop with colorful background

Be on the look out for art-immersed transit stops on your daily commute throughout the month of May! In partnership with Transfort, local creatives will pop-up at select transit stops featuring a variety of art for you to engage with while hopping on or off the bus.

You can find Art at the Stops during these times at the following locations:

May 1: 5:00-6:00 p.m. at Campus Transit Center with Liz Ortiz of Mad Hare Press
May 4: 12:00-1:00 p.m. at Overland Trl. and W. Elizabeth St. with Sarah Marcus
May 11: 12:00-1:00 p.m. at University MAX station with Ryan Stover
May 14: 12:00-1:00 p.m. at W. Elizabeth King Soopers with Sophie Hernandez
May 18: 12:00-1:00 p.m. at Swallow MAX station with Dana Musgrave
May 23: 12:00-1:00 p.m. at Northside Aztlan Community Center with Xavier Pereira
May 28: 12:00-1:00 p.m. at Downtown Transit Center with Amy Heyse
May 30: 12:00-1:00 p.m. at E. Drake Dr. and Illinois Dr. with Kisha Witty and Savannah Svoboda, with live DJ Eschaton

June 2024 Unity Portraits Pop-ups#

Image of a community member posing at a garden

In June 2024, Cultural Community Programs is popping up with local LGBTQ creatives for a series of free portrait sessions. Featuring photography, sketching, and drawing, these free portrait sessions will pop-up in scenic Fort Collins public spaces with a mobile backdrop--via bicycle!

You can find Unity Portraits during these times at the following locations:

June 7: 4:00-5:00 p.m. at Laurel St. and College Ave. with Liv Chapman | Participant Photos
June 8: 12:00-1:00 p.m. at City Park with Em Daugherty
June 9: 1:00-2:00 p.m. at Oak Street Plaza with Kindra W.
June 11: 5:00-6:00 p.m. in Dalzell Alley with Alana Waldrop | Participant Photos
June 16: 1:00-2:00 p.m. at Lee Martinez Park with Elizabeth Fuller
June 20: 5:00-6:00 p.m. at Library Park with Lillie Fischer | Participant Photos
June 28: 4:00-5:00 p.m. at Whitewater Park with Jessica MacMaster | Participant Photos
June 30: 5:00-6:00 p.m. at CSU Annual Flower Trail Gardens with leo nash

July 2024 Wearable Wonders Pop-ups#

Graphic image of sewing supplies for Wearable Wonders

Join us as we transform the city of Fort Collins into a vibrant showcase, highlighting unique interpretations of 'Wearable Art.' Engage with interactive installations and connect with local artists. Don't miss this opportunity to immerse yourself in creativity and culture. Experience the fusion of art and community engagement this July with the Wearable Wonders pop-up series.

Check out Wearable Wonders popping up during the following times:

July 3: 12:00-1:00 p.m. with Christina Pruneski and MoldSpace, at Dalzell Alley approx. 120 1/2 W. Laurel St.
July 12: 3:00-4:00 p.m. with Melina Be and Entertaining Colorado Party Co., at Downtown Library
July 13: 5:00-7:00 p.m. with Alt Savant, Prints and Stories, and Sweet Leaf, at CARE Housing Windtrail 2120 Bridgefield Ln.
July 17: 3:00-4:00 p.m. with Xoma Majik, Christina Pruneski, and MoldSpace, at Whitewater Park
July 20: 5:00-7:00 p.m. with Alt Savant, Anatolia, and Sweet Leaf, at CARE Housing Greenbriar, 400 Butch Cassidy Dr.
July 25: 5:00-6:00 p.m. with Xoma Majik and Twirling Tech Goddess, at CSU Annual Flower Trial Gardens
July 27: 10:00-12:00 p.m. with Anatolia, Melina Be, and Prints and Stories at Center for Creativity 200 Mathews St.
July 31: 3:00-4:30 p.m. with MoldSpace, Entertaining Colorado Party Co., and Christina Pruneski, at Downtown Library

August 2024 Chalk the Block neighborhood pop-ups#

Chalk the Block graphic with illustrated children chalking on a green background

This August, Cultural Community Programs will pop-up in select neighborhoods in partnership with the City's Neighborhood Services Department. Some pop-ups will be neighbor-only events. Others accessible to the public include:

August 3 with Mike McPuff in Evergreen neighborhood from 10:00-11:30 a.m.
August 11 with Dana Musgrave, location TBA
August 14 with Dominique Montano in Buckingham neighborhood from 6:00-7:30 p.m.
August 16 with Hannah Amaryllis in Old Town West neighborhood from 5:00-6:30 p.m.
August 17 with Hannah Amaryllis in Stonehenge neighborhood from 10:00-11:30 a.m.
August 27 with Amy Sarah in Stonehenge neighborhood from 10:00-11:30 a.m.
August 30 with Erin Parrot, in Scotch Pines neighborhood from 5:00-6:30 p.m.

Sept. 2024 Teatro Latino Storytelling Pop-ups#

Orange and black monarch butterflies emerge from red curtains to a stage with blue background, with stage lights.

A special project is coming this September and October aligned to Latiné and Hispanic Heritage Month, featuring storytelling performances based on Fort Collins community members. This series of pop-ups will be held at the Center for Creativity, 200 Mathews St., as a special place to elevate the significance of the project. Check back soon for details.

Teatro Latino includes four unique performances, each repeated twice on Fridays and Sundays during Latiné and Hispanic Heritage Month:

Sept. 20 & 22: Un Soñador en Fort Collins
Sept. 27 & 29: Betty La Ponderosa*
Oct. 4 & 6: From Shame to Pride
Oct. 11 & 13: Las Fridas*

*Reader's theater performance

Friday performances will begin at 7:00 p.m.; Sunday performances will begin at 1:00 p.m. Doors open 15-minutes early. Interpretation will be available as performances will include Spanish and English dialogue.

Latiné and Hispanic Heritage Month#

Join us to celebrate Latiné and Hispanic Heritage Month on Saturday, October 5, 2024 at the Gardens on Spring Creek, 2145 Centre Ave. in Fort Collins for this free event celebrating the vibrancy of our diverse Latiné and Hispanic communities from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Celebrate with a variety of free artmaking activities, live music, dancing and performances, food from local culinary artists, and support local businesses at our market. Live performances include:

Mariachi Fusión Chispa
Quetzalcoatl Aztec Dance
Banda La Patrona
Krisa Gonna

Mid-Autumn Festival#

Join us Saturday, October 12, 2024 from 4:00-7:00 p.m. to celebrate a diversity of Asian arts and cultural programming at the Mid-Autumn Festival in Old Town Square. Programming includes:

Live music by Trent Hughes
Huaxing Chinese School children's choir performance
Taekwondo demonstration
Chinese Erhu performance
Indonesian Gamelan
and more!

Cultural Receptions featuring Local Creatives#

This year, Cultural Community Programs will feature various local artists in a series of meet & greet opportunities throughout the year at City Hall, 300 Laporte Ave. As these events are planned, more information will become available. Check back often for details. The purpose of these events is to bring community members, artists, and leaders together in a casual reception format to connect with one another, often aligned to nationally-recognized culturally significant times.

Past Programming#

Below you will find a summary of various archived programming.

: Performances in the Parks#

Performances in the Parks was the Program's first pop-up series hosted in September and October 2023. Seven local musicians, plus several music students, popped up in various City parks to perform acoustic classical and contemporary music for park goers.

Photos
: Our Animal Body#

Our Animal Body was a literary art project that included a 10-foot found-object sculpture which served as the collection vessel for community responses to five writing prompts encouraging community members to think about our similarities and differences to the natural environment. In March, a community event led to the development of collaborative poem, which was then printed in a zine. Nearly 100 copies of the zine have been distributed to coffee shops, Free Little Libraries, and other locations.
: Dancing in Our Sorrow and Joy#

In partnership with Full Expression! A Dance Collective, Dancing in Our Sorrow and Joy brought musical theater, contemporary dance, belly dance, and live music to two Fort Collins Parks in April. Over four performances, more than 200 community members were immersed into micro-performances that featured 12 local creatives. Click the button below to view photos from Dancing in Our Sorrow and Joy.

Photos
: Let's Ride: an arts-bound transit experience#

Throughout May 2023, five musicians and four literary artists popped-up at select transit stations in partnership with Transfort. During nine 1-hour pop-ups, community members listened to live, local music, picked free poems, and had poems written for them on the spot. Click the button below to view photos from select Let's Ride pop-ups.

Photos
: Rainbow Rhythms#

In June 2023, eight local LGBTQ-identifying musicians each performed 1-hour performances while riding in the back of a cargo bike provided by the Fort Collins Bicycle Co-op. Each artist was taken along a unique route where they filled the atmosphere with music, serenaded individuals, or played a song or two for small groups they stumbled upon.
: Interactive chalk art#

During this unpromoted series in July 2023, 10 local artists installed interactive chalk art in various locations. Artists were prompted do inject their unique artistic style into a drawing they could complete in one-hour. The results were fun, seemingly random chalk art taken to the next level. Installations lasted until the rain washed them away, which ranged from minutes after completion to a day or two after.
: ImpressIt#

Throughout August 2023, 9 local artists popped-up to facilitate free printmaking activities highlighting several printmaking techniques ranging from gel prints, cyanotypes, and basic relief printing. Did you know? The word "impressit" is a Latin word used by printmakers to identify work they created themselves. This series offered community members the chance to create their own unique prints and make their mark. Click the button below to view photos from select ImpressIt pop-ups.

Photos
: Las Serenatas#

Traditional Serenatas are a unique way of expressing adoration of a romantic partner in many Latin cultures. Serenatas typically include Spanish-language songs that speak to feelings of love and gratitude. This series featured four musicians or bands who performed at 10 unique locations between mid-September and early-October 2023.
: In partnership with Colorado State University's (CSU) Dance Department, student dancers will pop-up each semester with free dance performances around the Fort Collins community.

In fall 2023, four pop-up dances occurred at the Winter Market at Foothills Mall. Check back for information on spring 2024 performances. Past Community Dances have occurred at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, Old Town Library, Lee Martinez and Rolland Moore parks, and at Columbine Health Systems.

Gallery#

View images and videos below from a variety of Cultural Community Program engagements, particularly engagements beyond our pop-up series.

Elisa Garcia performs during Las Serenatas at Alta Vista.

Elisa Garcia performs during Las Serenatas pop-ups in Alta Vista in September 2023.

Community members create prints with Chelsea Ermer.

Community members create prints with artist Chelsea Ermer during ImressIt pop-up in August 2023.

Students make jewelry with artist Amanda Laudermilch in August 2023 during a Recreation Department back-to-school event.

Aerica Raven chalks at Avery Park in July 2023.

Local musician Alysia Kraft serenades community members during Rainbow Rhythms in June 2023.

Poet Cori Storb sets up at W. Elizabeth and S. Taft Hill Rd. during May 2023's Let's Ride series.

CSU dance students perform at Old Town Library with the Library's all-electric mobile library, Evie, in May 2023.

Graphic artist Seojung Lee instructs a community member on t-shirt screen printing at Funktional in April 2023.

Belly dancer Kisha Witty performs during Dancing in Our Sorrow and Joy in April 2023.

A community member helps assemble a collaborative community poem titled Our Animal Body in March 2023.

Musician Russick Smith performs at Sugar Beet Park in September 2022 during the Programs first pop-up series.

CSU dance students perform at Buckingham Park in November 2022.

Members of Studio Colombia perform on CSU campus for 2022 Latin Hispanic Heritage Month.

Members of the Iron Family Singers and Dancers perform during the Programs first activation on June 21, 2022.