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Imagine 2020

Image of the Montbello Drum Line at Five Points Jazz Festival - Photo by Lucia de Giovanni
 

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IMAGINE 2020

In the Spring of 2013, Denver’s community gathered to provide a strategic vision and future platform for arts, culture and creativity in the city that became IMAGINE 2020, the first cultural plan for the city since 1989. The community-based plan reflected the vision, goals and aspirations of thousands of residents and stakeholders to help guide resources, support and direction for the future of arts and culture in Denver.

7 Vision Elements - Guiding Principles

#1 INTEGRATION: Arts, culture and creativity are fully integrated into daily life, work and play in Denver.
#2 AMPLIFICATION: Arts, culture and creativity are amplified in Denver - and amplify the city to the world.
#3 ACCESSIBILITY: Arts, culture and creativity are truly inclusive and accessible for all.
#4 LIFELONG LEARNING: Exposure, appreciation and participation in arts, culture and creativity span our lifetimes.
#5 LOCAL TALENT: Denver's diverse artistic and creative professionals are locally cultivated and flourishing.
#6 ECONOMIC VITALITY: Denver's economic vitality is accelerated by arts, culture and creativity.
#7: COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP: Collective leadership is committed to high impact results across Denver.

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IMAGINE 2020: Denver's Cultural Plan

Read the full plan. 

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IMAGINE 2020 Public Survey 2013, 2017, 2020

See how resident sentiments about arts and culture in Denver have changed over the years. In 2013, 2017 and 2020, we conducted a public survey with Corona Insights to assess progress made through the implementation of IMAGINE 2020. Goals of the survey:

  • Assess opinions, beliefs, and behaviors related to arts,culture, and creativity in Denver (specifically related to the 7 Vision Elements)
  • Examine differences between certain segments of the population (with oversampling for Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx residents)
  • Compare results to those of the 2013, 2017 and 2020 surveys
  • For 2020 only: Expand questions to assess impact of COVID-19 and how best to support Denver’s communities and the arts and cultural sector.
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IMAGINE 2020 Annual Reports

Our annual reports showcase how DAV, fellow organizations and the community have implemented the plan over the years. 

UAF Dreamers Arrival with Filter

IMAGINE DENVER,

A city filled with dreamers,
where the summertime pavement is alive with possibility,
glistening bits of loose gravel smiling at the sun.
Here, a thriving community of creators
who have always learned to make what we need,
have made this city our home.
We, who pour ourselves over horizons in unmistakable color.
We who have found, and have always been, the frontier.

We, who have learned the weight of expansion.
the rich lives we build carefully, persistently,
holding command over every element,
staring and stirring until only the best emerges,
teaching a corner of the sky to stand still
with a glance and the crook of a finger,
wielding hips and hands and moving parts
until each person has a place at our table.

We stretch and shift the reach of our arms,
encompassing each other in perfect mosaic.
We, the soil, roots, the leaves,
making and marking our own history.
We, the air, the water, the fiery new morning
illuminating a city alive with our dreams.
What is art if not us?
 

IMAGINE DENVER,

Where we lift our voices,
use the power of our words and dreams to build lives.
Where the amplification of our harmony shakes the ground,
opening new trails to forge.
Where we speak together, listen and understand.
Imagine what we will create
together.


By Suzi Q. Smith

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Questions? 

For more information, please contact Georgina Guidotti, Business Operations Administrator, Cultural Affairs

CONTACT GEORGINA