Best City / Area for artists? (Denver, Pueblo: 2015, apartment, for rent)

[hellozita]

I'm looking to move to Colorado in about a years time.



1) Where are the artist's communities in the state? Things they might have include galleries, community theaters, shops that sell hand made goods, art fairs or flea markets, they also tend to be college towns but not always.



2) Do any of these places have communal living arrangements? Like I could rent a bedroom in a 4 bedroom house with 3 other couples? I'm going to assume I need a lot of room mates to be able to afford housing for at least my first year or until I get a good job.



3) Are there any studios for rent in any of these communities or near by? Cheap offices could count, but most artist studios assume there might be spills and splatters of paint involved so don't usually have carpets or build in desks.


4) How liberal or conservative is the town? Am I going to see a lot of MAGA hats at the bar? I got side-eyed today for having a private conversation with my friend on the phone by a baby boomer when I was complaining about going to war with Venezuela.



I currently live in Pennsylvania and rent a studio in Williamsport, PA at the Pajama Factory. The studio doesn't have it's own bathroom or a kitchen so I don't live there, just use it to work on my art. Williamsport has an ok art scene, a few galleries, a lot of shops sell local artists works, and there are places to take classes but the local colleges don't really open up to non-students. I'm a caretaker for my disabled mother, Pennsylvania has a program where you can hire relatives to take care of you and be paid through medicare. My mom can hire anyone if I move.



I have things to tie up, projects to finish and a graphic novel to publish before I move. I went to school for illustration with a minor in graphic design, but didn't graduate. I know very few artists that completed their degrees here with the exceptions of the ones that are professors. I actually don't want to work as an artist for a living, I find if I spend all day being creative I have nothing left when I get home to do personal projects. I'm planning on illustrating a young adult novel next. So I want a full or part time job doing something rather bland, like cleaning offices, retail, dish washer etc. I joke that I'll end up like this woman who works as a janitor during the day and got an award for the book she published at the university she cleans. I'd assume most of the places listed have these kind of boring jobs, but if they pay particularly good in one city let me know. Once I have an idea where to look I'm going to start looking on craigslist in those cities to get an idea of where to apply ahead of time.


Thanks so much.

[StealthRabbit]

What about CO do you seek?
Weather / activities / culture?

Colorado has
Prairie to Mtns, Urban to remote?

Age?

From your post... Boulder is most fitting and has by far the most communal housing options in CO.
Lyons (nearby), is similar, but very small. (ic.org is handy for communal housing)

Ft Collins would do but is 'college-centric'.

My favorite front range Arts towns are Loveland and Estes Park (I have lived in each 10+ yrs)

For western side, I prefer Carbondale / Glenwood Springs .

Tough to go wrong with any of the above;

older crowd and sculpture centric, but these folks are really welcoming and helpful. (good place to start and get acquainted with the area and artists)
loveland – Longmont Artists' Guild
https://www.artistcommunities.org/re...works-loveland
NATIONAL SCULPTORS' GUILD - Sculpture for Public or Private Collections

When writing... I have very clear thoughts in Estes Park while watching the weather change several times / day. https://www.fineartsguild.org/
We have a place to stay that is very quiet and overlooks Estes Park and RMNP.
Pretty heavenly and crystal clear environment for individual creativity, unless you can go to the Swiss or Italian Alps! (very nice as well) (A favorite region) Cortina d'Ampezzo


From Estes Park it is very ez to visit Boulder often. Many commute daily. You can arrange ride-sharing.

When looking for a j-o-b, profile your most effective hours and save those for creating! (Work the shifts that leave you free to create). If you can work weekends and evenings, you will get more offers, higher salary, and more autonomy to do your job! (and no 'cry-baby-dayshifters' or backstabber employees seeking to advance career, to deal with +++). Very purposeful and creative people w-o-r-k (?) 'off-shift' as a way to fund and pursue their aspirations. Jobs have always been way down on my priority, but getting good pay has been high!. Acquire a skill that few have, and you will be all set!

[NW Crow]

General info https://www.denverpost.com/2015/10/0...ng-on-quickly/




Links to lots of info about one project in particular

https://www.google.com/search?client...iz.mcNCFCzHhrQ

[hellozita]

What about CO do you seek?


I kind of want to move to the state because I feel it's doing much better than my home state economically. There was a small boom when Pennsylvania legalized fracking but all it's really done is raise the price of rents 300% for the gas workers who move here from Texas and the south and leave after a year or two. Minimum wage is still at $7.25 and I can't even afford an apartment at my current wages of 11.20 an hour. I opted to get an art studio instead and since I work here at home caring for my mom it does save some money in the end. I like how the state has used the cannibals industry to improve a lot of it's infrastructure. PA is getting there, hemp is ok to grow with a license and medical is legal. I don't smoke pot so it's not really a factor that it's legal there.



Weather / activities / culture?
Colorado has
Prairie to Mtns, Urban to remote?


I've tried to ski and I'm pretty bad at it lol - I like to hike though and I get to do that here already, I think I'd still visit my family in the fall rather than winter. Pennsylvania can have mild winters and it has years where the state's been shut down, I know how to drive in bad conditions and what to do if my car slides which I know is a pet peeve of residents when newbies move to a state where it snows.



I need to move to an urban area. I've lived in rural places, even 'cities' I've lived in when in college can't really be called that. If you're a fan of the Office you'll know Scranton - it's tried to go bankrupt annually for the last 10 years due to terrible management. My studio is in Williamsport and that at least sees annual revenue from the Little League World Series but it's really the only thing keeping it afloat.



Age?
32


From your post... Boulder is most fitting and has by far the most communal housing options in CO.
Lyons (nearby), is similar, but very small. (ic.org is handy for communal housing)


I was thinking Boulder or Denver to begin with. My friend lived in Boulder for 10 years but has been back here for at least 10 so I'm sure things have changed.


The sculpture thing looks cool - I don't really have a particular medium I've mastered, I've done ceramics before (sculpture mostly too) but I'm looking more to do stuff that can be mass produced. I want to publish comics and books and sell print on demand stuff online on the side, maybe etsy eventually. The stuff I make right now isn't easy to ship so I'll have to get into a new medium.


From Estes Park it is very ez to visit Boulder often. Many commute daily. You can arrange ride-sharing.


Estes Park looks amazing! I don't need anything that fancy, a coffee shop with wifi or a small studio with great lighting where I can blast my record player. But I'll def visit if I end up in or near Boulder. Steven King got ideas there after all!




General info https://www.denverpost.com/2015/10/0...ng-on-quickly/
Thank you for this!

[TCHP]

What type of art?

Performance and interactive arts will need to be in urban centers. This is the Denver metro. Unfortunately, Denver and Boulder are super expensive to find living quarters, but they also have the lions share of employment opportunities, some that pay much better than minimum wage, which is $11.10, btw. Denver has numerous art organizations to include the RiNo District, a nationally recognized Museum, and numerous patrons and organizations. Those more familiar with it can provide some references of places to look.

If you are doing painting, mixed media, craft style work or other easily transportable items, you could locate more remotely. You will be doing the travel road show and invitational scene which means you be hitting galleries from Montana to New Mexico. Colorado has tens of thousands of artists who moved here to be inspired by the surroundings. Galleries here have numerous people approaching them about displaying their work and gallery owners can be selective about who they take on for regular display or even special shows. This is why you will need to show outside of the immediate area if you are serious about selling your art.

Colo Spgs has an extensive hospitality employment base and it is continuing to grow. The performing arts have a pretty solid base here and the Manitou Art Center provides some good opportunities for business aspects, co-working space, and display opportunities. Drawback is rents in Colo Spgs are rising rapidly.
The Manitou Art Center


Pueblo has the Sangre De Christo Arts Center which host numerous events throughout the year to include static displays and performing shows. Pueblo rents may be considerably cheaper than other cities along I-25, but you would need to be selective about where you land there as some neighborhoods are a bit rough. Employment opportunities will also be fewer as well.
https://www.sdc-arts.org/

[otowi]

You might look into Manitou Springs as one possibility.

[COcheesehead]

Paonia, Hotchkiss, Fruita, Palisade are some to explore if the front range is too pricey or too overcrowded for you.

[Hipchik]

Salida. Salida Colorado Art, artists and the colorado art scene