Thank you for your support of Street Wise Arts over the past year!
Street Wise was named 2023 Nonprofit of the Year by the Downtown Boulder Partnership in February. This honor marked the beginning of a year of growth and great success for our non-profit organization, and we could not have done it without the support of this community and our donors and sponsors.
In 2023, our small team reimagined our mural programming and expanded our youth education programs, community partnerships, and mural tour programs. Street Wise pivoted from the large mural festival model to a seasonal mural series format. Our successful Summer Series and Fall Series brought 10 new murals to the city of Boulder.
Additionally, we served more than 500 students with free arts programs and reached more Title I schools than ever before. We pay our teaching artists an equitable living wage by supplementing school rates. Organizations and public and private schools now seek out Street Wise due to the reputation and expanded reach of our youth programs.
Street Wise strengthened our community partnerships and collaborations in 2023. We returned to the Boulder Creek Festival to host the 2nd Annual Art Battle and participated in Downtown Boulder’s Community Art Day and [placeholder] festival, bringing professional live painting and hands-on art activities to the public.
During Boulder Arts Week, our special mural tours attracted great attendance and allowed the community to connect with local artists. Street Wise also developed our mural tour program as we continued to offer monthly walking tours and expanded our offerings to include bike and private tours. More than 150 people attended tours this year.
Looking ahead to 2024, Street Wise will further develop our youth and mural programs. We hope to expand youth programming outside the Boulder Valley School District, and focus on the “whole student” by encouraging participants to improve their physical and mental health, community, and environment. Additionally, Street Wise plans on continuing our seasonal Mural Series in 2024 and launching a new mural program to activate alleyways and residential areas.
Since 2017, Street Wise Arts has catalyzed bringing creativity, diversity, and community to our cultural landscape, schools, and city streets. We are extremely close to reaching our year-end fundraising goal of $25,000! Please consider contributing to our year-end fundraising campaign. Your donation will bring more public art and free education programs to the Boulder community in 2024.
Many thanks,
Leah Brenner Clack, Executive Director
Mural Series Highlights
Mural by Yazz Atmore for the Fall Mural Series
Five (5) new murals installed during our Summer Mural Series in honor of Community and Collective Healing by Danielle DeRoberts, Moe Gram, Grow Love, Will Barker, and Latasha Dunstion Greene
Five (5) new murals created by Rob Hill, Yazz Atmore, Jahna Rae, Marcus Murray, and Devin "Speaks" Urioste during our Fall Mural Series in partnership with the Museum of Boulder in celebration of Colorado’s Black Street Artists
Youth Program Highlights
Mural by Arapahoe Ridge High School students led by Max Coleman
Programming ranges from after-school programs, in-school artist residencies, panel discussions, artist talks, workshops, and tours
Arapahoe Ridge High School: Guest Artist Talk and 9-week Youth Mural Workshop
New Vista High School: 6-week Mixed Media Journal Class, 9-week Animation/Adobe After Effects Class, and 10-week Mural Workshop
Westminster Public Schools: 6-week Portrait-Making Class, two (2) 6-week Comic Book Creation Classes, and 6-week Fresh Fibers Class
Manhattan Middle School: 9-week Mural Workshop and 2-day Intensive Wearable Art Workshop
Boulder Prep High School: Watercolor & Poetry Monthly Intensive and Drawing & Painting Summer Intensive Class
Friends School: 6-week Mural Workshop and 4-week Street Art Studio Skills Class
EcoArts: Summer Mural Workshop
School Age Care: Street Art Studio 4-week Summer Camp
Ayuda International Exchange: Mural Tour & Art Making Day
Center for Visual Arts: Art + Work Artist Panel Discussion
Community Projects + Events Highlights
Spray Painting Workshop hosted by Grow Love
Ten (10) Adirondack chairs painted by local artists for auction and one (1) community chair painted by the public during the 2023 Art Battle at the Boulder Creek Festival
Two (2) Spray Painting Workshops hosted by local artists UcSepia and Grow Love
Community Day in honor of Summer Mural Series with mural tours, artist meet and greet, and panel discussion
Community mural led by Kaylee Bender and button-making activity at Community Art Day hosted by Downtown Boulder
Three (3) new murals by Marcus Murray, Selah Laurel, and Jasmine Holmes-Piesco and one (1) community art project led by Yazz Atmore and Devin “Speaks” Urioste during the Street Wise x Black Love Mural Battle at [placeholder] festival organized by Downtown Boulder
New community mural installed by David Ocelotl Garcia at Resource Central
Mural Tour Highlights
Boulder Arts Week Mural Tour
Expansion of our tour offerings to include walking tours, private tours, and bike tours
Two (2) special Boulder Arts Week Tours that included insights from Street Wise muralists and Boulder Alley Gallery artists
Featured collaborations with Haan Dances during May and June monthly tours and Sanctuary Gallery at the First United Methodist Church during July, August, and September monthly tours