On July 27, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper announced the launch of the Space to Create Colorado program. Inspired by Artspace’s recent construction of 30 affordable live and work units for artists and their families in Loveland, Co., Gov. Hickenlooper has decided to replicate the Loveland facility in eight mountain and rural regions throughout Colorado. This will be the first time a state has launched an initiative of this nature.

Gov. Hickenlooper stated, “We’re trying to find ways that we can create long-term housing solutions for artists who don’t make very much money without having them get pushed from one place to another. The more you can get creative energy into a community, that energy helps the entire business climate.” Space to Create Colorado’s first location will be Trinidad with state officials planning to select a specific site location later this year. Officials hope to finish all nine projects within eight years; each project will have an average cost of $5 million each.

Gov. Hickenlooper was awarded the 2015 Public Leadership in the Arts Award for State Arts Leadership by Americans for the Arts and the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) at the USCM’s Winter Meeting on January 23 in recognition of his long-term support and advancement of the arts in Colorado.