Denver Arts and Venues has announced the recipients of the 2018 Denver Music Advancement Fund Grant, as well as the IMAGINE 2020 Fund Grant. To reiterate, the Denver Music Advancement Fund and IMAGINE 2020 Grant were created to accompany Denver’s long-term initiative to build and maintain the city’s music scene as part of the city-sponsored Denver Music Strategy. 2018 is the pilot year of the Denver Advancement Fund Grant, which was initially set to provide $80,000 to spur local music growth but, has since increased to $100,000.

Each applicant of the Denver Advancement Fund can be awarded a maximum of $7,500 in support of Denver’s music scene. Likewise, the IMAGINE 2020 Fund, a grant now in its fourth year, also provides a maximum of $7,500, but for newly innovative and creative programs inspired by one or more of the seven attributes outlined in Denver’s IMAGINE 2020 Cultural Plan — integration, amplification, accessibility, lifelong learning, local talent, economic vitality and collective leadership.

Those awarded one or both of the grants span the gamut from professional organizations like Rocky Mountain PBS to individual artists pursuing their musical ambitions. The deadline for application was originally August 3 but was extended until August 10 to incorporate more ideas and applicants. For the Denver Advancement Fund, nearly 100 applied and 30 grantees were selected, whereas for the IMAGINE 2020 Fund Grant, 70 applications were submitted and 27 recipients were chosen. The recipients are as follows:

2018 Denver Music Advancement Fund Grantees as provided by Denver Arts and Venues

7th Circle Collective: AV Club

Adam Baumeister: Colorado Audio Archive

Adrian H. Molina: Rap as Literature

Amber Blais: Zabiti – An Immersive Circus Adventure

Andre Carbonell: Insomniacs Live

ArtHyve: Escaping Erasure: A Musician’s Guide to Archiving

Birdseed Collective: Globeville Center “Visionary Music Program”

Black in Bluhm Project: The Black in Bluhm Project (BiBP)

Bring Music to Life: Instruments to Support Denver Public Schools

Catherine Beeson: Sensory Friendly Family Concerts

Denver Bass Squad: Double Bass Doubling

Denver Children’s Choir: Neighborhood Choir Program

Denver Public Library: United by Music / Unidos Por La Musica

Denver Young Artists Orchestra Association: DYAO Cultural Exchange Central European Tour

DocuWest Film Festival: Film and Music Festival

El Sistema Colorado: Professional Development for Teaching Artists

Girls Rock Denver: Girls Rock After School Program

Lauren Kashuk: shesaid.so Denver

Levitt Denver: BandStart – Inspiring, Teaching, Engaging in Music (ITEM) Performance Series

Nathan Hall: Active Music

Patrick Riley: Mutually Detrimental – Denver ArtistsFund

Su Teatro: Inclusive or Derivative Workshops and Performances

The Black Box, LLC: Studio and Career Exploration

The HadaNou Collective: Vocal Coalition presents Universo Holografico con 2MX2

The Hollow, LLC: Mental Wellness Meetup

The Newman Center: Musical Explorers

Think 360 Arts for Learning: Colorado Song Laboratory: Where History Meets Tomorrow

Toluwanimi Obiwole: Rhyme and Rhythms

West Community Economic Development Corporation: Músicos de Westwood

Youth on Record: My Youth on Record Podcast: The Past, Present, Future of the Colorado Sound

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