Precedent for Economic Development through the Arts in Creede

Creede is the county seat of Mineral County, Colorado. The 2020 Census recorded a permanent County population of 865. The population of seasonal residents and workers is estimated at over 10,000. While the idea that a relatively small and remote mountain town could support and derive economic benefits from a new and ambitious arts institution may seem implausible, Creede's history tells another story.

From its founding during the Colorado Silver Boom through 100 years of devastating floods, fires, and mine closures that threatened the town's economic base, Creede's ability to thrive can be mainly credited to the drive of its residents and their collective determination to see the city they love adapt, grow, and innovate to meet economic challenges and changing times. The nationally recognized example is the town's reinvention as an arts destination in the late 20th century.

Creede Center for the Arts will build upon this long tradition.

Creede was Colorado's last 19th-century silver boom town. While the silver boom was ultimately short-lived, mining lead, zinc, copper, and other minerals fueled Creede's economy for almost 100 years. However, by the 1960s, mining was in decline, and Creede needed a new source of income.

In 1966, local leaders met to brainstorm ways to secure some new attractions for summer visitors for Creede that might stimulate business activity. They identified an opportunity to revamp the town's old opera house. The challenge: actors, singers, and musicians were not abundant in this small mining town facing economic decline.

City leaders were undeterred. Letters were sent to universities across the country in hopes that some group of students might come to establish a resident theatre in the old opera house. They received a single response: a 19-year-old theatre student at the University of Kansas offered to lead a group of twelve students from Lawrence, Kansas, to Creede. With a tiny amount of seed funding and a lot of local pride and goodwill, Creede Repertory Theatre (CRT) was born.

The theatre grew quickly. When Creede's last mine was closed in 1985, CRT became Mineral County's most significant summer employer. Today, the theatre, which includes the mainstage (former opera house), a black box theater, and housing for artists, hosts 20,000+ patrons during its summer season. In addition, 35,000 young people are impacted by its educational programs, which reach students across Colorado and New Mexico.

The American Theater Association awarded CRT the prestigious Joseph Papp award in recognition of its quality as one of the nation's most prominent regional theaters. In 2021, CRT was featured by the New York Times as one of the nation's preeminent arts destinations. Today, CRT has an annual economic impact of nearly $3.75 million locally, with an additional $6 million in effect on the state.

In the summer of 2023, Creede Center for the Arts commissioned Pioneer Development to execute an Economic Impact Study. This firm has considerable experience in both small rural communities and the arts. This critical report projects the estimated impact that Creede Center for the Arts will have on the town of Creede, Mineral County, and the surrounding area. Pioneer Development gathered data from the City of Creede, Mineral County, local businesses, the Underground Mining Museum, and CRT to estimate sales tax and increased tourism impact.

Pioneer Development's findings presented that Creede Center for the Arts will have an estimated indirect economic impact of $1.6-1.9 million annually on Creede. When partnering that data with CRT's economic impact of $3-5 million annually with the Center's project, Creede Center for the Arts and CRT will represent 18-22% of Creede's total annual sales. Proving the impact of the arts on this local economy.

The numbers obtained from CRT, local venues, and businesses help to provide a basis for the assumptions that underlie revenue projections. The table on the next page summarizes audience traffic and other data, as reported by the representatives of these institutions. Note particularly the long periods in which these organizations have sustained themselves in Creede, the geographic diversity of tourist traffic, the reliable "busy season," and the number of tickets sold.

The arts are a proven tool for driving rural economic development.

Pointing to an expanding body of research that shows arts-based development leading to positive economic and quality-of-life outcomes for rural communities, The National Governors Association calls for strategies that leverage the unique cultural capital that rural communities possess through place-based initiatives, like Creede Center for the Arts. Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has said, "The future of mountain towns is outdoor recreation, quality restaurants, and the arts!".

Sustaining Cultural Institutions in a Small Market

While CRT is Creede's largest art venue, it is not the only one. The Creede Underground Mining Museum opened in 1992 and has over 10,000 ticket buyers annually. The town also boasts a small history museum, an outdoor park used seasonally for music performances, and several galleries and restaurants serving the large visitor and second-home population. Undoubtedly, Creede's attraction is fueled in part by the spectacular outdoor opportunities that Mineral County offers, including the Weminuche Wilderness, the San Juan National Forest, the headwaters of the Rio Grande, the Silver Thread Scenic and Historic Byway, Wheeler Geological Area, North Clear Creek Falls (the most photographed waterfall in Colorado), and the historical mines that thrived in the 1800's along Creede's Bachelor Loop.

Art Institutions in Creede Colorado

Other local arts-directed nonprofits include the Creede Arts Council and Creede Musical Arts Collective.

Patron Profile

• Second Homeowners
• Tourists
  • Outdoor recreation enthusiasts
  • Art enthusiasts (theatre/film/photography/music/painting)
  • Destination workshop attendees (artists)
  • Historical and Scenic Byway Travelers
• Nearby Communities
  • Pagosa Springs (64 miles)
  • Durango (124 miles)
  • San Luis Valley (45-80 miles)
  • Lake City (50 miles)
  • Taos (156 miles)
  • Santa Fe (200 miles)

Target Markets

Leveraging Existing Tourism in Creede & Bringing New Arts Tourism

According to data provided by the Creede & Mineral County Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center, the area attracts 2.9M visitor days annually. Winter months average a few hundred visitors a day; peak Summer months record a much higher 6,000-15,000 visitors/day in Downtown Creede, with up to 22,000 in the area.

Visitor Center surveys indicate that, broadly categorized, visitors are planning to take in arts and culture (42%), outdoor experiences (35%), and shopping (14%). Roughly half of visitors to Creede are first-time tourists; 30% have visited two to five times, and around 25% have visited Creede five times or more.

Creede Center for the Arts will advance Creede’s reputation as an arts destination. It will be an obvious attraction to new and repeat tourists who, while their primary interest in Creede may lie elsewhere, will be compelled to find out what the new Center offers. Moreover, due to its status as the first International Watercolor Museum in the United States, the new Center will be a ‘driver destination’ for a new subset of travelers to Creede – art lovers whose primary interest is the Center. This is a win-win for all stakeholders.

Target Population

With a mission that enhances residents' lives and expands the community's economic base, the primary target population is, naturally, the permanent population of Creede and the surrounding area.

Creede’s vibrant arts scene serves as a powerful economic anchor for our 950 permanent residents and the millions of visitors who arrive each year; however, the town experiences a stark shift in the off-season, leaving local residents and workers to navigate the challenges of quieter, leaner winter months.

Other Key Beneficiaries and stakeholders include:

Students: The Creede Repertory Theatre impacts 35,000 young people annually with educational programs that reach students across Colorado and New Mexico. The Center will learn from and model CRT's outreach methods, partner with CRT (the Center launched its first education collaboration with CRT in the summer of 2024, and again in 2026), and gradually build a similarly high-impact education program. In 2026, the Education Program Director partnered with the Creede School District to offer several workshop-style classes to Middle and High School students.

Part-time residents: Many of Creede's strongest devotees are people who experience it as a second home, many for generations, and who have disposable income for cultural and recreational experiences, as well as philanthropy. Support of this critical and dedicated population sustains the local economy in summer and organizations like churches, the Arts Council, an emerging Creede Musical Arts Collective, and Creede Repertory Theatre all year. The engagement of part-time residents is part of the leadership of Creede Center for the Arts, both in the near term and in the future.

Arts Tourists: The Center's proximity to the majestic natural landscape and its exhibition of world-class work, both globally and regionally, enable the Center to lift above its local roots and become a destination for a wide range of professional or amateur painters, hobbyists, researchers, and other art form lovers.

Regional & International Art Tourists

Creede Center for the Arts will be marketed as a top-tier destination for professional and amateur painters seeking opportunities to study the Center's collections, library, and archives while enjoying opportunities to participate in watercolor instruction and workshops.

The market for watercolor-specific art tourism is surprisingly large. Across the United States, there are hundreds of watercolor societies whose membership, conservatively estimated, totals more than 30,000. Most are hobbyists, including many retirees with time and income for travel.

Notably, Stephen Quiller is already well-known to these societies. Members are quite familiar with his work – Quiller has authored seven books and sold 140,000 copies, produced five comprehensive video training series, and developed a color wheel used by over 250,000 creators. As an educator, he has led 325+ workshops across 31 states and 18 countries, teaching nearly 10,000 students to date.

Schools

School districts throughout San Luis Valley and beyond have been sending students to Creede for arts experiences for decades. Students visit Creede Repertory Theatre in significant numbers from the Creede and Del Norte school districts, Adam State College in Alamosa, and Monte Vista School. The theatre's young audience outreach tour has been in operation for 39 years, reaching as many as 35,000 youth in a typical season. Many of these students have never before seen live theatre. All of this indicates a desire for arts experiences and enrichment among nearby schools and a young and growing potential audience for the future.

While school partnerships are unlikely to be a primary source of earned revenue for the new Center, its education programs are a potential source of significant grant revenue from education-oriented foundations and donors.

Year-Round Residents

Rural America faces tremendous challenges, not the least of which are faced in small communities like Creede. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, rural populations were declining, reducing their local tax base and limiting their civic power. Evidence of this decline ranges from rural hospital closures to insufficient numbers of children to keep schools open and shrinking economic opportunities for the next generation of families to remain and grow. While Creede saw initial declines in the 1990s after the last mines closed, the population has been relatively stable since then.

With a permanent population of about 950 residents in Mineral County, local consumers are unlikely to contribute substantially to the museum's earned revenue. However, local and second-home stakeholders remain a primary focus of the project’s vision. Creede reaches peak visitation during the mid-to-late summer. Local businesses must take in all the revenue they can during this short period before the low season commences in late September and several months of relative quiet ensue. During these months, many of Creede's restaurants and shops have shuttered, while purveyors of lodging and services have closed or drastically reduced their offerings. At that point, few work and cultural opportunities are available to locals. According to data from our Mineral County Public Health, residents report experiencing feelings of social isolation or disconnection during the extended off-season; in fact, Mineral County has indicated that the number one goal in their 2024-2029 Public Health Improvement plan is to, “Decrease isolation and loneliness by promoting and providing opportunities for well being.”

By providing a consistent space for social and wellness programming, the Center aims to proactively counter these trends and ensure that community members remain connected and supported throughout the year. The project will improve the quality of life for residents by offering a new, inviting space for arts experiences, community events, public health initiatives, leisure, and relaxation. And, because it will be open year-round, the social, as well as economic, benefits over time could be profound.

The new Center will attract tourists who may be more willing to visit Creede during the low season. The new Center can intentionally schedule workshops and other opportunities to create traffic during these months. By increasing tourism to Creede during the colder months, demand for food and drink, lodging, and services will increase — benefitting locals by creating more jobs off-season and raising the quality of life by making the town more vibrant year-round.

Creede has demonstrated sustained economic resilience compared to many rural communities, beginning with its recovery from the mine closures of the 1980s through the establishment of a nationally recognized, thriving theater. This foundation helped foster a vibrant arts and cultural scene which, combined with Creede’s mountain, forest, and river setting—including the Weminuche Wilderness and the Rio Grande River—has attracted and retained second-home owners and repeat, multi-generational visitors. Despite these cultural and economic strengths, residents continue to advocate for additional off-season economic opportunities.