Arts & Culture

Vision: A community that supports all forms of cultural expression.

Mission: Engage and celebrate the heritage, culture and creativity of our community.

Origin: Arts & Culture is a division of the Thornton Parks, Recreation and Community Programs Department. The division was established in 2006 to offer community-based programs and year-round events in partnership with other city departments and nonprofit organizations.

Programs: With funding provided by the city, Adams County, and the Scientific Cultural and Facilities District (SCFD), Arts Thornton creates, publicizes, and presents year-round Thornton Arts Academy education programs, seasonal performing arts series and community cultural events, quarterly art exhibits and public art.

• Arts Thornton works with other city departments and the community to support the Thornton Archive and history initiatives including development of the Ken Freiberg Fire Museum, Lambertson Farm, Eastlake, Aylor, and related collection and conservation of city artifacts and archival property.
• Arts Thornton also provides year-round administrative support for the Council-appointed Thornton Arts Sciences and Humanities Council (TASHCO) including the board's annual budget, monthly meetings, SCFD grant-funded programs, fundraising events, and subcommittees.
• Visit the Arts & Culture Events Calendar to see what’s happening at each of our facilities and at other city locations used to host year-round free and low-cost activities enriching Thornton residents and visitors.

Facilities: Arts & Culture is located at the Thornton Arts & Culture Center (TACC) at 9209 Dorothy Boulevard and opened in 2011 as the city hub for performing and visual arts with a gallery and theater space plus city archival storage and offices. The division's adjacent building, the Annex at 9211 Dorothy Boulevard, opened in 2021 and houses division staff plus additional meeting, gallery and classroom/studio space.

Arts & Culture offers year-round weeknight classes, camps, and second Saturday workshops in TACC, the Annex and other city facilities. TACC and the Annex are closed on Mondays and federal holidays with the Annex open to the public, Tuesday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and TACC open Tuesday-Friday from 12-5 p.m. and on Second Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for OZ Gallery exhibits. Admission is free.

Land Acknowledgement Statement: We, the city of Thornton, recognize that the land we occupy was cared for and called home by the Sioux, Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapaho people. This land holds historical, spiritual, and personal significance to indigenous nations of this region in addition to numerous others who use this land as a site for gathering and healing. We acknowledge that our public art projects are built on the traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of indigenous peoples. By offering this Land Acknowledgment, we recognize, support, and honor the sovereignty of the contemporary tribal nations in Colorado and beyond. We affirm our commitment to: a) be good stewards of this land, b) build relationships that unite our communities, and c) respect the contributions, innovations, and perspective of Indigenous peoples.

The City of Thornton has requested proposals from qualified consultants with expertise in Arts and Culture master planning to provide professional consulting services to develop a comprehensive Arts and Culture Master Plan for 2025-2030. 

This plan will build upon the city’s existing Arts and Culture Master Plan updated in 2017, as well as the Arts and Culture Division Strategic Plan, Public Art Plan and other city plans, to support Thornton’s current and future creative sector growth including community programs, services and related resources. 

The selected master plan consultant, Designing Local, will begin work soon. For more information and updates, email Alisa.Zimmerman@ThorntonCO.gov or call 720-977-5888.

Thanks to everyone who completed to this year's survey. Your feedback helps guide our annual program planning. Check out the responses [PDF/222KB]!

I. Feasibility Study (2023)

The City of Thornton, Colorado seeks qualified firms to update existing feasibility studies completed in 2018 and 2019 that analyzed the Denver metropolitan market for a Thornton-based, multi-use arts, cultural and event center and potential locations with designs for the center.

Thornton desires to understand 1) if there are performing arts and cultural event needs not being met by current venues in the region; 2) if there is sufficient demand in the area to make it financially feasible for the city to operate such a venue and to identify those detailed costs; 3) what facility and site amenities are necessary to ensure this venue is financially successful; and 4) what locations in Thornton would support construction and operation of a new venue.

Thornton is willing to create a center in Thornton that can be enjoyed by a broad range of people in the local and regional community, providing it does not duplicate what is already available, ensures a positive, long-term impact on the local economy and is able to financially sustain itself with various funding streams.

The final Feasibility Study Update [PDF/2.2MB] was presented at a Council Planning Session on Tuesday, June 6, 2023.

II. Community Survey (2024)

The city conducted a community survey approved by Council to determine parks, recreation and performing arts priorities for the community. The survey was created and distributed to a random sample of residents by an outside firm, ETC. Final community survey results [PDF/5.1MB] were presented by ETC at a Council Planning Session on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.  Raw data for the survey can be found here [PDF/1.8MB].

Project Links

• Theatre Projects (Lead Consultant)

• Keen Independent Research (Market Analysis)

• ETC Institute (Opinion Research)

All information is subject to change.

/media/2031 [PDF/838KB]