Access Gallery features exhibits of art that is accessible for all and provides year-long programming: ArtWorks bringing economic opportunity to artists with disabilities, Community Workshops bringing artistic exploration to underserved populations, and Access Education teaching inclusive practices.
Access Gallery is an inclusive nonprofit organization that engages the community by opening doors to creative, educational, and economic opportunities for people with disabilities to access, experience and benefit from the arts.
As a leader in accessible arts and creating economic opportunity for young people with disabilities in Colorado, Access Gallery (formerly VSA Colorado/Access Gallery) has served the community since 1978.
Access Gallery was born as the Colorado branch of VSA, an international nonprofit organization founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith. Nearly five million people with disabilities participate in VSA arts programs each year through affiliate programs in each state and over sixty countries worldwide. Access Gallery was established in 1978 and continues to evolve and thrive as an affiliate of VSA today. Each year, we serve nearly 100 young adults people with disabilities and their families.
Access Gallery firmly believes that every young person with a disability deserves access to appropriate arts learning experiences. All art educators should be appropriately prepared to include students with disabilities in their instruction. All children, youth and adults with disabilities should have complete access to community cultural facilities and activities. All individuals with disabilities who aspire to careers in the arts should have the opportunity to develop appropriate skills.
Access Gallery is located in the heart of Denver's Art District on Santa Fe, located within blocks of other galleries, schools, museums, and countless artist studios. Our presence on Santa Fe is a continual reminder of the equalizing power of art, breaking down social barriers and becoming a place where young adults from the neighborhood - or those without money - feel welcome to create, to question, and to learn from each other. We are a free gallery that is open to the public. Come visit for our art walks on the first and third Friday of each month.
The Colorado legislature created the Enterprise Zone (EZ) Program to encourage development in economically distressed areas of the state. The 16 designated enterprise zones have high unemployment rates, low per capita income, or slow population growth. Local enterprise zone administrators manage their respective enterprise zones.
In designated enterprise zones:
- businesses are eligible for state income tax credits and sales and use tax exemptions for specific business investments
- economic development projects form by incentivizing taxpayers to contribute through state income tax credits
- taxpayers who contribute to enterprise zone projects may earn income tax credits
Enterprise zone areas within rural counties that meet additional economic distress criteria receive enhanced rural enterprise zone status. Businesses within enhanced rural enterprise zones earn additional tax credits when adding net new employees.
