$231 raised by 7 donors
1% complete
$20,000 Goal
The Latino Cultural Arts Center was founded on a radical belief: culture is not an accessory to social change—it’s the engine. When we invest in creativity, we invest in civic health, economic mobility, and generational healing.
In just six years, LCAC has reached 60,000+ people, leveraged millions in public and private investment, and broken ground on Las Bodegas, an 11,000 sq. ft. cultural innovation hub designed to nurture what cities too often neglect—place-keeping. It will feature four classrooms, two artists studios, a cafe, and a multimedia lab - and be fully electric. We’re building not just a center, but a movement: one where imagination and drive coexist, and where the arts become a civic necessity, not a luxury. Construction is anticipated to be completed Summer 2026.
Powered by Comunidad
Community is our greatest gift. Every program begins with listening, not marketing. From neighborhood art builds to statewide Mariachi festivals, LCAC proves that when people recognize themselves in the work, participation follows—not as charity, but as co-creation.
It’s how belonging becomes a renewable resource—each act of engagement generating new trust, creativity, and momentum. In this way, Comunidad doesn’t just sustain our programs; it is the program—an ever-growing network of people investing in one another’s growth and dignity.
Art Heals and Resists
Beauty alone isn’t enough — it must offer tools for resilience.
Our Ofrendas and wellness programs weave Indigenous ritual, collective grief work, and mental health practice into the creative process. Healing, we’ve learned, is both emotional and civic: it rebuilds trust where systems have failed.
When art becomes a vessel for mourning, reflection, and joy, it strengthens our capacity to face uncertainty together. Each brushstroke, song, and offering becomes an act of resistance against invisibility—reminding us that wellness is not an individual pursuit, but a collective right rooted in memory, ritual, and renewal.
Intergenerational Flow Sustains the Future
Legacy isn’t about passing the torch — it’s about keeping the flame moving.
Through Praxis / Agency / Mentorship (P/A/M) and the Viva Southwest Mariachi Festival, youth and elders collaborate as artists, teachers, and storytellers. Culture thrives when wisdom, skill, and imagination circulate freely across generations. Each exchange—whether it’s a young muralist learning ancestral design methods or an elder musician mentoring a Mariachi ensemble—reaffirms that creativity is a living inheritance, not a relic.
This continuity leads to transformation: young people gain roots, elders find renewal, and together they compose a future that honors the rhythm of those who came before while daring to improvise what comes next.
Leadership Requires Both Vision and Structure
Community trust endures only when imagination is matched with infrastructure.
Las Bodegas represents this balance—a space designed with Handprint Architects and Perkins & Will and built through transparent governance, MWBE participation, and disciplined fiscal stewardship. Systems make vision sustainable; vision gives systems purpose. In practice, that means treating every budget, timeline, and construction meeting as an act of cultural stewardship—proof that creativity and accountability can coexist. By building with integrity, we show that trust is not earned through promises, but through process: brick by brick, meeting by meeting, until the community can see itself reflected in both the art and the architecture.
Why Your Gift Matters:
Most people give when they see a return on their generosity. At LCAC, your return is measurable:
$25 helps youth artists learn design and business skills.
$50 supports mental wellness workshops rooted in cultural identity.
$100 brings a family into our community arts programs.
$500+ advances the completion of Las Bodegas—a space built for healing, learning, and creation.
Every dollar you give moves through multiple economies: social, emotional, cultural, and financial.
When you give, you are not funding an organization—you are fueling an idea:
Art is civic infrastructure, and community is our most renewable resource.
The LCAC develops, elevates, and showcases the artistic and intellectual contributions of Latinos by centering, celebrating, and activating Latinidad. We envision a multigenerational cultural innovation hub that merges community wellness, creative entrepreneurship, and environmental stewardship—building belonging, civic power, and economic opportunity through the creative process.
The Latino Cultural Arts Center (LCAC) Cultural Campus spans Denver’s Sun Valley and La Alma neighborhoods and is emerging as a national model for sustainable cultural development. The vision for a Latino Cultural Campus was born from a simple idea: to create a center with many points of entry—a place where artists, educators, families, and everyday people can connect through creativity, learning, and shared identity.
Our programs harness the power of the creative economy and put it directly in the hands of community—turning cultural expression into opportunity, education, and social connection. We began in 2018 with Hijos del Sol, an award-winning artisan boutique that expands the market for hand-made Latino and Indigenous goods across the Americas.
The next phase is the transformation of two industrial warehouses into Las Bodegas—a 10,000 sq. ft. hub for visual arts, digital media, and cultural entrepreneurship. Las Bodegas will infuse the local ecosystem with world-class talent through workshops, exhibitions, mentoring, and capacity-building programs. More than a facility, it will be a catalyst for innovation, belonging, and positive social change—locally and beyond.
Organization name
Latino Cultural Arts Center
other names
LCAC
2014
Tax id (EIN)
81-1705392
Category
Arts, Culture & Humanities
Organization Size
Large Organization
Colorado State Tax Credits
Colorado Enterprise Zone Credit
Address
1420 N. Ogden Suite 102Mailing
2645 W 7th Ave DenverDenver County, CO, US
Adams County, CO, US
Jefferson County, CO, US
CO, US