Arts news: Opie Gone Bad sighting; praise for Nora Garrett; Neil Diamond and Goo Goo Dolls in Denver

Gary Steuer surprised the local arts community this week when he announced that he will be leaving the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation after more than 12 years as President and CEO.

Steuer said he has simply decided “it is time to move on.”

“I am excited about what the future holds for the Foundation and the opportunity for new leadership,” he said.

The Bonfils-Stanton Foundation invests anywhere from $3 million to $5.5 million a year in arts, culture and nonprofit leadership in the Denver area through grants and fellowships.

It also focuses on promoting equity and serving historically marginalized communities.

As CEO, Stanton is responsible for the foundation’s overall strategic direction, and using “impact investing” to align the foundation’s assets with its mission. Under Steuer, for example, the share of foundation grants directed to BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disability-led organizations grew from just 2% in 2012 to roughly 40% in 2024. 

Other significant accomplishments included creating a COVID emergency relief fund that leveraged additional investments from peer foundations and individual donors to distribute more than $2 million in total aid to artists in need. In 2022, Bonfils-Stanton relocated its headquarters to the Santa Fe Arts District to become more accessible to arts and culture organizations.

The foundation has responded to critical real-estate needs in the cultural community by supporting major capital projects at organizations including the Denver Art Museum, Denver Botanic Gardens, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, Su Teatro, Latino Cultural Arts Center, Lighthouse Writers Workshop and Access Gallery, among others.

“I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished since I arrived in 2013,” Steuer said in a statement.

Just last year, Steuer was included among “The ArtDesk 100” – a heady list of 100 creators, thinkers and voices who evangelize for a better world in a way that transcends their own success. Steuer was included alongside luminaries such as Dolly Parton, Bono, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lin-Manuel Miranda, John Waters, Nick Cave and Isabel Allende. He was nominated by Scott RC Levy, executive director of Green Box Arts in Green Mountain Falls.

“There are certain people who just exude a passion for advocacy of the arts, and Gary is one of those people,” Levy told the Denver Gazette. “I think the work of Bonfils-Stanton under Gary’s leadership has served as a model for arts advocacy and philanthropic support throughout the entire state – and it’s made ripples throughout the country.”

But at a time when federal funding for the arts has been slashed and DEI initiatives have been under attack, Steuer’s withdrawal could not come at a more precarious time, especially combined with Deborah Jordy’s recent resignation as executive director of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District.  

Christin Crampton Day, executive director of the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts, praised Steuer as a role model and exemplary leader who drives innovation, advances creativity and invites collaboration.

“We navigated some tough times together where (Gary’s) leadership and swift actions were critical for so many,” she said, adding that Steuer “always led with heart, equity and community in mind.”

A national search for Steuer’s successor, led by a Foundation trustee search committee, in partnership with a human resources consulting firm called Campbell.HR, already has begun.

Opie gone back

Jake Schroeder, last seen onstage in Denver hosting a reunion show for Opie Gone Bad in May 2024, spends much of his time now in France running his nonprofit called D-Day Leadership Academy. But if you were at Community of Grace Presbyterian Church in Arvada on Tuesday and you think you saw Schroeder singing as part of the church’s Second Tuesdays concert series, you did. Schroeder sang along with flutist Brook Ferguson and guitarist Ito Masakazu Ito. “We had so much fun that I think we are going to do a weird classical-pop hybrid gig,” he said. Stay tuned …

Praise for Nora Garrett

Last week, we told you that the new Julia Roberts film “After the Hunt” will be widely released Friday. It’s written by first-time screenwriter Nora Garrett, alumna of Denver School of the Arts. It’s a thriller that follows a college professor caught in between a sexual abuse accusation involving one of her students and a colleague. The story has sparked some controversy over its portrayal of the assault. 

In interviews, Roberts has acknowledged the strength of Garrett’s writing in bringing the film to fruition. On this week’s “Smartless” podcast episode, co-host Sean Hayes raved about the script. “What an awesome, dark, complicated character,” Hayes said of Roberts’ Alma – a Yale philosophy professor. “I believed every word coming out of her mouth, and it was crafted in such a way that reminded me of ‘Doubt’ and ‘Conclave.’”

Briefly …

The 39th annual Carousel Ball raised $2 million for the Children’s Diabetes Foundation on Oct. 11 at the Hyatt Regency. Legendary singer Neil Diamond was presented the Inspirational Lifetime Achievement Award, followed by a set from the rock band Goo Goo Dolls …

ALS activist Mindy Uhrlaub will be at The Bookies bookstore (2085 S. Holly St.) at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 23 with her new memoir “Last Nerve.” She’s a genetic carrier of the disease, and in her book she details her experience caregiving for her mother as she died of the same illness. Uhrlaub lived here for 13 years and attended the University of Denver for her undergraduate and graduate degrees.

John Moore is the Denver Gazette’s Senior Arts Journalist, and himself a member of the ArtDesk 100. Email him at [email protected]