For 8 years Deana Miller was the Director of Public Art for the city of Aurora but in mid-2011 she, and husband/biz partner, Andy, decided to take a leap of faith when they purchased Art Management & Planning Associates, Inc (AMPA). Ironically, Deana had worked for the company in 1994 while she was in college for with a bachelor of fine arts in photography from the University of Colorado at Denver in 1996. Deana also holds a master of public administration from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center where she focused on learning strategies to help arts organizations be meaningful contributors to economic vitality.
LA: Tell me a bit about what AMPA does.
DEANA: The company has been in business for 30 years, helping improve the places where people live, work and play by leveraging arts and cultural assets. We work primarily with government agencies, corporations & nonprofits. Our expertise includes strategic planning for arts organizations and communities, integrating art into spaces and preserving art and cultural assets. We help with art purchases & commissions, collection management, installation, packing & transport, exhibition coordination and curating. We consult on arts district planning and even do public art fabrication.
LA: That's a fantastic array of services! Can you give me a couple of examples of recent projects?
DEANA: Sure. For instance, CenturyLink has a huge collection, 2500 pieces, spread over 8 states & includes works by Miro, Calder & Colorado's own Emilio Labato & Dale Chisman. I just finished curating an exhibit from their collection for the Monroe, LA office. I selected the pieces from the collection, Andy & the team packed then transported them to the location, then I came through & placed the pieces where I wanted them and the team finished up by hanging the exhibit. Another recent project was helping the city of Boulder develop a comprehensive strategic plan for their arts & cultural programs. I assembled a team to; assess existing programs, how to involve the community, what other cities are doing and to make recommendations of what Boulder could do to strengthen the arts industry.
LA: Your list of clients is impressive. A friend of mine worked for you at the Clyfford Still Museum helping change out the exhibition. He told me how amazing it was to be unrolling these huge canvases & have straw fall out -which let him know he was the first to see the paintings since Still himself rolled up them up in his barn/studio. How big is your staff?
DEANA: The Clyfford Still Museum is one of our most sized clients. For all our projects, we keep a group of 4-5 pretty busy & supplement them with sub-contractors as the various projects require.
LA: And finally, what are you working on now that's got you excited?
DEANA: I'm in tale with a local architect to consult on a public art project in North Dakota. And I'm trying to find the balance between working "in" the business and working "on" the business which is to say, I'd like to find the time to do more marketing so we can expand.
LA: Well thanks so much for sharing a bit about your endeavors and best of luck to you and Andy - Denver is lucky to have you!
LA: Tell me a bit about what AMPA does.
DEANA: The company has been in business for 30 years, helping improve the places where people live, work and play by leveraging arts and cultural assets. We work primarily with government agencies, corporations & nonprofits. Our expertise includes strategic planning for arts organizations and communities, integrating art into spaces and preserving art and cultural assets. We help with art purchases & commissions, collection management, installation, packing & transport, exhibition coordination and curating. We consult on arts district planning and even do public art fabrication.
LA: That's a fantastic array of services! Can you give me a couple of examples of recent projects?
DEANA: Sure. For instance, CenturyLink has a huge collection, 2500 pieces, spread over 8 states & includes works by Miro, Calder & Colorado's own Emilio Labato & Dale Chisman. I just finished curating an exhibit from their collection for the Monroe, LA office. I selected the pieces from the collection, Andy & the team packed then transported them to the location, then I came through & placed the pieces where I wanted them and the team finished up by hanging the exhibit. Another recent project was helping the city of Boulder develop a comprehensive strategic plan for their arts & cultural programs. I assembled a team to; assess existing programs, how to involve the community, what other cities are doing and to make recommendations of what Boulder could do to strengthen the arts industry.
LA: Your list of clients is impressive. A friend of mine worked for you at the Clyfford Still Museum helping change out the exhibition. He told me how amazing it was to be unrolling these huge canvases & have straw fall out -which let him know he was the first to see the paintings since Still himself rolled up them up in his barn/studio. How big is your staff?
DEANA: The Clyfford Still Museum is one of our most sized clients. For all our projects, we keep a group of 4-5 pretty busy & supplement them with sub-contractors as the various projects require.
LA: And finally, what are you working on now that's got you excited?
DEANA: I'm in tale with a local architect to consult on a public art project in North Dakota. And I'm trying to find the balance between working "in" the business and working "on" the business which is to say, I'd like to find the time to do more marketing so we can expand.
LA: Well thanks so much for sharing a bit about your endeavors and best of luck to you and Andy - Denver is lucky to have you!
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