Dairy Center for the Arts gets $1 million, its biggest gift ever

Matthew Gale

The Dairy Center for the Arts, one of Boulder's premiere performing arts institutions, received the largest grant in its 22-year history Friday.

Boulder residents Gordon and Grace Gamm donated $1 million to the organization.

The funds will be used to make additional renovations to the facility beyond the $3.9 million already budgeted as a result of the passage of Ballot Measure 2A in early November, according to Dairy executive director Bill Obermeier.

The additional improvements will include:

• An upgrade to a dance floor in one of the institution's three theater spaces.
• Improvements to the appearance of walls and lighting system.
• A new, comfortable waiting area for parents to pick up their children.

"This allows us to do some additional upgrades that we otherwise wouldn't have been able to do, which means that the arts experience here is going to be even better than it would have been," ​Obermeier said. 

(Photo: Courtesy of the Dairy Center for the Arts)

The funding will be used to underwrite performances by more high-profile acts, such as out-of-town groups like Giordano Dance Chicago, Obermeier said. The center couldn't previously afford those high-profile acts," so it changes the paradigm for the arts that are offered at the Dairy Center."

Founded in 1992, The Dairy Center hosts more than 200,000 arts events per year and provides educational experiences for more than 2,000 students. 

"Grace and I hope for The Dairy to become the coordinating hub for the arts in Boulder in order to maximize the quality of arts entertainment and education," Gordon Gamm said.