Inspired by the Artspace Loveland Arts Campus, the State of Colorado spearheaded Space to Create Colorado, a multi-agency, public-private partnership to drive economic development through the arts in rural and mountain communities. Governor Hickenlooper announced the $45 million program, which is the nation’s first state-driven initiative for affordable housing for artists and creatives. To kickoff Space to Create, the partnering organizations, Artspace, Colorado Creative Industries, the Boettcher Foundation, and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, broke ground on a demonstration project in Trinidad. Eight Space to Create projects will follow, with towns to be selected for projects via a competitive, state-wide process. Ridgway and Paonia will next receive an arts facility, with six more to be determined.