Boulder’s vibrant culture and arts scenes are continuing to blossom as more makers from a diverse array of backgrounds put roots down in our lovely city. The New Local, a Boulder-based nonprofit made up of 60 local female artists, recently entered the scene with a beautiful splash. Learn more about this awesome nonprofit artists’ community below.
What is The New Local?
The New Local is composed of artists from a variety of mediums: floral designers, sculptures, oil painters, leatherworkers, and more. The New Local (TNL) is also a brick-and-mortar location at 741 Pearl Street that welcomes guests to explore and purchase local artisan wares. Focused on economic empowerment for women-identifying creators, TNL gives artists the opportunity, tools, and space to earn a living by creating.
In addition to cultivating a creative community and running its artisan storefront, TNL hosts workshops for people of all ages. These classes encourage imagination and creativity while sharing hands-on skills for creating art in different modalities.
Origins
Founded in 2019 by Marie-Juliette Bird, TNL started as a group of women artists and creatively-focused entrepreneurs. Bird invited the crew – which included a photographer, botanical product creator, bead artists, hat maker, and others – to sign short-term leases in an old janitorial supply shop. They based TNL’s structure on a collective model in which they would all share expenses with each business owner, keeping 100% of the profit it made. This idea – in which no one profited off of anyone else – allowed competition to die and collaboration to bloom. In its first six weeks, TNL participants made $48,000, collectively.
Get Involved
In addition to buying art from TNL artists, you can get involved in numerous other ways. Participate in a workshop, share TNL newsletters, buy a gift certificate, or even sponsor artists. A sponsorship allows one artist to participate in TNL’s Artist Membership Program – a six-month exhibition in the downtown gallery space.
Next time you’re bopping around Pearl Street, stop by 741 Pearl and see what The New Local is all about. We get to have great art around Boulder because of the lovely creatives who have decided to call this place home. Let’s continue making it economically feasible for all artists to live, work, play, and create in our beautiful city by supporting organizations like this one.