On Friday evening, October 16, the galleries of Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design (RMCAD) were filled with the people who make Lakewood’s arts scene what it is: painters and printmakers, students and gallery owners, small business owners, city leaders, longtime West Colfax residents, and newcomers seeing the district up close for the first time.
They came for the 40 West Arts District’s annual Fundraising Gala, the organization’s only ticketed event of the year, and stayed for something harder to put a price on. For a few hours, the people who build the district every day were in one room, celebrating what connects them.
Held in the Philip J. Steele Gallery inside RMCAD’s Mary Harris Auditorium, the gala took the form of a cocktail party, with light bites and drinks. Rather than asking guests to simply watch, the evening invited them to take part.
Live art activations unfolded around the room, DIY art-making stations put materials in visitors’ hands, and games, prizes and a raffle kept the energy moving. Guests could also wander through exhibitions in RMCAD’s galleries, a fitting backdrop for an organization whose mission is to put art where people can reach it.
At the center of the night’s fundraising was a silent auction, giving attendees a chance to take home a piece of the district while investing in its future.
“We here at 40 West Arts District are so excited to celebrate our annual fundraising gala at the incredible Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design campus,” said Liz Black, Executive Director of 40 West Arts. “This annual event is our single ticketed event of the year. It’s the one time that we request that our visitors buy a ticket and donate in support of the district.”
One night that funds a year of free art
Nearly everything 40 West offers is free to walk into: the murals and public art along the corridor, the gallery openings, the monthly First Fridays that draw neighbors out onto Colfax, and programs that bring artists and families together throughout the year. The gala is the one moment the organization asks the community to help support what keeps the doors open the rest of the year.
“Funding is incredibly important for us,” Black said. “Everything we do throughout the year in community is totally free of charge and open to all, and we are truly invested in the work of increasing accessibility and equity in the arts, bringing the arts to Lakewood’s most historic corridor, and really celebrating artists, creatives, and community.”
Black’s words get at the heart of why 40 West exists. Art is often treated as something found behind a museum entrance fee or in a neighborhood that can already afford it. The district was built on a different idea: that a stretch of West Colfax deserves the same creative investment as anywhere else in the metro area, and that the people who live and work here should be able to experience it without a ticket. Every free event depends on nights like this one.
Where art and community meet
If there was a single theme running through the evening, it was that art and community are not separate things. A mural changes how a block feels to the people who walk past it every morning. A gallery opening gives neighbors a reason to stop and talk. A summer art camp gives a kid a place to belong. Over time, those small moments add up to something larger: a shared identity and a stronger sense of community.
Ward 2 City Councilmember Isabel Cruz described that connection as the reason she supports 40 West.
“The arts shape the fabric of our city: from changing how our streets look to providing opportunities for connection and joy with neighbors and loved ones,” Cruz said. “They also are a critical part of our economy, with the amazing businesses and creatives that call the West Colfax corridor home. I’m proud to support 40 West Arts’ fundraiser because I know how important their free programming, like First Fridays and summer camp, is to residents and families in Lakewood and beyond. Investing in their work contributes to the beauty, vitality, and uniqueness of our community.”
The choice of venue reinforced the point. Hosting the gala on RMCAD’s campus brought together two institutions that share the same corridor and the same belief that creative work belongs at the center of civic life. Students, working artists, and supporters mingled in spaces where the next generation of the district’s creatives is honing their craft.
Arts as economic development
The district’s impact also reaches the businesses that line West Colfax. Creative activity draws visitors, and visitors become regulars at the restaurants, shops, and studios that give the corridor its character.
“When 40 West thrives, the whole corridor thrives,” said Marissa Miller, Deputy Director of the Lakewood-West Colfax Business Improvement District. “The galleries, murals, and events this district produces bring people to West Colfax, and those visitors become customers for our restaurants, shops, and small businesses. We’re proud to stand behind an organization that makes this stretch of Colfax a destination.”
That partnership between arts and commerce is part of what makes West Colfax distinctive. Here, a gallery can sit beside a family-owned restaurant, and a mural can turn an ordinary storefront into a landmark. Supporting one strengthens the other.
The work continues
The support raised Friday night now goes to work across the district, funding the free events, public art and programming that residents will experience in the months ahead.
For those who missed the evening, there are still plenty of ways to take part. 40 West Arts accepts donations year-round, offers memberships, and welcomes volunteers. And perhaps the simplest way to support the arts on West Colfax costs nothing at all: participate. Walk the murals, stop into a gallery, bring a neighbor to First Friday. The art is already here. Community is what happens when people come to see it together.
Learn more, donate, or get involved at 40westarts.org.
