About MCA Denver at The Holiday Theater

We announced a landmark arrangement with the newly formed Denver Cultural Property Trust that will ensure that the city’s creative community has a long-term hub for the arts at the historic Holiday Theater in the Northside neighborhood, a space where MCA Denver has held some of its dynamic off-site programming, such as Mixed Taste, over the last six years. Through a seven-year lease of the space, with the option to renew for two terms, MCA Denver will greatly advance the museum's mission and generate new opportunities for its innovative, community and artist-driven programming, and creative partnerships. 

“MCA Denver advocates for the artists in our region to ensure that creative life, and those who make the city so vibrant, can continue to thrive. Advancing our mission to celebrate and scrutinize the field of contemporary art, while also providing a platform for creative expression within a treasured, storied theater in a vibrant neighborhood rich with history is an absolute dream,” said Nora Burnett Abrams, MCA Denver Mark G. Falcone Director. “We greatly look forward to working with the Northside community to honor the incredible history of this space and neighborhood through thoughtful and creative, site-responsive programming that builds upon MCA Denver’s long history of experimentation and innovation.” 

MCA Denver’s leasing of the Holiday Theater is the first initiative of a new Denver Cultural Property Trust, established by Continuum Partners’ CEO and MCA Denver Emeritus Board Member, Mark Falcone, with the mission to preserve important commercial spaces and residences on a long-term, affordable basis for artists and creative practitioners in the community. The Trust’s first purchase was the Holiday Theater, and its unique ownership structure allows buildings purchased at market price to be leased to the city’s creative workforces and the organizations that support them at below-market rents. The Trust is in the process of establishing its not-for-profit status and will be led by a board of directors.

MCA Denver will take occupancy of the Holiday Theater in December 2021 and aims to begin programming by spring. Its activation of the building will be guided by several core principles: 

• To be a beacon of creativity for artists and the surrounding community through artist residencies, public art projects, and artist-led programming collaborations 

• To be a trusted partner to artists and community members by co-creating opportunities for students at neighboring high schools and colleges, providing a home for small arts-based non-profits, and forming long-term partnerships with performing arts organizations 

• To be an incubator for creative practice by offering rehearsal and performance spaces and providing professional services and career development opportunities to artists