PBS12 Colorado In-Depth Interviews

Learn how Colorado is pioneering the future of creative entrepreneurship with Meredith Badler, Deputy Director of the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA).  With the creative sector generating $19.7 billion for the state's economy and supporting over 120,000 jobs, Badler discusses why artists must view themselves as small business owners while society continues to value the intrinsic power of their craft.
Badler also highlights the critical infrastructure CBCA provides to help creators protect and scale their work, including pro bono legal assistance through Colorado Attorneys for the Arts and grassroots legislative updates via the Colorado Arts Action Network. Discover how over a decade of peer learning at the statewide CCI Summit has fostered collaboration between rural mountain towns and urban centers, ensuring that grassroots projects in every corner of Colorado continue to thrive. Subscribe to our channel for more in-depth interviews with the innovators, advocates, and leaders powering Colorado's creative economy.

Discover the strategic leadership and daily execution behind rural municipal revitalization with Veronica Maes, Director of Create Trinidad, Main Street Director, and Communications Coordinator for the City of Trinidad. In this interview from the Colorado Creative Industries Summit, Maes outlines how steady consistency, relationship building, and community buy-in helped transform a historic industrial hub into a designated creative district and a state-recognized Space to Create community.
Maes shares practical economic models that directly fund working artists, including a municipal agreement where Create Trinidad receives 20% of civic building rental fees to finance artist micro-grants. She also details summit initiatives like the 200-piece local centerpiece program that returned 90% of art sales directly to creators, alongside popular town events like First Fridays and the Trinidad Art Fest. Learn how resourcefulness and civic partnerships keep historic communities vibrant without relying strictly on mass tourism.

Go behind the lens with independent filmmaker Ty Bradford as he breaks down the creation of his genre-bending horror-comedy feature "UCK". Speaking at the Colorado Creative Industries Summit, Bradford discusses how a premise about small-town carpet cleaners discovering subterranean creatures serves as a Trojan horse for an emotional father-son story and a nuanced coming-out narrative. He explains how documentary research influenced his approach to narrative fiction and why genuine vulnerability is critical to making cinema that resonates with audiences.
Bradford also details his decision to utilize 100% practical special effects, detailing his on-set collaboration with practical effects veteran Todd Debreceni and the unique performance energy physical effects bring to a cast and crew. He candidly tackles the modern hurdles facing independent filmmakers, from assembling dedicated Colorado crews to the uphill battle of theatrical roadshow distribution in a market increasingly dominated by proprietary streaming algorithms.

Celebrate decades of grassroots cultural advocacy and community leadership with Tami Graham, recipient of the Governor's Award for Arts and Community Action. In this conversation from the Colorado Creative Industries Summit, the former CCI council member reflects on four decades of community engagement across Durango, Mancos, and Ignacio, including her role in founding the Mancos Creative District and producing over 100 community events and concerts. Graham shares how humble listening and authentic relationship-building form the cornerstone of sustainable cultural development.
Graham also details the impact of the Native Lens Project, an Indigenous-led documentary collaboration between KSUT Tribal Radio, Rocky Mountain Public Media, and Fort Lewis College. She discusses how providing direct training and distribution platforms empowers Indigenous creators to tell first-person stories on their own terms, examining complex issues of identity and heritage. Learn why collective artistic gatherings provide essential moments of connection and joy, and hear Graham's advice for mentoring the next generation of creative leaders

Explore how mountain destinations are harmonizing heritage tourism with municipal creative planning in this interview with Talia Siens, Arts and Cultural Program Director for Visit Estes Park and the Estes Arts District. Recorded at the Colorado Creative Industries Summit, Siens outlines her role bridging local working artists with the region’s destination management organization, highlighting how the community’s state-certified creative district status is elevating cultural programming. She showcases the area’s dynamic creative offerings, ranging from historic venues like the Park Theatre to local music festivals and gallery walks.
Siens reveals major cultural preservation and capital expansion projects taking shape throughout the valley, including the restoration of the historic Stanley Home Museum and Whimsydoodle’s artisan spaces. She also discusses the major announcement that Estes Park will host the Colorado Creative Industries Conference in 2028, coinciding with the anticipated opening of the Stanley Film Center.

Step inside the technical and business realities of post-production and film infrastructure with Shawna Schultz, co-owner of Mass FX Media and 38th & Post, and Vice President of the Colorado Film and Video Association (CFVA). In this conversation from the Colorado Creative Industries Summit, Schultz details how her Denver-based studio transitioned from documentary visual effects on major streaming projects like The Social Dilemma to investing in a full-scale physical finishing theater and color-grading facility. She explains why in-person creative collisions and dedicated brick-and-mortar spaces remain essential for taking independent feature films over the finish line.
Schultz also outlines the FAMCO (Film and Media Community of Colorado) initiative, a statewide effort designed to align film professionals, municipal leaders, and state agencies behind an actionable economic roadmap. Drawing on a multi-city town hall process, she details the "flywheel concept" used to launch 18 actionable initiatives, including regional producer accelerators and local investor clubs. Learn how competitive film incentives, local capital, and unified workforce development can establish Colorado as a self-sustaining film production center.