Creativity Meets Commerce: David Siegel on the Business of the Arts

All right, folks, let's get busy here.

We've got David Siegel.

He is the executive director at N Center for the Arts at UCCS.

He is running that beautiful building over just south of campus.

And, you know, that is a wonderful setting, David.

We are so lucky, yeah.

You know, the arts have been such a core piece of UCCS for...

The last 51 years, UCCS is 61 years old this year.

Is that right? Theater Works is the professional theater company at the Enn Center.

Turns 51 this year.

So we have had a professional theater company on campus for longer than we've had a single sports team.

That's right.

And it's one of the reasons we have that beautiful, beautiful art center and not a beautiful football stadium.

I I love football, but I'm biased.

I think it's pretty cool and it really sets UCCS apart.

Indeed it does.

To have a facility like that.

Well,

let's calibrate the audience to who you are and, and a little bit more about the end center in general.

So what's your background? I mean, you're, you're kind of a born and raised here guy, aren't you? Yeah.

Grew up in Manitou Springs, uh, between friends, hated every minute of it.

Couldn't, couldn't wait to get out.

And, and, you know, I mean, Dirk, you know, this Colorado Springs, we have grown and changed so much as a community over the last third, 30 plus years.

Um, Couldn't wait to get out, moved to New York City.

Did the music thing out there for several years and kind of realized, hey, Colorado Springs, not so bad.