Strengthening Cities through Arts, Equity, and Leadership with Tariana Navas-Nieves

Dot Dot Dot: The NINE dot ARTS Podcast
Episodes 76-77

In this insightful, two-part episode, host Martha McGee speaks with Tariana Navas-Nieves, Deputy Director of Denver Arts & Venues, to explore her dynamic career path and dedication to Denver’s arts and cultural landscape. With a career spanning roles in private, nonprofit, and public sectors, Tariana brings a holistic perspective to her work, as well as a long-time dedication to building trust within the community. As the founder of Denver’s Office of Equity, Tariana stresses that “equity moves at the speed of trust,” and reinforces how government roles in particular have a responsibility to build meaningful, enduring relationships with communities. 

Tariana’s leadership has helped Denver Arts & Venues secure national funding and raise the profile of the city’s cultural sector. She highlights the city’s unique revenue model in which earnings from cultural venues like the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre are reinvested back into arts and cultural initiatives, allowing for continued sustainability and growth. 

This model is integral to the city’s approach to fostering public engagement through the arts, combating the “epidemic of loneliness” by promoting social cohesion and improved mental health. The model also supports how arts integration can uplift other sectors – such as transportation and economic development – to open new pathways for influence and impact, all of which is explored in Denver’s forthcoming cultural plan, set to launch in 2025.

Tariana’s wisdom throughout the conversation emphasized how arts, equity, and thoughtful leadership are essential for shaping our cities into vibrant and inclusive cultural destinations.

Discussed in the Episode: 
Tariana Navas-Nieves
Denver Arts and VenuesRed Rocks Park and Amphitheatre
Colorado Business Committee for the Arts
Taino Indians
Arawak People
SCFD (Scientific and Cultural Facilities District)
Denver Performing Arts Complex
McNichols Building
Champa Arts
Theater at Loretto Heights
Civic Center Park
Denver Office of Social Equity & Innovation
Denver’s Public Art Program
National Endowment for the Arts
Colorado Health Foundation
Vivek Murthy
Think360 Arts
Denver Art Museum
Access Gallery
Big Blue Bear
Blue Mustang
Tariana Navas-Nieves on Linkedin

About Tariana Navas-Nieves:
Tariana Navas-Nieves is a nationally recognized cultural leader with 30 years of experience in the arts and cultural public sector, philanthropy, venue management, cultural policy, museum and curatorial practice, equity and social justice work, translation and interpretation, and television and communications. She serves as Deputy Director of Denver Arts & Venues (DAV), the City and County of Denver’s local art agency which operates and manages the Denver Performing Arts Complex, McNichols Civic Center Building, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Denver Coliseum, Colorado Convention Center, Theatre at Loretto Heights, Champa Arts Building, Denver’s Public Art Program, and citywide cultural programs and investments. In her role, she works in partnership with others to lead a 95-person team, managing operating and capital budgets totaling $60 million and $188 million.

Navas-Nieves serves on the boards of Grantmakers in the Arts (Chair), Philanthropy Colorado (Chair), and Colorado Business Committee for the Arts. She is the co-author of the nationally recognized grantmaking toolkit, “Re-Tool: Racial Equity in the Panel Process,” and created the series “How to be an Anti-Racist Organization: A Conversation with Dwinita & Tariana,” a series with a strong following from all over the United States, Canada, South America, and the United Kingdom. Navas-Nieves also developed an Equity Platform for Denver Arts & Venues, making it the first city agency to have one. As such, Navas-Nieves was responsible for establishing the first Office of Social Equity & Innovation for the City & County of Denver in collaboration with Kim Desmond and Erin Brown. 

With curatorial expertise in Latin American, American Indian, and U.S. art, she also served as Curator of Hispanic and Native American Art at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Curatorial Consultant for the Denver Art Museum, Curator of Collections for the Museo de las Americas, and curator for private collections in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Navas-Nieves’ experience spans into communications and marketing, having worked as an Account Executive for one of the first agencies in the U.S. focused on multi-culturalism, overseeing accounts such as Anheuser-Busch and SCFD. She served as Public Information Officer for one of the state’s largest commuter rail transportation projects connecting to Denver International Airport, and as Director of Public Relations & Marketing for an arts nonprofit organization. Navas-Nieves worked in television, with a tenure in Telemundo as an arts reporter, as well as in translation and interpretation with her own business working for the Federal Court of Immigration, Children’s Hospital, and museums and city departments throughout the United States. 

Navas-Nieves holds a BA Cum Laude from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a MA from the University of Texas at Austin, Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. She is a graduate of Leadership Denver, class of 2015, holds an Executive Certificate in Philanthropic Leadership from Georgetown University, and is now part of Georgetown’s executive certificate faculty.  She was born and raised in Puerto Rico and is married and the mother of two children.

About Dot Dot Dot: The NINE dot ARTS Podcast:
Dot Dot Dot is the continuing conversation around art in the built environment. Episodes explore art, culture, placemaking, and more with a range of reputable art and business leaders. Tune in biweekly to learn how an original art experience can boost your business and make a positive social impact. Episodes are available wherever you get your podcasts!