Behind every good artist, there's an apt arts administrator. That seems to be Colorado Springs' philosophy, as the city has experienced a growth spurt in not just artists, but arts organizations over the past few years - coalitions, nonprofits, councils, all dedicated to funding art, cultivating artists, building new spaces for showing art, navigating the tangled bureaucracies of county government and federal grants.

Deep in this world, or rather on the second floor of a downtown Victorian, you'll find Susan Edmondson, the executive director of the Bee Vradenburg Foundation and general arts-world catalyst.

"We're taking on new initiatives and making them happen," she said of her citywide community of young arts advocates.

VENUE: The Bee Vrandenburg Foundation, the only foundation in the city devoted exclusively to art, administers about $180,000 in grants to nonprofit arts entities in the Pikes Peak region every year.
Beneficiaries include the Business of Art Center, the Colorado Springs World Arena, and the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, among others. As executive director, Edmondson is the foundation's only staff member, but over the years, she's also made time to serve on the board of the Downtown Development Authority, the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Pikes Peak Arts Council, among many others. She was instrumental in getting the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region (COPPeR) off the ground and still serves as treasurer on the Board of Directors.

BACKGROUND: Educated as a journalist at California Polytech State University in San Luis Obispo, Edmondson started her career as a reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. She eventually moved to Colorado Springs and after five years as a copy editor became the entertainment editor at The Gazette. A combination of factors led her to quit the newsroom for the nonprofit world.
"I was afraid of eventual burnout," she said. "I was also working toward my master's degree (in public administration from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.) When this opportunity came along, it was like everything came together at once, just showing me which direction to go."
Already a regular in the Springs art world from her time at The Gazette, she found the switch from observer to advocate refreshing.
"You don't have to keep up that barrier of involvement," she said.

TAKE ON THE SCENE: "It's on the upswing and has been for several years," Edmondson said.
"I'm really excited by the new, younger generation of artists and arts administrators who have emerged," she said, citing Jessica Hunter Larson at Colorado College, Christopher Lynn at UCCS, Bettina Swigger of COPPeR, Delaney Utterback at KRCC (91.5 FM), the Edifice Gallery and the Rocket Room.
"There's a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-it-done attitude," she said. "I want everyone to understand the incredible talent we have here. In midsized cities, you're always comparing yourself to bigger cities, and always falling short. If people only knew how many artists sell their work all over the world, perform everywhere, but they live here. It's pretty powerful."

CHALLENGES: "We have challenges in that we're sorely lacking a variety of performance spaces that are different sizes, accessible to performers and scattered throughout the region. Many people aren't doing what they used to do because they can't find a space or can't find a studio."

REWARDS: The Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Downtown Authority - many entities want to engage with the arts community, and I like being able to be a liaison for them," she said.
"That happens everywhere to an extent, but here, what's unique is that we have wonderful support from the city government.
"We're a community that values limited government funding, but that forces us to be more collaborative. The arts community here is very collaborative and very entrepreneurial."

DEFINE SUCCESS: "I know I'm successful in this job when arts organizations and individual artists are able to do best what they do and when everyone has access to arts services."