Durango Arts Center Education Programs

Durango Arts Center Education Programs offers a wide range of visual and performing arts activities, including theater camps, clay and wheel-throwing classes, painting and drawing sessions, mixed media, stained glass, circus arts, and standup comedy classes. Children and teens can take part in programs such as Summer Theatre Camp: DYT Company and DYT JR Company, DYT Mini Company, Summer Kids Clay Club, Working on the Wheel, The Art of Circus, Young Renaissance Artist Program, Painting Basics with Mr. B, Introduction to Drawing, Mixed Media Masterpieces, and several Art Exploration Camps. The program also includes activities like Exploring Landscape Painting in Soft Pastels, Watercolor Wonders with Jil, Finding Form Through Sculpture, Introduction to Kinusaiga, and multiple stained glass projects such as Gnomes, Dragonflies, Snails, Fish, Rocky Horror Lips, Leaf, and Holiday Ornaments, as well as Warhol and Wine sessions and the Beth Zink Acrylic Painting Workshop.

• Ages: 5–18 years old

Durango Arts Center Education Programs are part of a larger organization whose mission states that DAC education programs provide dynamic opportunities for children and adults to explore the visual and performing arts within a cooperative and inspiring learning environment. The organization is led by an executive and program team that includes Beth Lamberson Warren (Executive Director), Jason Lythgoe (Youth Theater Director and DAC Theatre Director, Performing Arts Department), Ben Dukeminier (Director: Barbara Conrad Gallery, Visual Arts & Education), Monica DiBiasio (Artistic Managing Director, Performing Arts Department), Jenifer Heerdt (Director of Operations & Durango Autumn Arts Festival), and Lisa Adolph (Finance Director). DAC is described as a multi-faceted hub for community arts that hosts and promotes contemporary visual and performing arts, arts education, and the annual Durango Autumn Arts Festival, and it exhibits around 25 art shows annually in the Barbara Conrad, Art Library, and Entrada/Arriba Gallery spaces, featuring local, national, and internationally recognized artists, with each exhibit including special events such as workshops, demonstrations, lectures, and film screenings.

The City of Durango and Durango Arts Center partnered to purchase and restore the historic Hocker Motors Building, built in 1927 and later occupied by Pat Murphy Motors, into the community arts center, venue, and gathering space that now houses these programs. The Durango Arts Center offers year-round scholarship assistance funded by individuals and local foundations such as Community Foundation Serving Southwest Colorado and Ashes Away, and youth in Big Brothers Big Sisters receive full tuition scholarships for art classes and Durango Youth Theater camps. Scholarship applications are considered on a first-come, first-serve basis until funds are dispersed, scholarships cover tuition only, and once notified of a scholarship, participants must finalize registration and pay any remaining balance within one week so DAC can hold the spot. If a student needs to cancel enrollment and wants a refund, they must contact DAC at least 10 days before the class start date, and with 10 days’ notice DAC will refund payment minus a 15% registration fee based on tuition; DAC does not offer refunds for cancellations made within 10 days of the class or workshop start date, for registrations made within that 10-day window, or for absences due to personal scheduling conflicts.

Last updated June 4, 2026.