Trinidad artists launch 10-foot Space Cowboy Colorado sculpture statewide

Trinidad is sending a 10-foot rocket in a cowboy hat and space goggles into Colorado’s creative-district spotlight, with local artists Emilie Odeile and Ken Chapin of Dundee & Lee preparing to launch Space Cowboy Colorado as a traveling public artwork that starts in Trinidad and is meant to represent the city far beyond it.

The piece is set to officially launch June 3 at the Annual Colorado Creative Industries Summit in Trinidad, putting the county seat at the center of a statewide gathering that officials say draws more than 350 creative stakeholders from more than 60 Colorado cities and towns. That matters for Las Animas County because the work is not just a local installation, it is a promotional object carrying Trinidad’s image into rooms where state cultural policy, tourism strategy and creative-economy investment are being discussed.

Colorado Creative Industries says the summit is designed for Colorado creatives to connect, learn and be inspired. The agency also describes the state’s creative-district program as a marketing strategy developed with the Colorado Tourism Office to promote tourism and bring Colorado’s creative districts to a national audience. Districts can receive benefits such as up to a $10,000 cash award for newly certified districts, technical assistance funding for existing districts and two highway signs near the district.

Trinidad has been one of the program’s strongest examples. CREATE Trinidad says it received emerging Creative District status in 2011 and full state certification in 2012. State officials say 30 Colorado communities have been certified since the program began in 2012, and that creative jobs in Trinidad have grown nearly 10% after the district’s certification in 2013, with Main Street experiencing a resurgence. The district’s mission, according to CREATE Trinidad, is to support artists, creative entrepreneurs, nonprofit cultural organizations and businesses through creative initiatives that economically benefit the community while honoring Trinidad’s history.

That history helps explain the image. Trinidad sits on the Santa Fe Trail corridor and has long leaned on its western, coal-mining and architectural identity as part of its civic brand. A rocket wearing cowboy gear fits that mix of frontier symbolism and humor, and it gives the city a new way to sell itself in a state where creative branding can shape tourism, downtown foot traffic and business visibility. The district also says it hosts events at The Commons at Space to Create, underscoring how closely the arts strategy is tied to place.

The next test comes after the novelty. With the Governor’s Creative Leadership Award ceremony scheduled in the Trinidad Creative District June 4 or 5, city and district leaders will have a high-profile stage to show whether Space Cowboy Colorado does more than generate photographs. The real measure will be whether it helps bring visitors, income and attention back to Trinidad’s downtown long after the summit crowd has moved on.