About

WHAT IS THE SCEN3?

The SCEN3 is a collaborative that comprises metro Denver area Tier III arts, cultural, and science organizations. What does “Tier III” mean? The Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) funds three tiers of cultural organizations. The third tier (Tier III) of organizations are those with budgets under $1,000,000, including numerous community-based organizations. Every organization listed on the SCEN3 website receives a portion of these funds (13.5% of total SCFD funds), a major reason why the metro Denver area’s cultural scene is so vibrant!

The SCEN3 collaborative and website was created by several Tier III art, dance, music, education, cultural, theater, museum, and science and environmental organizations in Denver working together to share the best of the metro area’s intimate art, science, and cultural activities and attractions. We have expanded in 2017 to include non-SCFD organizations.

These engaging performances and programs represent the cultural diversity that Denver neighborhoods boast about. They include American Indian, Asian, Latino and African-American museums, festivals and traditional cultural performances. They perform at neighborhood venues, exhibit at local galleries, create vibrant and relevant dance and theater performances, and host festivals that you’ve come to love. In short, they are the network that connects the arts, science, and culture to your daily life.

ABOUT THE SCFD

The Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SFCD) is a seven-county funding mechanism that ensures a vibrant arts and cultural scene in the metro Denver region. Approved by voters in 1988, the SCFD operates based on a penny tax on every $10 spent that directly supports the arts, science, and cultural activities in the metro area. As these pennies add up, they help fund approximately 300 nonprofit cultural organizations delivering new and exciting programs, performances, displays, classes, exhibits, and tours to the public. Funding through the SCFD helps ensure that arts, cultural, and science-oriented activities, facilities, and performances are available to all metro Denver citizens, and enriches our communities and region in a major way. Denver enjoys the one of the only truly successful models of this kind of funding mechanism, and many other cities and regions around the country are trying to establish similar mechanisms to make their communities better and more attractive places to live.