Denver Digerati

What Denver Digerati does

Denver Digerati is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Denver, Colorado, dedicated to amplifying experimental media and performance art. Founded in 2010 (with the inaugural Supernova Digital Animation Festival launching in 2016), the organization operates a portfolio of programs including the annual Digerati Experimental Media Festival — which in its 10th year (2025, themed 'Obscura') received 2,447 submissions from 141 countries and programmed 42 shorts, one feature, and a live performance evening across multiple Denver venues — alongside an Artist Residency Program, the Night Lights Denver public art projection initiative on nine downtown LED screens in partnership with Denver Theatre District, and the Intersect documentary series profiling Colorado-based performance artists. Core staff consists of approximately three people (Executive Director & Curator Sharifa Lafon, Social Media Manager Jonathan Cardoza, Curatorial Assistant Asher Hoffman) supported by a board of directors led by Board President Hasti Soltani. The organization works through venue partnerships with Denver Art Museum, Sie Film Center, Digital Armory, Redline, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and Union Hall to deliver curated screenings, exhibitions, residencies, and live performances to a public audience of experimental media artists and the broader Denver arts community.

The organization generates revenue through a diversified nonprofit funding model: foundation and government grants (Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, Colorado Department of Film Television and Media, Denver Arts & Venues DAV Arts & Culture Grant), individual donations, VIP Festival Pass sales at $99 per pass, and select ticketed events via Eventbrite and Eventive, with most events free and open to the public. Marketing and distribution rely on the organization's website (denverdigerati.org), email newsletter, organic social media managed internally, FilmFreeway for festival submissions, regional press coverage (Denver Post, Westword, 303 Magazine, Cartoon Brew, Southwest Contemporary), and a network of venue partners. The technology stack is essentially nil from a product standpoint — Denver Digerati does not develop technology, sell products, or maintain an app or API; its 'platform' is a curated programming and commissioning model layered onto partner venues. Over the past decade the organization has evolved from a single digital animation festival into a multi-program experimental media platform, broadening its artistic scope from digital animation to encompass experimental film, video art, performance, sound, analog processes, and hybrid media practices.

The competitive positioning is that of a niche nonprofit curator and commissioner in a mid-sized U.S. city, holding the distinction of being the only Denver-area nonprofit specifically dedicated to experimental media and performance art. The 501(c)(3) structure provides access to philanthropic and public funding channels unavailable to for-profit competitors, while the decade-long network of over 500 participating artists and multiple institutional venue partners creates a defensible community ecosystem. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed, and headcount remains small relative to programmatic scope, indicating a lean operation that relies heavily on the executive director's curation and partner venue infrastructure rather than on significant internal staff scaling.

Name

Denver Digerati

Legal name

Denver Digerati

Website

https://denverdigerati.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Denver Digerati is a Denver-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that curates, exhibits, and commissions experimental media and performance art through its annual festival, artist residencies, public LED projections, and a documentary series, serving an international network of artists and the Denver arts community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts and Cultural Programming (Experimental Media Curation)

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Performing Arts Centers & Presenters (Programming/Booking) (MPAGABAM)

Keywords

• Experimental media arts
• Digital animation festival
• Artist residency programs
• Public art projections
• Nonprofit arts curation

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Denver Digerati depends on financial support from the community, grants from foundations such as Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, and government support including Colorado Department of Film Television and Media grants and Denver Arts & Venues DAV Arts & Culture Grant.
2. Festival Passes and Tickets: VIP Festival Pass sold for $99, providing personalized ticket handling to all events plus VIP perks including private artist events, closing brunch, drink ticket, and canvas tote. Individual tickets for some events, with many events free and open to the public.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Denver Digerati is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that curates and produces experimental media programming. Its core offerings are the annual Digerati Experimental Media Festival (curated screenings, live performances, awards across Denver venues), an Artist Residency Program providing live-work space for experimental media artists, the Night Lights Denver public art projection program, and the Intersect documentary series profiling Colorado-based artists. Most programming is free, with VIP Festival Passes and select ticketed events providing supplemental revenue alongside donations and grants.

Product overview

Denver Digerati is an artist-first nonprofit organization that operates a portfolio of programs centered on experimental media and performance arts. The core offerings include the annual Digerati Experimental Media Festival (formerly Supernova Digital Animation Festival), which features curated screenings, live performances, and artist awards; an Artist Residency Program providing live-work spaces for emerging and established artists; Night Lights Denver public art projections on downtown LED screens; and the Intersect documentary series profiling Colorado artists. The organization also offers VIP Festival Passes ($99) for enhanced festival access and maintains an online Journal with artist interviews and program reviews. Most events are free, with some ticketed programs and a VIP pass option.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Digerati Experimental Media Festival Annual curated festival celebrating experimental media, animation, and digital art through themed screenings, live performances, and artist awards across multiple Denver venues; designed for international experimental media artists submitting work and the Denver arts community.
• Artist Residency Program Live-work residency program providing studio space for experimental media and performance artists. Currently operating as a live-work residency in the home of the Executive Director after the Evans School location concluded in February 2025.
• Night Lights Denver Public art commission and projection program displaying commissioned experimental media works on the Denver Theatre District's clock tower and nine downtown LED screens for free public viewing.
• Intersect Documentary Series Documentary series highlighting Colorado-based performance artists who engage in innovative combinations of art, science, and technology, produced by Denver Digerati.
• VIP Festival Pass (Obscura) $99 one-time festival pass providing personalized handling of all tickets to public-facing festival events plus VIP perks including access to private artist events, a closing brunch, a drink ticket, and a canvas tote.

Quantifiable outcome

• Festival reached 141 countries with 2,447 submissions in 2025

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Denver Theatre DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerContinuing partnership with Denver Theatre District for Night Lights Denver commissions for the clock tower and nine downtown LED screens. This public art initiative brings experimental media to downtown Denver's built environment.
• Denver Art MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenues for the 2025 festival including Void in Resonance screening. The DAM recently acquired Sarah Sze's Sleepers installation, reinforcing commitment to innovative artistic expressions that reflect evolving art and technology landscapes.
• Denver Film (Sie Film Center)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for multiple festival screenings including Soft Frames, Grit & Ground, Uncharted Identities, Experimental Constructs, and Affinity Networks programs. Denver Film co-presents screenings and provides ticketing through Eventive platform.
• Digital ArmorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnique venue outfitted with projection and sound featuring three large-scale projections and expansive open viewing area. Hosts live performances, screenings, and festival events. In partnership with Temple Denver.
• RedlinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for Intersect documentary series featuring Colorado-based artists. Artists Elle Hong and Phillip David Stearns are currently in residency at Redline and featured in the documentary series.
• Denver Museum of Nature and ScienceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld premiere venue for MELT: The Memory of Ice screening in September 2024.
• Union HallminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerExhibition venue for Double Day (October 2025) and panel discussion Moving Beyond the Algorithm in partnership with Denver Startup Week.
• University of DenverminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for JesterN Visual Music Workshop at DU (April 2024), introducing analog circuitry and modular synthesizers to students and artists.
• LEAFminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presenter of JesterN Visual Music Workshop at University of Denver.
• Biennial of the AmericasminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Despídete de todo exhibition by Esteban Azuela, extending award-winning film Aferrado into a storefront gallery transmedia installation at Writer's Square.
• Denver Startup WeekminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for panel discussion Moving Beyond the Algorithm: The Near Future of Human-Centric Creativity at Union Hall.
• Denver Museum of Nature and ScienceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue for special tour of Sarah Sze: Sleepers (2024) installation in July 2025, with curator Rory Padeken providing insight into the work.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Tribeca Festival: Major annual film and storytelling festival with curated programming across formats; comparable to Denver Digerati as a curated screening/event-driven festival, though significantly larger and more commercially oriented.
• SXSW: Large multi-track festival featuring film screenings alongside music, tech, and culture; comparable because of its curated, event-driven programming mix that includes experimental and emerging media works alongside mainstream offerings.
• MASS MoCA: Large contemporary art museum presenting experimental film, video, performance, and large-scale installations; comparable because it curates and presents experimental moving-image work and partners with filmmakers, though at a much larger institutional scale.
• Sundance Institute: A much larger nonprofit running a flagship annual festival (Sundance Film Festival) and year-round artist support programs; comparable because it curates independent and experimental film and operates residencies and labs, but at a national scale far beyond Denver Digerati's regional footprint.

Direct peers

• Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI): Nonprofit that distributes, preserves, and exhibits video and media art by artists; comparable because of its nonprofit, artist-first mission to support experimental media makers through exhibitions and programming, similar in scale and orientation.
• Ann Arbor Film Festival: Long-running independent and experimental film festival with curated competitive screenings; one of the closest direct peers to Denver Digerati's annual experimental media festival in terms of mission, format, and scale.
• Wexner Center for the Arts: University-affiliated multidisciplinary arts presenter hosting curated film, video, performance, and visual art programming; comparable because it programmatically presents experimental media and performance work across multiple venues and partners, similar to Denver Digerati's presenting model.
• Denver Film: Denver-based nonprofit operating the Sie Film Center and co-presenting screenings with Denver Digerati; directly comparable as a local film nonprofit running curated screenings, festivals, and year-round programming in the same geography.

Emerging players

• Pioneer Works: Brooklyn-based nonprofit combining residencies, exhibitions, screenings, and public programming around experimental art and science; comparable because it runs artist residencies and curated media programming with a similar nonprofit, artist-first orientation.

Regional players

• Aspen Film (Aspen Shortsfest): Colorado-based nonprofit running curated short film programs and year-round screenings; comparable as a regional curated film festival with nonprofit funding and a similar artist-support orientation, though operating in a different Colorado market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Denver Digerati