Stella Yu

Stella Yu is a force of nature and her impact on the arts community in Denver is immeasurable. Stella served as Arts Education Director for the City & County of Denver in Mayor Webb’s administration where she was a fierce advocate for the importance of arts and building equity in our educational system. In 1995, at a time when art education and the creative industries were truly undervalued, Stella founded Arts Street, a job-training and internship program where young adults become a culturally competent creative workforce. This visionary program became its own non-profit organization and provided creative programming with community impact to many of Denver’s underserved young people. Stella is always on the cutting edge of the creative world and was one of the first to bring programming to marginalized communities that combined arts and technology. She recognized the intersection of the arts with web design, GIS, mobile applications and more. This led to innovative Arts Street programming, giving many young people their first introduction to new career possibilities. Stella also worked with Denver artists who guided hundreds of young people in public art installations and whose work still stands. Many of those young artists went on to have careers in the arts- from graphic design to architecture to internationally known mural artists. If you talk to those adults today, many will attribute their success, in part or in whole, to Stella and Arts Street’s influence.

In 2016, Stella retired after 48 years as a teacher, business entrepreneur and Arts Street Executive Director. However, she secured Arts Street's future through a partnership with the Youth Employment Academy so the legacy of this amazing arts education and training program will be felt for years to come. In addition, she continues to support arts internships and career development, contributing to the Arts Fellows program of the University of Colorado at Denver, and nurturing the innovative vision of Metropolitan State University of Denver’s College of Letters Arts & Sciences. She is active in multiple initiatives and organizations including spearheading efforts for Asian communities to build resilience in Colorado and most recently launching the Colorado Action Against Hate Initiative.

Yes, a force of nature. Stella puts community first, and through her tenacity and creativity has increased opportunities in the world of creative industries for young people in Denver, all while making our world a more vibrant place because she is in it.

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*Each organization nominated their honoree with an essay. Those essays are posted here, as submitted, to maintain the organization's unique voice and authenticity.

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