Founded in 1972 in Pueblo, Colorado, the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center developed as a multi-disciplinary complex combining galleries, performing arts spaces, classrooms, and community event facilities. Its original campus opened with support from the Economic Development Administration and Pueblo County. An expansion in 1982, funded by Puebloan Helen T. White, added more galleries, a gift shop, and an early children's museum. A major 2000 expansion brought the two-level Buell Children's Museum and the Jackson Sculpture Garden. Today, the center presents 24 new exhibitions annually and maintains permanent collections of Western, Southwest, Gene Kloss, and regional contemporary art.