The nonprofit River North Art District, founded in 2005, and the nonprofit street-art festival Crush Walls, founded in 2010, were virtually synonymous for a few years, married by contract and constantly collaborating. Even as artists complained about being gentrified out of RiNo and the surrounding neighborhoods involved with the district, the graffiti and murals multiplying on the walls every year ensured that the area’s reputation as an art hub kept growing.
Along the way, founder Robin “Dread” Munro became a darling of the street-art world and developers alike. For more than a decade, he bridged the gap between testosterone-fueled graffiti crews around Denver and officials who were trying to stop an explosion of vandalism while empowering up-and-coming artists and also getting them paid. In 2017, the year Crush Walls won Mayor Michael Hancock’s Arts & Culture Innovation Award, Munro teamed up with the district; with the two working together, the festival attracted an es
The pandemic hit Denver’s arts and culture scene hard, forcing many businesses, performance spaces, museums and galleries to close, at least temporarily, at the end of March. In the months since, artists and curators have rallied to keep culture alive, to comment on social injustice, and to inspire us all to appreciate essential workers and health-care providers.
Along the way, the scene has shown its grit and ability to stay relevant through the toughest of times, though some longstanding cultural institutions have been wrangling with their own inner demons.
Here are the ten biggest arts and culture stories in Denver in 2020:
In the ongoing street-art squabble playing out on the back of the American Bonded building in the 2700 block of Larimer Street, Breckenridge-based artist Shannon Galpin and her crew of collaborators have made their latest move adding massive, collaged wheat-paste letters that spell out Love over the ugly white paint that was sprayed on top of her last mural. That one was a call to arms for women street artists that Galpin and Koko Bayer had wheat-pasted over a three-day period earlier this month. To the women that color our city, paintbrushes are your swords and spraycans your battle cries claiming space and respect, the mural read. You belong here. You are the superheroes and legends bringing bold new stories to our walls. We see you. We hear you. We love you, Denver.
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Against all odds, 2020 became the year we fell madly, deeply in love with Denver.
Once stay-at-home orders relaxed in the spring, our cabin fever led us to seek out safe, in-person opportunities to counteract endless hours of Zoom meetings and awkward virtual versions of our favorite events. The creativity we found was inspiring, and it often popped up when we least expected it.
While taking walks on Denver’s new pandemic
Sunnyside Music Festival which, in lieu of filling a park with thousands of concert-goers, brought music to the streets by putting bands on pedicabs that roamed the neighborhood.
Denver Street Art Debates Its Future on a RiNo Art District Wall westword.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from westword.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.