Denverite, the Denver site! Protests over racial inequity changed Denver. A year later, street art, fences and boarded up buildings remain.
Boarded up windows and construction fencing around city landmarks are a familiar sight. So are signs in windows and on lawns reminding neighbors and passersby every day that Black Lives Matter.
A Black Lives Matter Blvd sign posted above Broadway near the State Capitol. May 27, 2021. Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Boarded up windows and construction fencing around city landmarks downtown are a familiar sight. So are signs in windows and on lawns reminding neighbors and passersby every day that Black Lives Matter.
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: