Party Arty

Take two superstar jurists, throw in everyone else, shake it all up with a year's worth of fantastic art seen at galleries on Santa Fe Drive, and you've got Art District Best of 2009, a confetti-ready celebration of one of Denver's most popular artwalk destinations and all the fine artists who keep the neighborhood stocked with nice things to look at. A joint production of Denise Robert's eventgallery 910Arts and Dana Cain Events, the show's fifty fine works, whittled down masterfully by jurors Gwen Chanzit of the Denver Art Museum and Michael Chavez of Foothills Art Center, will sparkle as brightly as any holiday display at tonight's opening-night party.

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More About

• Michael Chavez
• Gwen Chanzit
• Denise Robert
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media
• Visual Arts

"It's a complex, multi-tiered event," promoter Cain says. "First, it's a juried art show that is just mind-blowing. And then there's the opening, which is a huge end-of-the-year awards gala that's like a cross between the Academy Awards and the People's Choice Awards." You heard right: Chanzit and Chavez choose the best of the best, but then the people will be set loose to select winners in several categories, such as Best Solo Show (Colorado and national artist), Gallery of the Year, Studio Artist of the Year, Street Art of the Year and more. "It's going to be one of those 'Be there or be square' types of things — the art-community party of the year," Cain adds. "And hopefully, it'll become an annual event that will spur artists to be more inclined to show on Santa Fe."

Best of 2009 opens tonight with an awards gala from 6 to 10 p.m. (public voting, available online since December 10, ends officially at the reception at 8 p.m.); get tickets, $15, at www.910arts.com or call 303-815-1779. The show continues through January 10; eventgallery 910Arts is at 910 Santa Fe Drive.
Dec. 18-Jan. 10, 2009