Meet the MasterMinds: Year 2

In 2005, Westword introduced its first class of MasterMinds, five aesthetic adventurers working in a variety of mediums, but all changing the cultural landscape of Denver. Those first awards came as quite a surprise -- both to the recipients and to us here at Westword. Why? We found that most...

By Patricia Calhoun

February 17, 2009

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In 2005, Westword introduced its first class of MasterMinds, five aesthetic adventurers working in a variety of mediums, but all changing the cultural landscape of Denver.

Those first awards came as quite a surprise -- both to the recipients and to us here at Westword. Why? We found that most of the winners used their cash prizes to help other people in the arts -- paying their way through classes, giving hands-on advice on how to start their own business. And when the time came to name our second class of MasterMinds, our first winners were just as generous with their advice for who should be honored. The result was another winning class: Cafe Nuba (which celebrates its tenth anniversary this month) in the Literary category; Katie Taft in Visual Arts; Deb Henriksen in Fashion/Design; Johnny Morehouse in Multimedia; and Dragon Daud of the now-stalled art bus in Performing Arts.

Read profiles of our 2006 MasterMind winners, and get details on Saturday's Artopia party here. We'll introduce the 2009 MasterMinds at that event.

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

Contact: Patricia Calhoun

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