Arty Parties: Your May First Friday Gallery Exhibit Guide

First Friday is a largely unofficial monthly event celebrating community, culture and art on the First Friday of every month, drawing thousands of people looking to shop, eat, browse galleries and immerse themselves in the arts scene of the Art District on Santa Fe, the River North Art District (RiNo), Tennyson Street Cultural District, 40 West Arts District in Lakewood and more.

Every month, Westword lists some of the most interesting shows opening on First Friday, plus ongoing shows worth a visit. May’s First Friday falls on May 1.

But first:

In Denver Arts News

• PlatteForum Is Moving: After five years in the ArtLab in Curtis Park and a studio/gallery in RiNo, PlatteForum has announced that it will be moving into the historic Smith’s Chapel, known to many as the longtime home of Inner City Parish, in the heart of the Art District on Santa Fe. PlatteForum will move to its new program space on May 5 and its doors at 910 Galapago Street will officially open on June 5 for a First Friday Grand Opening Event.
• Through Our Eyes — Colorado Black Arts Festival Call for Artists: The Colorado Black Arts Festival is a juried exhibition celebrating Black art, culture, and perspective as part of CBAF’s 40th anniversary. Selected works will be featured in the Oye Oginga Art Pavilion this July. Applications are open through May 8.
• ReCreative Denver Seeks Artwork for RePost Event: RePost is an anonymous art sale and benefit for ReCreative Denver. Artists donate postcard-sized works of art (four by six inches) in a medium of their choice. The artworks are hung in the store’s second-floor gallery and sold the night of the event for $25 each. Proceeds from the event support the mission and operations of ReCreative, an art supplies thrift store. Donations of artwork will be accepted through May 29, and can be dropped off or mailed to ReCreative Denver, 765 Santa Fe Drive, Denver Colorado, 80206. RePost will be from 7 to 10 p.m. on June 6.
• First Friday Vendor Registration: May, June, July, and September registration is $50 for regular spots (assigned randomly), and $75 for corner spots. August First Friday pricing is TBA. Register on the ADSF website.

Where is First Friday in Denver?

Art District on Santa Fe: Spans from West 13th Avenue to Alameda Avenue and Kalamath Street to Inca Street. Most of the galleries are in a walkable area between Fifth and 11th avenues.

RiNo: Most galleries are on Blake, Walnut, Larimer and Lawrence streets between Broadway and Downing Street.

Tennyson Street: Along Tennyson Street in the Berkeley neighborhood in northwest Denver.

40 West Arts District: Lamar Station Plaza, 6501 West Colfax Avenue, Lakewood

There are art galleries all over the city, though! Other popular locations include the 1400-1500 blocks of South Pearl Street, and arts areas in Englewood, Littleton, Arvada and Colorado Springs. Englewood holds its art walk on the second Saturday of each month rather than on first Fridays.

Art Shows Opening Around May First Friday

There are new shows opening all over town around First Friday. Here are some of the most intriguing:

First Friday Festival at RiNo ArtPark
First Friday: May 1, 4 to 9 p.m.
Arkins Park, 1900 35th Street
Head to RiNo for a free event including live music, art exhibitions, food and drinks and hands-on art experiences. There will also be local vendors selling vintage, ceramics and other artisan goods.

CHAC Gallery Members’ Showcase
First Friday: May 1, 5 to 9 p.m.; on display through June 20
CHAC Gallery, 834 Santa Fe Drive
This showcase is a multi-generational show bringing together CHAC artists ranging from emerging creatives to accomplished masters, highlighting pieces that are deeply connected to the essence of Denver. Each artist has chosen work that is the deepest expression of their voice.

SABO / UNSAVORYAGENTS: The Right Kind of Rebels
First Friday: May 1; on display through July 1
VFW Post #1 Denver, 841 Santa Fe Drive
Art created by veterans and SABO, the artist responsible for the “KAMALAS ILLEGALS” and “MIGRANT HOOKERS $20” art placed around the Denver Capitol about a year ago will be on display in The Right Kind of Rebels at VFW Post #1. The collection on display comments on current politics, history and events that have helped shape the collective American psyche. SABO says this is his first show in the Denver area, and he’s curious to see the reception of the work. “I don’t do landscapes, and I believe that if art is not political, it’s wallpaper,” SABO says. “I hope this opportunity catches the eyes of some other galleries who are open to displaying my more edgy works.”

We the People
First Friday: May 1; opening reception: Saturday, May 2, 4 to 7 p.m.; on display through May 24
The Gallery @ArtGym, 1460 Leyden Street
The journey of survival, resilience and triumph told through the eyes of immigrants from around the world comes to life through the lens of storyteller and photographer Walter Gallacher in We the People. What started as a podcast has evolved into an immersive exhibition that invites visitors to see the faces and hear the voices behind the powerful stories. The exhibition combines portraiture with audio.

Threaded Narratives: Weaving South Asian Identity in Colorado
First Friday: May 1, 5 to 9 p.m.; on display through May 23
Bus Stop Gallery, 4895 Broadway, Boulder
Threaded Narratives brings together artists from across Colorado whose work reflects a shared yet varied experience of identity. Through a range of practices, the exhibition highlights the presence and perspectives of South Asian artists within Colorado’s creative community.

Color as Light: A Restorative Experience
First Friday opening: May 1, 4 p.m.; on display through May 31
Alto Gallery, 1900 35th Street, Suite B
Color as Light explores color as light and energy through large-scale silk works from artist Christy Cattin’s Veils of Light series and introduces a guided color practice that invites visitors to engage with art through breath, intuition and visualization. Cattin is a Denver-based artist whose work explores color as energy, emotion and restoration.

Spring Fling: Art in Bloom
Saturday, May 2, 2 to 6 p.m.
Larimer Square, 1430 Larimer Street
The second annual Larimer Square Spring Fling is this Saturday, turning the square into a family-friendly celebration featuring local music, live painting and craft workshops by Crafty Chassis. Denver’s Field Supply flower truck will have ready-made bouquets for sale, and the first fifty guests will receive free bouquets. There will also be vendors, food and drinks.

Interactive Artists Group Art Show
Coffee/brunch reception: Sunday, May 3, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; on display through May 5
JCC Denver, 350 South Dahlia Street
JCC celebrates the talent of the Interactive Artists Group through a vibrant collection of artworks created by local artists, showcasing their expertise across various mediums. “The Interactive class has become a very important part of my life. It gives me a chance to work with good friends who are extremely talented and willing to share their expertise,” shares participating artist Nina Molk. “We all are so different, yet have so much in common. Each artist’s work is so personal and so unlike anyone else’s in the room. Because of our similarities and especially our differences, we learn and grow from interacting with one another.”

The Stars Watch From Long Ago
Gallery talk with Stacey Steers: Wednesday, May 6, 6 to 8 p.m.; on display through May 30
Robischon Gallery, 1740 Wazee Street
The Stars Watch From Long Ago features work in film, collage, objects and prints by Stacey Steers, who will have an artist talk event on Wednesday, May 6. RSVP to debra@robischongallery.com by Tuesday, May 6, to attend.

Ongoing Art Shows Worth a Visit

Gary Simmons: Rush
Through May 9
Cookie Factory, 425 West Fourth Avenue
The Cookie Factory‘s latest show features the work of Gary Simmons, known for using erasure as both a material process and a conceptual strategy. Recognized for his unconventional use of the blackboard, Simmons brings the medium into the exhibition space, drawing with chalk and partially erasing it by hand, commenting on history, imposed identities and a liberated vision of the future.

Ecosystems
Through May 15
DAVA, 1405 Florence Street, Aurora
In conjunction with Mo’Print, DAVA students ages 3 to 18, and guest artists Faith Williams Dyrsten, Virginia Diaz Saiki, Kristin Smith and Johanna Mueller represent animals, plants, and their ecosystems to raise awareness about the importance of biodiversity through a variety of printmaking techniques.

Paper Works
Through May 16
Access Gallery, 909 Santa Fe Drive
Paper Works features twenty works on paper by Access Gallery artists in celebration of the gallery’s twentieth year in the Art District on Santa Fe. The exhibition brings together drawings, prints, and other works on paper that show where ideas begin. For many artists, working on paper is a starting point, a place to explore, experiment, and develop their practice.

Flor y Canto Youth Art Show
Through May 17
Chicano Humanities & Arts Council, 7060 West 16th Avenue, Lakewood
This show featuring the artwork of local youth was curated by Felipe Dominguez, a CHAC Gallery member who works with art students around Denver. Come support the young artists as they celebrate Flor y Canto through their creative work.

Mindscapes: The Art of Discovery
Through May 17
D’art Gallery, 900 Santa Fe Drive
Mindscapes: The Art of Discovery is an imaginative exhibit featuring four artists: Daniel Bahn, Melanie Fischer, Claire Ibarra, and Betsy Kolt as they explore the “landscapes of the mind” through intuition and improvisation expressed in color, shape, and texture.

Nuestras Historias
Through May 17
Museo de las Americas, 861 Santa Fe Drive
Nuestras Historias/Our Stories is Museo de las Americas’ first-ever youth-curated exhibition, featuring work from young artists exploring themes of tradition, justice, identity and playfulness through embroidery, painting, drawing, ceramics, poetry and video.

YALLA and (UN)SEEN
Through May 17
RedLine Contemporary Art Center, 2350 Arapahoe Street
YALLA is a solo exhibition featuring photographs and ephemera from Brooklyn-based, Lebanese, Palestinian-American photographer Marwan Shousher, while (UN)SEEN challenges viewers to see Palestinians as complete individuals with a deep connection to their land, ancestors, and the traditions they carry, featuring photographs of Colorado Palestinian families taken by local artists.

New Work From Patricia Aaron, Michaele Keyes & Susan Rubin
Through May 19
Spark Gallery, 1200 Acoma Street
See Patricia Aaron’s Inspired, Michaele Keyes’s Joint Venture, and Susan Rubin’s Resilience at Spark Gallery. Aaron’s encaustic wax, inks, oils, acrylics, and textiles in Inspired trace an ongoing conversation between past and present — between ideas first imagined more than two decades ago, and those still unfolding. In Joint Venture, Keyes uses wood and other weathered materials gathered from forests, fields, stream beds, and alleys. Botanical artist Rubin’s Resilience explores the relentless persistence of the natural world as it provides a place to stand as we seek equilibrium in times of chaos.

Energy, Form, Flow
Through May 30
Pulse Visual Art, 3256 Walnut Street
This solo show featuring the work of Tom Ward is an ongoing exploration of how energy travels through both the natural world and human experience. Growing up in Southern California, Ward was immersed in environments defined by motion: ocean currents, shifting light, and the quiet complexity of living systems. Early fascinations with biology, from studying insects to watching fish glide through water, continue to echo through his visual language today.

Sculpting Sound
Through June 6
Leon Gallery, 1112 East 17th Street
Sculpting Sound features multiple new sonic artworks by local visual and installation artists that will become an “orchestra” for a series of new musical commissions to be performed by the musicians in The Playground Ensemble. The artworks and composers’ scores will be on display at Leon Gallery through June 6. General admission is $20.

35th Annual Governor’s Art Show & Sale
Through June 6
Loveland Museum, 503 North Lincoln Avenue, Loveland
The Governor’s Art Show & Sale is a six-week exhibition known as one of the largest juried fine art shows featuring exclusively Colorado artists. This year’s show displays the work of 65 artists, including ten making their first appearance at the show. Artwork can be viewed in person and online throughout the exhibition. Opening night gala tickets are $100, while general admission is $7 for Loveland residents, $10 for non-residents and free for kids under 12.

Beyond the Western Horizon
Through July 31
Madden Gallery at Museum of Outdoor Arts, 6331 South Fiddlers Green Circle, Greenwood Village
Celebrate the “reimagined myth, memory, and the enduring spirit of the American West” with Beyond the Western Horizon, an exhibit featuring twenty artists and over fifty artworks depicting aspects of the American West, from people and animals to landscapes, through a variety of mediums. “We’re lucky to live in a state with stunning natural resources, strong light and Western lifestyles stimulating our many talented visual artists,” MOA founder and director Cynthia Madden Leitner says.

On the Walls at CSU: Posters from the 1970s
Through August 16
CSU Libraries – Morgan Library, 1201 Center Avenue Mall, Fort Collins
Colorado State University showcases campus life, design and activism through archival posters from the ’70s at Morgan Library. The exhibition features posters, exhibition panels and publications produced at CSU in the 1970s and preserved in the University Archives.

Interested in having your event appear here? Send details to editorial@westword.com.