Arty Parties: Your Guide to March First Friday in Denver

Art lovers are in for a delectable month of local art, with events and exhibitions related to Mo’Print popping up around the city (see our guide here) and plenty of March First Friday openings.

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. March’s First Friday falls on March 6.

But first:

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.

In Denver Arts News

• Dairy Arts Center Announces 2027 Open Call for Art: Dairy Arts Center is currently accepting proposals from artists, curators, and collectives nationwide for exhibition opportunities in its 2027 visual arts season. The call welcomes submissions across all visual arts mediums and encourages ambitious, conceptually driven projects that foster dialogue and community engagement. The deadline to apply is April 30.
• Applications Open for Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Social Impact Artist Award: Applications opened February 17 for the award, which “honors and supports the outstanding contributions of two Denver-based artists or artist collectives championing positive impact and social justice through their artistic practice with a $35,000 award and $15,000 socially engaged project grant.” Learn more or apply here; applications are open through March 20.
• Applications Open for 2026 Sharon Prize: Applications are now open for the Sharon Prize, a grant that supports Colorado women and non-binary artists in visual arts, music, film, dance, and literature. The grant offers $5,000 and professional marketing and PR support. New this year, collaborative projects may receive up to $10,000. Applications are open through March 27; apply here.

Art Shows Opening This Week

So On & So Forth
Opening Reception: Friday, March 6, 5 to 8 p.m.; on display through April 30
A. R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art, 150 East Main Street, Trinidad
So On & So Forth – A Celebration of the Idiosyncratic is a group show featuring the work of Colorado artists Rick Dallago, Michael Dowling, Charles T Levesque, Julia Martin, and Megan Wilbar. Curated by former Hollywood film producer and location scout-turned painter Dallago, the exhibition “examines the ways we perceive ourselves (and one another) through humor, irony, and layered storytelling.”

Ecosystems
Opening reception: Friday, March 6, 4 to 9 p.m.; on display 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.

Time and Materials and What’s Across the Street
Opening reception: Friday, March 6, 6 to 9 p.m.; on display through March 22
Pirate Contemporary Art, 7130 West 16th Ave., Lakewood
Two exhibits are opening at Pirate Contemporary Art. In Time and Materials, new paintings by Tim McKay consider the monetary and psychological costs of making art. In What’s Across the Street by Şebnem Düzgün, Düzgün fed her clay art through AI to see them “come alive.”

Purse as a Portal
Opening reception: Friday, March 6, 5 to 9 p.m.; on display through April 19
CHAC Gallery, 834 Santa Fe Drive
In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Chicano Humanities and Arts Council and the Women’s Caucus for Art – Colorado Chapter present Purse as a Portal, “a collaborative exhibition that explores what women carry—physically, emotionally, socially, and ancestrally.” Included artworks span a variety of 2D and 3D mediums, highlighting the intersection of art, identity, and storytelling, honoring women’s voices across generations and cultures. “My body represents my purse portal. I carry my roots, familia, tradition, spirituality, love, memories and community. The portal allows me to make room for all the good things to enter my space,” says Gayedine Rodriguez, artist and curator at CHAC Gallery.

Sum It Up
Opening reception: Friday, March 6, 6 to 8 p.m.; on display through April 23
POST Gallery, 910 Santa Fe Drive, Studio 12B
In an experimental DIY group show uniting artists and designers nationwide through expressive typography and the US Postal Service, Sum It Up “responds to the State Department’s switch from Calibri to Times New Roman, inviting participants to reclaim sans-serif type as a tool for resistance and creative freedom.” All submissions were sent by mail.

Pieces and Hello: My name is.
Opening reception: Friday, March 6, 5 to 9 p.m.; on display through March 22
NEXT Gallery, 6501 West Colfax Avenue, Lakewood
NEXT Gallery presents two new shows: Pieces by Mike Bashford shows off Bashford’s glass work, including art made from broken pieces, scraps and failed projects, as well as 12-inch square pieces representing “a possible event, memory, or circumstance from a person’s life and overlays the emotion that might be associated with it.” In Hello: My name is. gallery artists and friends transformed KidRobot’s blank MUNNY figures into unique art that showcases the artist’s distinctive point of view.

The Illusion of Paradise and The Idiot’s Defense
Opening reception: Saturday, March 7, 5 to 8 p.m.; on display through April 18
David B. Smith Gallery, 1543 Wazee Street
Two new exhibitions are opening at David B. Smith Gallery. The Illusion of Paradise is a solo exhibition by San Diego-based Peruvian artist Sylvia Fernández that features stretched paintings mounted back-to-back and suspended throughout the Main Gallery, speaking to themes of “paradise as an emotional and physical territory, nature as solace, and the potential for optimism are among the many paths
laid out in the exhibition.” Meanwhile, The Idiot’s Defense features work by Denver-based artist Dmitri Obergfell in the project room. The show “presents a series of sculptures — including vases, figural sculpture, smoking paraphernalia, and a chess set — set atop clear pedestals and custom wood furniture. Blending functional design objects and sculptural elements as well as combining both ancient and pop references, together the works contemplate the frameworks that shape experience.”

Dans Le Rêve
Opening reception: Saturday, March 7, 6 to 10 p.m.; on display through April 18
Leon Gallery, 1112 E 17th Avenue
Featuring new work by Denver-based artist Sandi Calistro, Dans Le Rêve explores grief, loss and growth. “Grief has changed me forever, and it took years to understand that this transformation does not have to be tragic,” Calistro writes in an artist statement for the show. “Some of the most beautiful change emerges when we allow ourselves to sit with our darkest thoughts and feelings. Melancholy has long fueled my work, and I have learned to embrace it as both teacher and companion.”

Ongoing Art Shows Worth a Visit

FIBRUARY
Through March 4
Louisville Public Library, 951 Spruce Street, Louisville
In this fiber art exhibition curated by Megan Morgan, Colorado artists and the everyday materials that connect us all are celebrated through art made of textiles and soft forms. The exhibition invites viewers to slow down, look closely and experience art through touch and process.

a different distance
Through March 8
Friend of a Friend, 3575 Chestnut Place
a different distance features the work of artists John Lake, Marius Lehene and Regan Rosburg, who wrestle with “incommunicable ideas
surrounding location through points in time, place, and mental state.” The exhibition includes installation work, paintings, photography and sculpture that weave together stories of depression, landscapes, nature and hope.

An Assemblage of Works
Through March 15
Artists on Santa Fe, 747 Santa Fe Drive
An Assemblage of Works by Denver artist Michelle Lundquist is a grouping of new and favorite works featuring an Asian-inspired creative exploration through paintings and mixed media. Lundquist is drawn to found objects, such as old photographs and other artifacts that have been discarded over time. “Some of the most interesting and unexpected results come when I release control and allow the art to evolve as I go,” says Lundquist. “I am drawn to the mysterious and unexpected. I enjoy creating pieces that include the elements of surprise and humor. My goal as an artist is to create work that resonates with the viewer, encourages thoughtfulness, and brings a few smiles along the way.”

Something and Nothing
Through March 15
931 Gallery, 931 Santa Fe Drive
Multi-dimensional show Something and Nothing is an open-call and member exhibit exploring the dialogue between seemingly opposing but interdependent forces. It includes both large and small-scale works, collaborations and various mediums.

Illuminations and Ruminations: Photographs & Other Works by Albert Chong
Through March 18
Emmanuel Art Gallery, 1205 10th Street Plaza
Illuminations and Ruminations is a retrospective of the work of Albert Chong since he moved to Colorado in the early ’90s. Often featuring themes of ancestors, family members and other important figures in the artist’s life, the exhibit revolves around Chong’s photography and sculpture work.

Ostinatos
Through March 21
Robischon Gallery, 1740 Wazee Street
In musical terms, ostinatos are a continually repeated phrase or cadence. In Robischon Gallery’s Ostinatos group exhibit, eleven artists explore colorful, repetitive patterns in visual art.

Musings
Through March 22
D’art Gallery, 900 Santa Fe Drive
Musings displays the work of artists Tatyana Hope, Erin King, Jenn Merz CQ and Lillian Schaffer as they explore various themes through different mediums. “Awareness of the self in the context of the human condition is naturally reflected through the act of painting and can be channeled into a sublime experience within a subset of the infinite.  Breaking free from the constraints of hyperrealistic perfectionism allows for savoring the experience of painting, which is ideal for giving the conscious a rest,” Schaffer writes.

Claiming the Crown
Through March 28
Pulse Visual Art, 3256 Walnut Street
In this solo exhibition featuring the works of local Jamaican artist, SA Bennett, art reaches for inspiration in the evolution of African heritage across different times and cultures. Inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat’s use of the three-tiered crown, which represents the denial of the humanhood of black people — and of society taking gifted people for granted — the exhibition reminds viewers to claim their crowns.

Soft Decline: Home After the Battle Lost
Through March 28
Squirm Gallery, 3553 Brighton Boulevard
Soft Decline is a group show cataloguing each artist’s sensory adaptations to living through times of turmoil. Including art of various mediums, the show “implores us to reflect on the ways in which we consider viable notions like uncertainty, depravity, or yearning.” Squirm Gallery’s regular hours are from 3 to 7 p.m on Saturdays. Viewing appointments are available upon request by emailing squirmgallery@gmail.com.

exPRESSion
Through March 29
NKollectiv, 3485 South Broadway, Englewood
NKollectiv joins Month of Printmaking with exPRESSion, a dynamic juried exhibition dedicated to the art and craft of printmaking in all its forms. “During the last Month of Printmaking event two years ago, we were in our small space in the Art District on Santa Fe and had work by only a few guest artists on display,” explains gallerist Nicole Korbe. “Now, in our large Englewood location, we are excited to have the opportunity to celebrate with a much larger exhibition of Colorado printmakers.” There will also be free, drop-in demonstrations of the different printmaking processes, taking place on Saturdays throughout the exhibition.

Domestic Bliss
Through April 7
Center for Colorado Women’s History, 1310 Bannock Street
Domestic Bliss features the work of Colorado textile artist Bethany Economos. It’s a mixed media exhibition of 2- and 3-D pieces that center around poetry excerpts embroidered onto vintage linens, using found objects such as upcycled fabric, vintage books and more. The exhibition “elevates traditional ‘women’s work’ while confronting the enduring struggle for gender equality,” according to the museum. Domestic Bliss is included with general museum admission.

Parting Gift: Fitting in America and An Impossibly Normal Life 
Through April 18
Colorado Photographic Arts Center, 1200 Lincoln Street, Suite 111
Two solo exhibitions will be on display at the Colorado Photographic Arts Center. Leonard Suryajaya’s Parting Gift: Fitting in America explores living in the U.S. while his family remains in Indonesia through “elaborately staged photographs to explore distance, belonging, and who is allowed to be seen as family in America today.” In Matthew Finley’s An Impossibly Normal Life, Finley imagines an alternate, more accepting world where queerness is unremarkable. He uses vintage found photographs, ephemera, and embellished imagery to tell the fictional story of his Uncle Ken and celebrate everyday queer joy.

Yes &…
Through May 3
Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 1750 13th Street, Boulder
In Yes &…, eighteen contemporary visual artists are “united by their human-centered focus and perspective” as AI becomes increasingly ubiquitous. The artists of Yes & remind viewers of what it means to be human through colorful, imperfect and beautiful work.

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.

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.

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.

Art Shows Opening Soon

What We Tend
Opening reception: Friday, March 13, 6 to 9 p.m.; on display through April 5
D’art Gallery, 900 Santa Fe Drive
What We Tend is a two-person exhibition featuring the work of Melody Epperson and Tricia Soderberg as they explored new studio practices in which they “tended” their inner artist, leaning into abstraction and intuition while maintaining their nature-inspired subject matter.

Open Wall 2026
Friday, March 13, 6 to 9 p.m.
Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 1750 13th Street, Boulder
Local artists are invited to share and sell their work via an open Wall at BMoCA during Open Wall, a self-curated exhibition and art sale that raises funds for BMoCA and the local art community. Admission is free for the artists to participate and attend. Artists hoping to display and sell their work can learn more and fill out a registration form here.

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