Denver Theatre District mover and shaker Annie Geimer has what it takes to plan huge music festivals or bring public art projects to downtown streets.

An artist and an activist who makes no distinction between the two, Eric Shumake throws his energy into issues of social justice and support for Denver’s homeless community.

Shop local in Denver this December at any of these fabulous holiday markets.

The work of Denver painter Stevon Lucero is driven by a deeply spiritual awareness, resulting in imagery that expresses both his ancient cultural heritage and something even more personal from the world between the conscious and the subconscious.

Get a start on your holiday shopping at these ten Small Business Saturday hotspots (and don’t forget your favorite bookstore: It’s also Indies First Day, with similar promotions for bookworms).

With roots in the local DIY movement, independent arts advocate David Moke has an imaginative knack for helping to infuse Denver’s mainstream cultural world with a shot of unfettered creativity.

Denver-based poet Mathias Svalina, a sometime teacher and small-press editor, lately devotes himself to delivering writing and delivering dreams to doorsteps by bicycle when he isn’t writing his own poetry by the volumes and keeping track of fellow souls who’ve also chosen the road less-traveled.

Call Libby Barbee an artist moved to help other artists and, in her own practice focusing on human interaction with the landscape and environment, the entire world.

For decades, Sylvia Montero has told the stories of her Colorado Chicano culture from an urban woman’s perspective, picking up a Rocky Mountain Women’s Institute grant and national recognition along the way. She’s done this quietly, all the while serving her community as a teacher and visiting artist, and growing as as an artist by mixing media and developing new techniques.

Doug Kacena, a fine abstract expressionist painter in his own right, gained notoriety a year ago for Crossover, an experiment in collaboration at the former Mike Wright Gallery.

A familiar figure in the Denver Chicano arts community for decades, Tony Ortega is well-known for his colorful scenes from the lives of faceless ordinary people.

If it’s all about words and how to use them to make a point, Denver slam poet Hakeem Furious, aka Andre Carbonell, is on it, speed-reading his messages live at the mic.