Best Outdoor Element of the 2013 Biennial of the Americas 2014 | "Mine Pavilion," by Pezo von Ellrichshausen | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Outdoor Element of the 2013 Biennial of the Americas

"Mine Pavilion," by Pezo von Ellrichshausen

The original plan for the 2013 Biennial of the Americas called for downtown to be turned into one big art fair. That didn't happen, but we did benefit from the brilliant "Mine Pavilion," a timber tower designed by the Chilean architectural firm of Pezo von Ellrichshausen. The multi-story piece, which emerged from the median at Speer Boulevard and Larimer Street, was a skeletal tower with periodic set-backs as it rose to the sky. Made from Colorado beetle-kill wood set on a base of broken local stone, "Mine Pavilion" functioned as a visual link between downtown and Auraria, a goal that has eluded Denver since the '70s.

Best Parting Glance

Robin Rule's last show

Though she was gravely ill this past winter, Robin Rule, who earlier in the year had closed her bricks-and-mortar gallery in RiNo, was still determined, after decades in the art business here, to remain a part of it. Together with Adam Gildar, she co-curated Dimension and Symmetry: Clark Richert at the Gildar Gallery. It was a handsome solo given over to one of her closest friends and one of the most loyal artists in her former stable. Poignantly, the show was still up when Rule died, in December, and remained up for many weeks after. It proved that though life is short, art is long, and Rule's contributions are lasting ones.

Best Performance on Wheels

Salon Romantik: Fear & Prophets

The motion-based performances dreamed up by Patrick Mueller and Control Group Productions cross so many disciplinary lines that it's hard to know what to call them, and perhaps it's ridiculous to even try to pin it down. For the second leg in the troupe's journey called Salon Romantik, Control Group threw a party where the audience could wander through as participants; the third portion of Salon Romantik, which took place last fall, loaded up buses for a tour of staged performances at locations along the route. Where to next? The sky's the limit. And no matter where they end up, Mueller and Control Group are sure to being new levels of sophistication to the Mile High City. Find out how high in June, when the next installment of Salon Romantik goes live.

Best Place for Dinner and a Play

Vintage Theatre Productions

Vintage Theatre has come up with a clever scheme to solve the where-do-we-eat-before-the-show conundrum, partnering with Copacabana Grill Catering so that play-goers can order anything from full meals to appetizers to dessert and coffee, and eat — comfortably seated at a table in the lobby — before or after the show. This is not your typical dinner theater, and the food is just as adventurous. Theater offerings include musicals and dramas; entrees range from Brazilian-style lamb chops to bacon-wrapped chicken breast. Perfect combinations are possible.

Best Place to Contemplate Death With Others

Denver Death Cafe

At first the idea of a death cafe might seem morbid — a place designed for goths and very sad people. But in fact, the Denver Death Cafe is not like that at all — instead, it's a healthy forum where people can talk about death in self-actualizing ways. The free Sunday-afternoon meetings, part of a global movement that started in London in 2011, unfold over coffee, tea and cake at changing locations every month, and are meant to be life-affirming rather than the opposite.

Best Place to Express Yourself

make. workshops at PlatteForum

We plop down our dollars to drink wine while creating identical paintings, but deep down inside, don't we know that's not really art we're making? PlatteForum's make.workshops go the extra mile by pairing creative drinkers with storied members of the art community to create projects of lasting value. Past instructors have included painters, sculptors, fiber artists and more, leading such projects as jewelry making, sun printing, poetry writing, felting and collage. Fees benefit PlatteForum's real reason for being: programs pairing underserved youth with artist-mentors.

Best Place to See New Bands

Seventh Circle Music Collective

Anthony Camera

When Aaron Saye took over the space formerly known as Blast-O-Mat in August of 2012 and renamed it the Seventh Circle Music Collective, he had some impressive boots to fill. Fortunately, the gregarious filmmaker and music fan had organizational skills honed during his years of tour managing, and he competently took on the challenge of helming a DIY venue. Saye brought together an invested group of volunteers and established a booking policy that welcomes all styles of music. As a result, most shows feature solid bands that are still below the public radar, and young people who have yet to navigate the realm of bars or other commercial outlets have become regulars here. For these reasons and more, Seventh Circle offers an essential resource in a thriving music community.

Best Present for Theater-Loving Friends

Curious Theatre Company season pass

You can't go wrong with season tickets for Curious Theatre Company: Give them to friends, and they'll be thinking about you with gratitude several times over the course of the year. Curious brings the best and most-talked-about contemporary work to Denver — plays you've read about with interest but assumed you'd never get to see — and stages them with skill, artistry and integrity. The price for a five-play season ranges from $115 (for seniors) to $210, and there are added perks, like getting a discount on the second ticket if you bring a friend and — if you buy the expensive package — opening-night parties where you can mingle with the actors.

Best Public Art at DIA

"Balustrade," by Betty Woodman

The extensive art collection at Denver International Airport has paid for itself in publicity alone. There's "Mustang," the all-but-fire-breathing stallion by Luis Jiménez that still inspires fear in the timid, and the enigmatic Leo Tanguma murals that have spawned a thousand conspiracy theories. But there are also works with a quieter presence, like Betty Woodman's sumptuous "Balustrade," which many travelers miss because it's on level six of Jeppesen Terminal. Woodman has taken the baluster shape and put her own signature spin on it, creating rows of them out of expressively worked ceramics.

Best Reason for the Biennial of the Americas to Return

Denver Night

The Biennial of the Americas returned this past summer, an odd three years after its debut, and Denver Night alone was reason to welcome it back. Masterminded by the MCA's Adam Lerner and sound artist Chris Kallmyer in the spirit of blurring the edges between art and fun, the climactic gathering, which qualified as a "happening" of major dimensions, included an opera for dogs, an interactive light installation by Boulder artist Jen Lewin, Viviane Le Courtois's welcoming Human Grazing Experiment and, most notably, a fine finale to Nick Cave's stay in Denver — HEARD•DAM, which let loose an army of Cave's flowing horse Soundsuits into the park, to the delight of all. It was a world-class evening for a world-class town.

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