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Best DIY Gallery and Event Space

Squirm Gallery

The DIY scene is being reinvigorated by Squirm Gallery, which took over the same space that housed the legendary Rhinoceropolis. Most of the artists who started Squirm — Zak Ashburn, Zach Burke, Cyrena Rosati, Ruby Sumners, Alishya Swenning and Peina Vella — had been to that venue and its neighbor, Glob, and felt that while the city has a healthy DIY scene for music, it was lacking for the visual arts. And when Burke heard that the space was available, it seemed like destiny. Squirm opened with a visual-art show from Michael Stein, as well as concerts by KYC DJs, American Culture, Fragrant Blossom and Angel Band. And in the back, Squirm members have outfitted studio space with screen and risograph printers, a kiln, a darkroom, a metalsmithing setup, paints and more. DIY is far from dead.

3553 Brighton Boulevard
@squirmgallery

Best Immersive Installation for Parties

Meow Wolf

Evan Semón

Beginning as a renegade DIY collective in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Meow Wolf brought its wild spirit to Denver with Convergence Station in 2021 and has become a major attraction for tourists and locals alike. And when the community speaks, Meow Wolf answers. After receiving requests for adults-only events, Meow Wolf created the Adulti-Verse, which happens on the first and third Wednesday of the month for those ages 21 and up, so we can roam the multiple universes with a drink in hand while listening to DJs spin. Meow Wolf also hosts concerts in its Perplexiplex venue, whose walls and floor are covered in motion-activated lighting. Whether you're there for music or an Adulti-Verse event, one thing's for sure: It's a party!

Best Annual Immersive Installations

Spectra Art Space

Local artists have a major supporter in Spectra Art Space, which is always there to put on dedicated creatives' first shows and where you're always sure to find quality work. But the gallery has also cemented itself as a purveyor of the immersive arts, mounting annual installations that fill its backyard with the visions of the city's artists. In the late spring and summer, there's Novo Ita, a dreamy world lush with plants and flowers, and in the fall and winter, it's Spookadelia, a blend of creepy and kitsch that keeps the Halloween spirit alive.

Best Immersive Installation to Find a Yeti

Shiki Dreams
Prismajic

Lisa Fox

After knocking it out of the park with Natura Obscura at the Museum of Outdoor Arts, Prismajic found a permanent home for Shiki Dreams at Colorado Mills mall. The five-room installation creates a welcome escape as soon as you enter, with forest-evoking scents and dim lighting that direct your attention to the illuminated scenes throughout. You'll be given a headset that plays an ambient soundtrack as you traverse fairy-tale rooms and perhaps spot Shiki, the yeti that the installation is named for. As Prismajic co-founder Jennifer Mosquera promised, "One of the things we're really interested in is tempering the crazy — from the outside world, traffic, everyday things — and bringing some wonder and creativity as well as some calm to people." And Prismajic nailed it with Shiki Dreams.

14500 West Colfax Avenue, Suite 359B, Lakewood
prismajic.com

Best Immersive Membership Club

Invisible City

After Paul Laurie found success with his Silver Spork Social underground supper club in 2014, he created Invisible City, a members-only club, in 2017. Invisible City now has a very visible permanent home in its Clubhouse at 941 Santa Fe Drive, which opened last September; it's an immersive-art social lounge that hosts concerts, workshops and more for its members, as well as ticketed shows when the public is able to come check out the space. A gathering place for the adventurous and imaginative, Invisible City transcends the conventional, making for a realm where the extraordinary becomes the standard.

Best Art District for Street Art

RiNo Art District

Whether you're in RiNo for First Friday, a concert at one of the area's many venues or just brewery-hopping, the street art is impossible to miss. It's almost everywhere you look, from murals dating back to the years of Crush Walls to new works that are seemingly going up all the time. That's because the nonprofit art district throws a lot of support to the local artists who make our city so colorful, providing opportunities for them by way of mural festivals, a BIPOC artist fund, and programming that includes workshops, markets and more.

rinoartdistrict.org

Best New Mural Installation

Denver Nuggets mural by Detour

The Mile High City was filled with pride when the Nuggets brought home the NBA championship trophy in 2023, and so was Thomas Evans, the local artist who goes by Detour. His murals are instantly recognizable for their bright splashes of color rendering portraits of people who inspire him, and as an avid fan of Denver sports, the artist immediately took to his canvas — i.e., the 7-Eleven wall he's been painting up since 2020. The mural was even covered by the New York Times. But of course, that isn't all the prolific artists has in the works: Detour has a major installation project at Denver International Airport, and just adorned Empower Field.

1919 East Colfax Avenue
iamdetour.com

Best New Mural Festival

Denver Walls

After local artist Ally Grimm, aka A.L. Grime, painted at the D.C. iteration of international mural festival World Wide Walls, she convinced organizers that the Mile High City would be the perfect fit for the fest. While she originally planned for the Denver version to happen in 2022, that effort fell through because of a lack of funds. But Grimm found an enthusiastic partner in the RiNo Art District, and after much planning, Denver Walls had its inaugural festival last September, bringing local, national and international artists together in RiNo to paint seventeen new murals around the neighborhood. The largest spot? That went to Detour, who painted the entire floor on top of a parking lot.

denverwalls.com

Best Street Art

Chris Haven

The Mile High City is known for its colorful street art, and some styles are becoming instantly recognizable. Who hasn't seen one of Chris Haven's goofy, smiling triangular dudes spray-painted on a building or alleyway? Whether they're throwing up peace signs or holding a mic as if about to bust out a cypher, they add a lot of joy to the streets of Denver. Haven also creates photo-realistic portrait murals. That breadth of talent really underscores the boundless energy of the Denver arts scene.

@ChrisHaven

Best Art Collective Events for Misfits and Risk-Takers

Voltaire Collective

Voltaire Collective brings visual and performance art to the city in its own creepy and original way, with "theatrical draglesque productions." The producers of the events and shows are all artists themselves. From an event described as a "kink extravaganza" showcasing burlesque and pole performances to the Inkwell, an original production that follows a wizard and his apprentice, you never know what the collective will come up with next. Voltaire events can be found all around the city, and its Instagram (@voltairecollective) shows off some of the fun things in the works.

ragdollclothingco.com/voltaire-collective

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