Final Farewell

From the start, the totally temporary Denver Community Museum has been a one-woman operation, and nobody knows it better the woman herself. Jaime Kopke invented, opened and mostly financed the venue herself, easily devoting 25 to 30 hours a week to the museum, which she ran on a shoestring, without...

By Susan Froyd

April 23, 2009

Audio By Carbonatix

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From the start, the totally temporary Denver Community Museum has been a one-woman operation, and nobody knows it better the woman herself. Jaime Kopke invented, opened and mostly financed the venue herself, easily devoting 25 to 30 hours a week to the museum, which she ran on a shoestring, without grant money, during its seven-month run. That’s one reason she’s decided to throw a fundraiser on the occasion of its demise: to recoup some of the cost. It’s been an emotional trip but a good one, Kopke says of the project, which challenged citizens to create and submit artifacts and artworks on a different theme each month: “The community interaction has been great. People are so disconnected from one another, and they really seem to like having this personal interaction.”

And even as the end nears, Kopke is finagling to throw at least one more show — an exhibit exchange with San Franciscans — this summer in a different, and hopefully free, location. In the present, tonight’s An Ode - A Celebration - A Farewell finale party will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. at 1610 Little Raven Street, Suite 120. There will be food, wine and an auction of community-created artifacts collected during the museum’s six shows, including the last, Wonder Room, which features what Kopke calls “little cabinets of curiosity about the city,” using historic objects, handmade things, found objects and more. Admission is a $5 to $10 donation at the door, but reservations are requested; visit www.denvercommunitymuseum.org for information.
Sat., April 25, 7-10 p.m., 2009

Susan Froyd started writing for Westword as the "Thrills" editor in 1992 and never quite left the fold. These days she still freelances for the paper in addition to walking her dogs, enjoying cheap ethnic food and reading voraciously. Sometimes she writes poetry.

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