I believe it’s an artist’s job not to provide answers, but to ask questions. Artists are the canaries in the coal mine for problems we face as a society. We are the first to speak up, often under threat of punishment — or even death, in some regimes and times…
For seven seasons and over 248 episodes, In Focus — Eden Lane’s weekly show on Colorado Public Television — has been covering this state’s flourishing arts community with in-depth interviews and spotlights of new exhibits and events. But now the show is looking for a little financial help to keep in…
Above all else, a movie built around a star promises presence, and in Bill Condon’s Mr. Holmes, that promise is dual: Here’s 100 or so minutes with the great Ian McKellen, for once not casting spells, controlling magnetism or classing up script pages of expositional gobbledygook. Besides that, Mr. Holmes…
The problem with clamoring for more woman-led comedies is that actual comedy may be the thing that ends up being left by the wayside. Tina Fey, among others, has railed against the boneheaded dictum that women can’t be funny. But in the current climate of watchfulness — one in which…
Creating a link from one community to another is a central theme of the 2015 Biennial of the Americas. Visiting artist Marcela Armas wanted to dig deeper into that theme — quite literally. Since her work focuses on the intersection of arts, science and technology, after being invited to crease…
Some of the best names in burlesque paraded past in panties and pasties during the four-day Colorado Burlesque Festival, a gathering of burlesque stars from near and far, in Denver this weekend. Brandon Marshall brought back these images from the Friday-night showcase at Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret. Now see the full Colorado…
Denver’s third Biennial of the Americas celebration is big and bright and filled with activities and exhibits exploring the hemispheric crossover of art, politics and economic trends in the Americas in the here and now. The hardest thing about navigating your boat through this busy sea is knowing where to…
#18: Tran Wills When Tran Wills won a Westword MasterMind award back in 2007, she was running the Fabric Lab, a boutique focused on local designers. That shop is long gone, but in the years since Wills moved on from East Colfax Avenue, she’s gone on to bigger and better…
Cathy Morrison heralds from small-town Texas, where she spent summers on a family farm surrounded by big flowers and indigenous plants. So moving from Denver to Livermore – “Northwest of Fort Collins, sort of in the middle of nowhere, with a lot of environmentalists around us,” Morrison says – wasn’t…
Even though rents are rising as fast as the temperature around here, there are still plenty of bargain entertainment options around — particularly with the Biennial of the Americas opening Tuesday. On Thursday alone you can become an active member of the beer community, check out cool art and learn…
High summer brings variety to local galleries, where new exhibits range from a Biennial-inspired group show to an all-out bash remembering Frida Kahlo with art, film and music. Follow the muse to these five events. Nothing Belongs To Us Rule Gallery July 10 through August 15 Opening reception: 6 to…
Dr. Jeffrey Young is a casting director’s dream. There’s the veterinarian’s look: long, greying hair, a thick mustache and kanji tattoos inked on his biceps, sculpted from years working as a track-and-field coach at North High. Then there’s the fact that, a quarter-century into his practice, Young still isn’t shy…
Hot fashion can strike at any moment, and stylish people can look great even while doing mundane things. We spotted this nautical look on Christine Dan, who works at the Hyatt Regency Denver, while she was waiting for the bus on 15th and Glenarm streets. We stopped to chat with…
There’s so much heat in this town, and it’s not just coming from the sun. Every weekend around here is oozing with things to do to make 2015 one of the best summers of all time. This weekend, you can be apart of American history, be a part of beer…
For more than eighty years, Collins’ Bicycles was a staple on East Colfax Avenue — but in recent years, its fate started to look uncertain. Owner Tito Collins — the third generation of the Collins family to run the shop since its 1934 start — had fallen ill. Neighbors and…
Metropolitan State College of Denver was founded in 1965, with the goal of providing higher education for students who had previously not had much of a chance to seek out a college degree, particularly minorities and low-income individuals. The concept appears to have worked, because the school continues to have…
#19: Justin Beard Justin Beard is a forager — of food, materials, experiences and ideas. As an artist, he won’t be pinned down to one practice, and he works wherever his conceptual foraging takes him, from building sculpture created from things he’s found to performance art, a movement he’s working…
I want you to consider something stupid. I want you to consider a trip down the deepest, nerdiest rabbit hole you will ever find. I am here to convince you to turn pieces of cardboard sideways while pretending to be a wizard, and I can all but promise that if…
Imagine if Donald Trump wanted to reboot his disastrous presidential-campaign-announcement month to start over as a younger man with real hair. In Tarsem Singh’s Self/less, Trump could hire the medical geniuses of Phoenix Biogenic to transfer his aging brain into a strapping-hot bod for $250 million — the price of…
Heidi Keyes’s Puff, Pass and Paint is a very different kind of art class, combining canvas, cocktails…and cannabis. Over the past year It’s proved popular with locals and tourists alike, and last month it moved from the beleaguered Green Labs to a studio space at 2900 Marion Street shared with…
Now in its second year — but already one of the largest conventions of its kind in the world — the R.O.S.E. International Doll Show will shine a light on the lifelike world of reborn baby dolls. The meticulously crafted creations are a favorite of doll collectors, but they also serve…
Denver has never been a great town for fans of architecture. Important buildings from the past routinely go under the wrecking ball, while only a tiny percentage of their replacements are any good at all. It’s actually a brilliant strategy on the part of developers: Short-circuit any future historic-preservation struggles…
