It’s easy to forget what I’m doing and why. Though I walk by the tiny house several times a day, the winter months have meant less good weather on which to work on it, and fewer daylight hours, too. But more than that, the realities of the financial struggle that…
One of the year’s best films, Mary Dore’s She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry is an urgent, illuminating dive into the headwaters of second-wave feminism, the movement that — no matter what its detractors insist — has given us the world in which we live. “We live in a country that…
In the action thriller The Gunman, Sean Penn, at age 54, looks neither old nor young. He’s been in training to look this age for a long time. Even as a relative kid, in 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High, his sailor-on-shore-leave mug had a wry, quizzical roughness to it;…
A few weeks ago, a friend and I started talking about planning a summer road trip to Los Angeles. We’re both working on large creative projects — he’s got a documentary in progress and I’ve been sitting on a book idea for years — and a long ride in the…
#31: Gary Isaacs Photographer Gary Isaacs, whose work has appeared in Westword’s pages over the years, qualifies as a Denver legend: Known for his gritty street portraits and ethereal photographic dreamscapes, Isaacs follows his muse down Colfax Avenue and into the dark hearts of local musicians and urban characters. “I’ve…
Reading is a vital part of early childhood education, but not all children have the means to practice their literacy skills. Reading Partners is seeking to change that by bringing books and tutors to children who need help with reading. “Access to books is something many of us take for…
The Catamounts are the wittiest theater troupe around — and, in many ways, the most charmingly inventive. When artistic director Amanda Berg Wilson learned that space at Boulder’s Dairy Center for the Arts, their usual venue, would eventually be unavailable because of construction, she put the current production, A Public…
Celebrants of all ages took advantage of the nice weather and came out over the weekend for Olde Town Arvada’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Festival. The emerald-hued entertainment ranged from step-dancing to a roving pipe-and-drum corps, vendor booths, kids’ activities, festival eats and lots of beer drinking for the adults…
For Denver theater company ScreenPLAY, less is more. Each of its one-time-only performances sees a rotating cast of established Denver actors take on the script of a cult-classic film using no sets and only minimal props and costumes. Instead, the production relies on acting skill and audience interaction to create…
You can find art all over town — not just on gallery walls. In this series, we’ll be looking at some of the local artists who serve up their work in coffeehouses and other non-gallery businesses around town. “Every day my life counts, not just the ones when I’m with…
“Gentle” Jen Mathiesen lives and breathes art. From tattoos to film to finding inspiration in the outdoors, she’s passionate not only about pursuing art but encouraging others to do so as well. She has been tattooing for sixteen years, and currently works at Mantra Tattoo. We recently caught up with…
Cinematic girl power returns to the Sie FilmCenter on Tuesday, March 17, as the Voices Women + Film Festival begins its fifth edition with a globetrotting slate of new films, filmmakers and discussions by, for and about women — one of the most underserved festival audiences. “I think this is…
From the warm weather to cool events, this past weekend was one of those times when Denver is one of the best places on earth. And this week gives us even more reasons to be proud of our city. Learn about Denver’s role in the founding of the Beats (as…
Month of Photography 2015 powers on this weekend, with new shows opening in Curtis Park and around town. Meanwhile, Denver favorite Ravi Zupa, an old-world master in twenty-first-century skin, will introduce his fifth exhibition at Black Book Gallery. Analog: Alternative Processes and the Evocative Range of Photography Mike Wright Gallery…
Denver is getting in the swing of sunshine, which means we have to party this weekend, because it could snow three feet next week out of nowhere. To celebrate the third weekend in March, head up the hill for Frozen Dead Guy Days, learn a new old dance, or binge…
#32: Rupert Jenkins Colorado Photographic Arts Center director Rupert Jenkins arrived in Denver from San Francisco in 2005 with an extensive resume in arts administration and curatorship, bringing an international flair to the respected Denver photography gallery and classroom. But Jenkins didn’t simply settle in at CPAC: He envisions a…
I’ve had disease on my mind the past three days: Since small children are nature’s perfect disease incubators and all, my toddler is sick. That means I’ve spent the past sixty hours or so wiping snot, administering drugs and having someone cough directly into my mouth every time I let…
Since I moved into a beautiful house in the Barnum neighborhood almost five years ago, my car has been hit four times while parked out front on Knox Court. A few months ago, it was completely totaled — hit so hard by the other driver that my car was pushed…
On local stages this weekend, you can catch everything from songs of the Harlem Renaissance to the wit of the late Molly Ivins in the final performances of Red Hot Patriot revival. Here are capsule reviews of five productions this weekend. Ain’t Misbehavin’. “The Reefer Song,” performed by Leonard E…
“There are some tough films on the program,” says Boulder Jewish Film Festival artistic director Kathryn Bernheimer. “I can program challenging movies because we have a really great audience that is willing to engage intellectually and is adventurous artistically.” The third annual edition of the week-long celebration of films focusing on…
Collin Parson, the exhibition manager and curator at the Arvada Center, always seems to come up with shows that both highlight the local scene and push the art dialogue of the community forward. That’s certainly the case with rePOPulated: Contemporary Perspectives on Pop Art, an impressive two-part group show, along…
“Mark Twain once said that boxing is the only sport where a slave, if he’s successful, can rub shoulders with royalty,” says former heavyweight Mike Tyson, who once knocked out nineteen opponents in a row. “Can you imagine that? Just by fighting another human being, he can meet a king,…
