Colorado might be on the cutting edge for adult-use marijuana laws, but if you chat with Phyllis Ripple, you’ll quickly realize that when it comes to hemp, this state — and the entire country, in fact — are far behind the times. Ripple runs ecoFiber Custom Rugs out of Boulder,…
Traveling around the United States and South America as a kid has made Nick Hemstreet a little restless as an adult. He’s constantly trying to move forward, whether it’s learning new painting techniques or taking a journey to a different country. He has been tattooing for almost five years and…
The “art” in Artopia really popped at Saturday night’s Artopia 2015. Jolt — Guerilla Garden street artist and art curator — presented a three-ring circus of big, front-and-center artworks, some of them created on the spot, some of them interactive and none of them hidden away in dark corners. Live…
Artopia 2015 is over (Cody Chesnutt was there — how cool is that?), but the fun will continue to heat up this week. The hot events include another chance to see Westword MasterMind and Whiteout designer Deb Henriksen, a primer on cosmic travel and some good laughs — all for…
The crowds came in from the cold to Westword’s Artopia 2015, which heated up City Hall with fresh art, local music and the WhiteOut Fashion Show Saturday night. Photographer Ken Hamblin was there to capture every moment of the arts extravaganza; a few of our favorite photos follow. See the entire…
Artopia 2015 curator and Guerilla Garden street artist Jolt will be walking the floor tomorrow night at City Hall, surveying the fruits of his hard work because, he says, it’s his job: “I will be enjoying it all from the standpoint of being a curator, moving throughout the show and…
Being Eric Dallimore isn’t an easy job. The Westword MasterMind earned his award in 2014 for doing double-duty as a thoughtful installationist using natural and found materials in his work and a gallerist at Leon, a gallery that not only mounts well-curated art exhibitions but also hosts intimate concerts, art…
Kevin Costner eases white America into the now with McFarland, USA, we hear about the Berlin Film Festival’s highs (Queen of Earth) and lows (Knight of Cups), and dip into the lukewarm waters of a second Hot Tub Time Machine movie. Also, there’s much praise for teen comedy The DUFF and…
Deemed the “gay Super Bowl” by its many fans, the Academy Awards telecast has long been a bastion of over-the-top queer energy rolled up in the drama of the secret, gay inner-workings of the Hollywood system. Many a gay icon has had their moment in the sun during the Oscar…
5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche “At the center, it’s a really sweet love story — and the funniest show of the year. I actually think that’s true. People who think women can’t be funny? Well, they should come and take a look at this.” That’s director Edith Weiss’s description of…
Artopia curator Jolt of Guerilla Garden is bringing a whole posse of local street artists to City Hall for Artopia 2015 on Saturday, February 21, where they’ll transform the venue with a show of art in action. But at least one of those artists — photographer, arts booster and Denver…
When Westword’s first 100 Colorado Creatives series came to an end last February, it was a little like losing a very artsy best friend. And there were still so many unsung creative types doing great things around this state that we decided to start on a second round of Q&As…
We’ve been a bit spoiled with the weather in Denver the last couple of weekends, but winter may rear it’s cold, ugly head again this time around. Still, it shouldn’t stop you from having a good time. If you’re not going to Artopia — Westword’s annual festival of fashion, arts and culture…
As an arts journalist in the town I call home, I hear a lot from local artists — some of them sharing their thoughts through their art, some of them on social media, some at events around town. And my questions in the ongoing 100 Colorado Creatives blog series always…
Back in 2013, we reported on a game called Hot Tin Roof: The Cat That Wore a Fedora that had just gotten funded on Kickstarter. The creation of Denver-based game studio Glass Bottom Games, Hot Tin Roof promised a roaring noir adventure game with guns blazing and talking kitties. After a long…
“I always had a good time at Artopia,” says Silas Ulibarri, aka Jolt, the founder of Guerilla Garden. He’s talking about Westword’s annual celebration of the arts, which has evolved a lot over the past two decades but remains one of the best annual parties in town, showcasing the best of…
Shove off, John Hughes. The DUFF, a high-school comedy by Ari Sandel, opens by declaring that The Breakfast Club’s social categories are, like, way passé. Explains lead Bianca (Mae Whitman), “Jocks play video games, princesses are on antidepressants, and geeks rule the world.” Today, be ye goth kid, science dweeb…
Five years ago, four losers passed out in a jacuzzi, boiled back to 1986, healed their past wounds, rocked out to Poison, and returned to their timeline as gods. Thusly, Hot Tub Time Machine director Steve Pink was hailed as a minor deity: He’d taken a dumber-than-huffing-hairspray premise and made…
Last week three Denver artists were each surprised to be gifted with a yellow packet of fresh twenty-dollar bills — $500 in all — that were delivered with a handful of candy and a big message. Their tardy Santa Claus is the anonymous Yes Ma’am Projects, which each year awards…
Artopia, Westword’s celebration of the arts, will return to City Hall on Saturday, February 21. In addition to cutting-edge art and live music (and yes, food and drinks), the evening’s events will include Whiteout, our annual fashion show that’s returned to the mix. Watch the video above to see what…
#37: Molly Bounds Young Denver artist Molly Bounds, aka Moldy Bong, straddles the worlds of DIY homemade comix and fine art, making deadpan and unironic drawings that work just as well splashed in colors across a wall in a mural as they do carefully inked in black and white for…
RiNo’s Helikon Gallery and Studios is currently hosting Spark & Ruin: Anatomy of a Flame, a handsome group exhibit that examines fire, which is a pretty relevant local topic. Though gallery director Cayce Goldberg’s family has owned this particular rail-side property for decades, Spark & Ruin was guest-curated by Raymundo…
