This weekend, the Aspen Shortsfest returns to the Roaring Fork Valley, while a collaborative exhibition – created by adults recovering from homelessness – opens in LoDo. And a new street festival featuring local bands and vendors has been announced near Denver.
Read on for your weekly arts and culture recap, plus find things to do and places to be.
Art exhibition created by formerly homeless adults opens in Downtown Denver
In the fall of 2024, artist Emma Balder held three sessions with a group of 18 residents living at Denver’s Saint Francis Center. The center serves as a transition point for adults recovering from homelessness.
During the sessions, participants created an abstract painting, cut it up, rearranged the pieces and adhered them together in a new form. The completed work is a boulder-like sculpture, representing the artists’ resilience and strength.
It’s now on public display in the exhibition “Heard to be Seen, Seen to be Heard” at Understudy, a gallery in the Colorado Convention Center.
“I think art-making can be such an insular act,” Balder said. After years of working alone in her studio, she realized, “This would be so much more interesting and enjoyable to be able to experience this with other people.”
That was part of her inspiration for the project. The other part was a desire to give back to the community. “My gifts would be wasted if I did not share this experience with other people,” she said.
From the start, the project wasn’t simply about creating art – it was also about creating community.
“The hope for this project was to bring a little bit of light and healing to the residents – but also to address some of the barriers that the residents are facing transitioning out of homelessness,” Balder said.
“A lot of us here at the St. Francis Center Apartments never had the chance to really express ourselves,” said Reid Shaylor, one of the participating artists. He said the group, with Balder’s guidance, was able to open up through the artwork. “We put a little bit of everything in there,” Shaylor said. “Negativity, positivity, hate, love, all of it.”
As a part of the workshop, participants were asked three guiding questions – one at the beginning of each day. “What's a challenge that you're facing?” “What are the emotions associated with that challenge?” And “What is one step you can take to overcome that?”
Balder said these questions guide her own practice and she thought they'd help guide the group at St. Francis Center, too.
“A lot of people [at St. Francis Center] don't know each other,” Sophia Jamison, another participating artist, said. “And when we did little things with the [question] cards and we came and expressed our feelings, it made a lot of us realize how that other person is.”
“The homeless situation is bad enough,” added Darrin Johnson, another participating artist. “But even when you get housed, there are still underlying issues. A lot of people came together for this that either didn't know each other hardly or didn't like each other.”
Balder said the project helped residents discuss health issues, addiction and goals toward independence. Through these vulnerable moments, they supported each other and forged new friendships.
“I feel that it's a form of healing that all of us need, every one of us in here,” Shaylor said. “Because they threw us away, society did. But through [Balder’s] art, we've come back to say, ‘Well, we're not dead yet and we're not going nowhere.’”
The project was made possible by a $25,000 Arts in Society grant, administered through Redline Contemporary Art Center. Participants were compensated $20 per hour for their contribution to the project.
The work will be on view at the Understudy from Thursday, March 27 through Sunday, April 27. An opening reception, featuring talks from a few of the participants, will take place on Thursday, March 27, from 4 to 7 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.
34th annual Aspen Shortsfest returns to the Western Slope
From Monday, March 31, through Sunday, April 5, the Aspen Shortsfest will introduce audiences to an array of works by up-and-coming and established filmmakers.
The program includes 68 short films from over 29 countries, including 11 world premiers.
The Aspen Shortsfest is one of only five Oscar-qualifying short film festivals in the U.S. and includes award-winning selections from Cannes, TIFF and Sundance.
“My fellow programmers and I are so grateful to be able to share this festival lineup, which not only includes some of the most compelling dramas and documentaries we've ever seen, but some of the most hilarious comedies, too,” Director of Programming Jason Anderson said in a statement.
This year’s lineup includes four films from Colorado filmmakers, including:
- “No Experience Necessary” by Emily Everhard
- “Out for Delivery” by Chelsea Christer
- “Rope Swing” by Anna Cappello
- “And the Stars are the Same” by Raúl Paz Pastrana and Alan Dominguez
Additional programming includes industry and panel conversations.
The festival is held at the Wheeler Opera House and the Aspen Film Isis Theatre. Festival passes are $225, with $100 industry passes and $25 general admission tickets also available.
New street festival announced for Englewood in June
This summer, Swallow Hill Music and the city of Englewood present the first-ever Indiewood Street Festival. The festival is slated for June 7 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. in downtown Englewood.
“Street festivals are a great way to bring together a lot of different bands and sounds, while creating a really cool and comfortable experience for audiences,” said Swallow Hill’s CEO Jessy Clark.
The Englewood Downtown Development Authority views Indiewood as an opportunity to bring more visitors, and business, to the growing Denver suburb, now home to approximately 35,000 residents.
The festival lineup includes five musical acts, plus food trucks, beer and vendors.
The bands are:
- Kiltro, an ambient South American folk band that blends shoegaze and neo-psychedelia
- Yarn, a country and Americana group
- Rootbeer Richie and the Reveille, a “soul-infused swamp pop” band
- Sunstoney, an Ethiopian-American artist known for her dreamy indie-pop sound
- Barbara, a trio with a sound that spans from shoegaze to gritty psychedelia
All of the artists, aside from Yarn, are based in Denver. Yarn formed in Brooklyn and is now based in North Carolina.
Tickets are $19.53 for Englewood residents and Swallow Hill members, $24.68 for general admission, $9.23 for kids age 4-12 and free for kids 3 and under.
Things to do in Colorado this weekend
Thursday
- “Blue Silo Studios: A Collective Exhibition” opening reception at the Center for the Arts Evergreen. The group show includes a broad spectrum of works, such as painting, sculpture, ceramics, textiles and mixed media. The exhibition runs March 27 through April 26.
Friday
- Opening night for the dark comedy, “A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder,” at the Arvada Center. The show runs March 28 through May 11. Tickets start at $56.
Saturday
- “HERstory,” a speaker showcase highlighting womxn’s experiences, brings six diverse speakers to the Fleming Mansion in Denver at 12:45 p.m. Tickets are donation-based.
Multiple dates
- The Evergreen Chorale and the Evergreen Chamber Orchestra bring history to life in "Lincoln Portrait." Shows take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 28 and 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 29 at the Wellshire Presbyterian Church in Denver. Tickets range from $22 to $32.
- The Denver Gay Men’s Chorus and the Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra present “Crazy 4 You,” a Harlem Renaissance jazz show. Performances take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 28 and 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 29 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver. Tickets start at $18, with free admission available for those with financial hardships, schools, LGBTQ+ student groups and youth-based nonprofits.
- Kids’ “Spring Art Week” at the Art Center of Western Colorado offers arts education for pre-K through 12th grade students, teaching blacksmithing, Latin dance, figure drawing, ceramics and more. Hour-long sessions begin at $40.
- The uplifting off-broadway show, “Every Brilliant Thing,” has been extended at Breckenridge Backstage Theatre. The production, initially scheduled to close Saturday. March 29, will now play through Saturday, April 5. Tickets start at $15.
Next week
- The Blue Bench presents the 4th annual “RISE Survivor Art Show,” highlighting artwork from Denver artists who are survivors of sexual violence. The show opens Tuesday, April 1 and runs through Wednesday, April 30 at M&D Artistries on Santa Fe Dr. in Denver.
Some groups mentioned in the CO Arts Spotlight may be financial supporters of CPR News. Financial supporters have no editorial influence.
How we pick our events: CO Arts Spotlight highlights events around the state to give readers a sense of the breadth of Colorado’s arts and cultural happenings, it is not — and can not possibly be — a comprehensive list of all weekly events. Entries are not endorsements or reviews. Each week’s list is published on Thursday and is not updated.
