12 DECEMBER 28-JANUARY 3, 2023 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | 2023: The Ten Biggest Culture Stories BY EMILY FERGUSON The Denver arts scene fl ourished in 2023, as seasoned cultural institutions won well- earned accolades and a swell of blockbuster art shows fi lled venues big and small. The city welcomed a new mural festival thanks to the determination of a Mile High artist who wouldn’t give up, and the DIY scene fi nally has a Rhinoceropolis 2.0. Of course, not all the news was positive — and not just because a reality show was fi lming here. Still, creativity in Colorado once again showed it could make it through the tough times. Here are the state’s ten biggest culture stories from this past year: Su Teatro Has a Permanent Home Su Teatro Cultural & Performing Arts Cen- ter not only got to celebrate its fi ftieth anniver- sary this year, but the historic Chicano theater troupe was able to burn its mortgage. It’s come a long way: Founder Tony Garcia remembers when he began Su Teatro as a guerrilla theater performing actos on Denver’s west side around Auraria back in 1972, before building its fi rst indoor stage in the old Elyria School in 1989. The company stayed there until 2010, when it moved to the Civic Theatre at 721 Santa Fe Drive, which is now its permanent home: Su Teatro signed over its fi nal payment on the building in January. It was the perfect way to begin the year, which saw the company conclude its fi ftieth season in June with a per- formance of La Carpa Aztlán Presents: I Don’t Speak English Only, a production Su Teatro created in 1993. Here’s to fi fty more years! CHAC Returns to Santa Fe Drive The Chicano Humanities and Arts Coun- cil was also able to breathe a sigh of relief this year. After being priced out of its home at 772-744 Santa Fe Drive in 2018, the non- profi t moved to the 40 West Arts District in Lakewood. But CHAC was able to return to its roots in the Art District on Santa Fe when Kyle Schneider, son of the late artist Katherine Payge, donated the gallery build- ing his mother had owned at 834 Santa Fe to the organization. When Chicano artists fi rst formed CHAC in 1978, they worked out of a church basement in north Denver before moving to 725 Santa Fe Drive (now Su Teatro’s parking lot) in 1986. CHAC moved to three other locations in the ’90s before fi nd- ing its way back to the street again. Santa Fe Drive is “where we belong,” says executive director Brenda Gurule. “We feel like in a way we’re going back home.” RedLine’s Fifteenth- Anniversary Blowout RedLine Contempo- rary Art Center is a beacon for the city’s arts-focused nonprofits, championing Denver artists through resi- dencies, art shows and com- munity-oriented classes and workshops. And those Denver artists often go far: Witness Thomas Evans (aka Detour), who painted not only offi cial murals at Empower Field, but some viral Denver Nuggets mu- rals and activist portraits throughout the city, and Anthony Garcia, who co-founded the nonprofi t Birdseed Collective. The Museum of Contemporary Art took note and mounted the exhibition Breakthroughs: A Celebration of RedLine at 15. It’s not often that you see such an institution celebrate locals over touring shows, but the MCA proved its commitment to the Denver art scene, showing that this is what it, and RedLine itself, is all about. Tattered Cover Files for Bankruptcy Denver’s most famous bookstore is enter- ing a new chapter. Tattered Cover, which was sold to Bended Page in 2020, has had quite the year. Former CEO Kwame Spearman resigned early in 2022 after announcing his Denver Public Schools board run (he’d also run for mayor). He was replaced by Brad Dempsey, who tackled a tough balance sheet: From January 1 to the end of August, the bookstore had lost $667,882 on revenues of $6.2 million. With Dempsey in the lead, Tattered Cover fi led for Chapter 11 in Octo- ber and closed three stores — in McGregor Square, Westminster and Colorado Springs. But as the year neared the end, Tattered was making a comeback...and there are always more ways to save a beloved institution. RiNo Welcomed an International Mural Festival Ally Grimm, known by her artist moniker A.L. Grime, moved to Denver because she was drawn to its street-art scene. So when she was painting at the D.C. Walls Festival, hosted by international mural group World Wide Walls, Grimm knew that the Mile High City would be the perfect place for another iteration of the Walls Festival, which also takes place in Seoul, Tokyo, Honolulu and fi fteen other cities. While the original intent was to debut in September 2022, the new fest was delayed until it found an eager partner in the RiNo Art District. Denver Walls fi nally took place this year, with local muralists painting alongside international artists, all displaying multiple styles and skill-sharing sets. Squirm Gallery Maintaining the Spirit of Rhinoceropolis Before it closed in 2020, Rhinoceropolis was known as the place to be in the Denver DIY scene. It was legendary: Creatives found a home and community here, where the walls were covered in art and musicians of all genres were welcome (and some, such as Matt & Kim, Grimes and Future Islands, made it big). Now a group of six artists — some of whom met each other at Rhino — are aiming to emulate and elevate that ethos with Squirm Gallery, which opened in December. While there are several other great DIY venues in Denver, most concen- trate on music; Squirm will offer a balance, showcasing visual art and installations while also throwing concerts. Married at First Sight Comes to Denver It was something we never asked for, but it’s here. The Denver version of Married at First Sight has been airing since mid-October, and follows fi ve couples who are quickly dis- integrating (except perhaps one — if you’ve been following Westword staff writer Hannah Metzger’s weekly recaps). And that’s not surprising, considering the reality TV show enlists single people who are totally fi ne with marrying complete strangers chosen by the show’s “relationship experts,” and then spend the next eight weeks getting to know those strangers in front of cameras. It’s less of a case study on Denver dating than it is of the bizarre lengths people will go to when their Bachelor auditions aren’t picked up. Drama in the Theater Community The theater community has had a tough time coming out of the pandemic, with CO- VID still causing production delays. But the- aters have found creative ways to engage their audiences, whether by adding swanky little bars or focusing on their theatrical offerings; many, including Miners Alley, Wheat Ridge Theatre Company and Firehouse, told us that ticket sales were up this year. And Miners Al- ley did so well that it moved into the nearby 30,000-square-foot Meyer Hardware Store that it acquired in 2021, now a performing arts center for the city of Golden. The year wasn’t without its trials for some compa- nies, however. PopUp The- atre disbanded in June, not long after moving to the People’s Building in Aurora from Fort Collins, where ar- tistic director Christopher Huelshorst founded it in 2015. Huelshorst did not pay his cast or stage manager for the March production of Corpus Christi, nor did he pay the People’s Building its contracted 80/20 box offi ce split. Then, in December, Vintage Theatre canceled its entire run of Langston Hughes’s Black Nativ- ity, which it had hoped would be the begin- ning of an annual holiday tradition, because of behind-the-scenes tension. The theater — which had also told us its sales were up back in September — estimated it would lose $40,000 as a result of that decision. Blockbuster Art Shows Denver residents were lucky to witness many incredible art shows in the city this year, but a few stood out. The Museum of Contemporary Art examined Wild West ico- nography with Cowboy, using a diverse array of works that looked at the purely American cowboy with a critical eye (and there’s still time to see it: The exhibit is open through February 24). The Denver Art Museum also looked at another iconic Western cultural movement, but more centered on the here and now, with Desert Rider: Dreaming in Motion. The exhibition, which closed in September, showcased lowrider culture through an array of Southwestern artists, including Coloradans Carlos Frésquez, Juan Fuentes, Tony Ortega, Daniel Salazar and Santiago Jaramillo. Lighthouse Writers Workshop Has a New Home Lighthouse Writers Workshop moved into brand-new, expansive digs in June, proving this city has the write stuff. Michael Henry and Andrea Dupree founded the literary nonprofi t in the early ’90s in Boston before moving to Denver and registering Lighthouse as a business with the state in 1997. It started in an offi ce loft on Arapahoe Street, then doubled in membership year after year, changing locations six times until the board decided to take on the challenge of building an $8 million headquarters in a rapidly reviving part of town. The gamble paid off, and Lighthouse continues to lead the way for those pursuing literary careers (or who simply love literature) with work- shops and events throughout the year. Let there be lit! . CULTURE KEEP UP ON DENVER ARTS AND CULTURE AT WESTWORD.COM/ARTS Lauren and Orion pose for wedding portraits moments after meeting on Married at First Sight. POPPY & CO./KELSEY HUFFER
