FROM THE DIRECTOR
DOCA was extremely pleased to receive $250,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Program in July. An accelerated grant process means that 15 grants were awarded and will be distributed this month, resulting in support for over 14,000 job hours and 43 jobs saved in Denver cultural organizations.
The ARRA program also supports the recently launched DENVER 2 for 1 TIX - a partnership with Visit Denver. This weekly e-mail, promoting 2 for 1 discount tickets and admissions, is designed to help encourage cultural access, generate last-minute sales and build new audiences. Visit www.Denver2for1Tix.com to sign up to receive the weekly DENVER 2 for 1 TIX e-mail. For information on how your organization can participate e-mail 2for1Tix@DenverGov.org.
We also are pleased to announce the date for our annual cultural forum—a gathering of staff and board members of organizations statewide. Please save the date: January 14, 2010 at lunchtime at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts. This program, organized with our partners at Arts for Colorado, Colorado Council on the Arts, Scientific & Cultural Facilities District and Colorado Business Committee for the Arts, will feature Richard Evans, President of EmcArts, a national speaker on the topic of innovation and change in cultural institutions. Evans’ message of hope and reinvention is tailored to the challenges all organizations face in today’s environment. This program is made possible by the generous support of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation—we hope to see you there!
PROGRAMS
One Book, One Denver
DOCA, in partnership with the NEA’s The Big Read, launched the 2009 One Book, One Denver program on September 2. This year’s book, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was chosen by the first ever public vote! Denver Public Libraries circulated 2,000 copies of the book and participants enjoyed book discussions, films, cooking classes, crafting classes, a musical performance and a poetry slam. While this year’s program is now complete, you may still visit www.DenverGov.org/OneBook to download radio drama recordings.
2009 Mayor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts – Call for Nominations
DOCA is currently seeking nominations for the 2009 Mayor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts. Nominations may be for: individual artists, other individuals or collaboratives; educators or educational institutions; or service and/or support to the arts. Self nominations are welcome. Nominating is easy! Visit www.DenverGov.org/MayorsAwards to submit your nomination online. The deadline is December 4, 2009 at 5 p.m.
PUBLIC ART
Riva Sweetrocket Exhibition at Buell Theatre
For the latest Buell Theatre exhibition DOCA teamed with Plus Gallery to present Heaven and Earth by Denver artist Riva Sweetrocket. The 11 large-scale soft pastel works on paper are filled with rich, vivid color and surreal compositions of everyday objects. Sweetrocket’s technical skills and mastery of pastels are unparalleled in producing luscious and realistic compositions of breathtaking beauty. The exhibition can be viewed by ticketed patrons of an event at the Buell Theatre through January 1, 2010, or by contacting DOCA to make an appointment.
New Sculptures Installed at Red Rocks Park
DOCA’s Public Art Program, along with Denver’s Division of Theatres and Arenas, is pleased to announce the installation of Leaves of Grass, a trio of sculptures by Denver artist Tyler Aiello at Red Rocks Park. Aiello’s Leaves of Grass was inspired by the blades of prairie grasses and yucca leaves native to Red Rocks Park. The three oversized “blades” are fabricated from discs of durable, hand-forged, stamped steel. The discs are welded together and molded into the blade shapes, then wire-brushed and powder-coated in a patina that will complement the surrounding landscape. The angular arc shapes will echo the rock strata in the area and the ascending ramp to the Amphitheatre. Aiello’s artwork is an elegant and harmonious addition to the Red Rocks landscape.
Public Art Workshops
DOCA’s Public Art Program will host its semi-annual workshop for new and established public artists this winter. The goal of the workshop is to include artists in the public art discussion taking place in Denver and the surrounding metro areas and give them the tools they need to apply for local and national calls. Workshop highlights include: an overview of the 35+ Better Denver Bond-funded projects currently being commissioned for the City of Denver, break-out sessions on legal assistance, budgeting, presentation tips and instruction from WESTAF on how to use CaFÉ™. We will give information and offer techniques on how to create a solid submission and provide a large resource center featuring local fabricators, insurance agents, lawyers, material manufacturers, etc. Please check out the Public Art Program Web site at www.DenverGov.org/PublicArt for dates and times to be announced soon.
Burns Park Update
This summer, the colorful sculptures in D.C. Burns Park (the triangle park created by Colorado Blvd., Alameda and Leetsdale) got a much-needed facelift. Burns Park is home to five, large abstract sculptures, and they have a fascinating history. Four of the sculptures in Burns Park date back to 1968 when a group of artists, calling themselves “Art for the Cities, Inc.,” proposed a contemporary sculpture symposium in Burns Park. Nine nationally-known sculptors—Anthony Magar, Dean Fleming, Peter Forakis, Robert Mangold, Robert Morris, Richard Van Buren, Wilbert Verhelst, Roger Kotoske and Angelo Di Benedetto—created large sculptures for the park with donated plywood. Their intent was for these sculptures to temporarily transform the sloping, grassy park into a massive outdoor gallery. As time passed, these “temporary” sculptures became a site for music and dance performances and neighborhood children to play.
In the past 40 years, five of these sculptures were removed or destroyed and have faded from memory, but four of the original sculptures remain. Sculptures by Roger Kotoske, Wilbert Verhelst and Anthony Magar were repaired and repainted on-site. A sculpture by Angelo DiBenedetto was re-constructed in cast concrete back in 2004—this sculpture has been repainted. A fifth swooping red and gold sculpture, titled Jazz, by Denver artist Barbara Baer was installed in the park in 1999. It was completely removed and repainted off-site, then re-sited a short distance from its original site and new footers installed.
DOCA is also pleased to announce that another sculpture by Anthony Magar, Untitled, has been donated to the City by the late Suzanne W. Joshel. Because the sculpture shares the scale and aesthetic of the other five sculptures in Burns Park, it will be moved to the park in the winter of 2010.
CREATE DENVER
New Denver Gallery Guide
DOCA is pleased to present the new Denver Gallery Guide in time for Denver Arts Week! The new guide will be distributed throughout Denver at hotels, visitor centers and local "hot spots.” Visit www.DenverGov.org/DOCA to download your own copy!
Two New CDRLF Clients
DOCA is pleased to announce that Wooldridge Studio and elc Mens have been initially approved for a Create Denver Revolving Loan Fund (CDRLF).
Wooldridge Studio creates unique living environments, constructing functional objects of fine art for the home. For more than 20 years, husband and wife team, Charles and Maria Wooldridge, have been producing art and showing in galleries from New York to L.A. More recently, they have shifted their artistic direction to designing architectural art, including custom stone counters, bronze sinks, sculpted stainless stove hoods and unique entryways for single- and multi-family housing in Denver. Their work has been featured in The Denver Post, 5280 and Westword.
Operating out of their home office in the Baker neighborhood, the Wooldridges will be using CDRLF financing for working capital needs related to moving their fabrication studio closer to their home, purchasing new equipment and tools and updating their marketing materials. For more information about their products, please contact Charles or Maria at WooldridgeStudio@mac.com.
Childhood friends and co-owners, Matt Hessler and Patrick King conceived of elc Mens, a menswear clothing line, while motorcycling across Spain. Arriving home in Colorado, they spent the next year developing their aesthetic, researching development partners, drafting a business plan and saving start-up capital to launch their business. Each has invested $30,000 to develop the brand and create their first two collections for Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.
elc Mens has identified five goals for the growth and development of the company:
- To create a boutique menswear line based on masculine silhouettes and premium materials;
- To create a brand that is recognized throughout the fashion community;
- To win the Council of Fashion Designers of America award for menswear;
- To sell product in 35-50 top style-influencing boutiques in the U.S., Canada, London and Japan; and,
- To achieve $500,000 in wholesale sales within 36 months.
The loan will be used for development, sales and marketing and production of the elc Mens’ 2010 collection. For more information and to view the collection, visit www.elcMens.com.
DOCA thanks the volunteer CDRLF Assessment Committee for their assistance and involvement in the CDRLF application process.
CDRLF Client Jiberish Expands to Open First Retail Location
On December 17 at 11:30 a.m., Mayor John Hickenlooper will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of CDRLF client Jiberish Clothing Company’s first retail storefront at 1620 Platte. Located at the base of the I-25 pedestrian bridge, Jiberish joins several other local creative businesses and retailers helping to make Denver’s neighborhoods vibrant and unique.
Jiberish, a snow sport apparel company, secured a CDRLF loan in the fall of 2008. At that time, the three friends and owners, Gabe, Dave and Pete, sold their merchandise out of their homes and online, and were just beginning to connect with high-end boutiques in Colorado’s high country, California and places like Finland and Switzerland. In five years, Jiberish has expanded to 46 retailers, 15 countries and 12,000 Web site hits per month.
“The CDRLF loan was the perfect resource for Jiberish at a time when traditional lenders wouldn’t have dreamed of financing our business,” said Dave Boger, co-owner. “Now, we are thrilled to have grown to the point that we have a flagship store and can be part of Denver’s street life. Having the Mayor, a one-time small business owner, attend this auspicious moment in Jiberish’s history makes it even more cool!”
The Create Denver Revolving Loan Fund is a joint program of DOCA and the Denver Office of Economic Development. For more information, please visit www.DenverGov.org/CreateDenver.
FEATURES
Denver Arts Week
The 2009 Denver Arts Week is November 6-14. Gather family and friends to enjoy the third annual celebration of the city's vibrant, eclectic arts and cultural scene! Discover for yourself why Denver is earning a reputation as a world capital of art and architecture. Highlights include:
- Know Your Arts First Friday, November 6
- Saturday Night at the Museums, November 7
- Sunday on Stage, November 8
Find information on the more than 100 events at www.Denver.org/ArtsWeek
DENVER 2 for 1 TIX
DENVER 2 for 1 TIX is a new, free program that provides weekly “2 for 1” admission and ticket discounts for metro area entertainment and cultural organizations. Consumers will get the offers through a weekly e-mail and on a special Web page at www.Denver2for1Tix.com. DENVER 2 for 1 TIX is a joint program of DOCA and Visit Denver.
DENVER 2 for 1 TIX gives consumers twice the bang for their buck, while helping metro area entertainment and cultural organizations increase ticket sales and build audiences. Research from other cities with discount programs shows that last-minute offers mean larger audiences and more sales. It is a particularly good way to attract people to visit a new venue, event or organization they haven’t experienced before.
Please sign up to receive the weekly DENVER 2 for 1 TIX e-mail at www.Denver2for1Tix.com and encourage your friends to sign up as well. After all, you’ll need partners to go with you to all those great 2 for 1 events! Every Wednesday, you’ll get your DENVER 2 for 1 TIX e-mail listing the discounts available for that Thursday through the following Wednesday. You can check the www.Denver2for1Tix Web page anytime for even more discounts. Follow the instructions on the offer to get your 2 for 1 tickets or admission. Discounts are limited and restrictions may apply.
Entertainment and cultural organizations can be a part of DENVER 2 for 1 TIX for free by e-mailing their 2 for 1 discount offer to 2for1Tix@DenverGov.org. Complete information on the program, rules for participating and answers to frequently asked questions can also be obtained by e-mailing 2for1Tix@DenverGov.org.