Get a head start with our suggestions, listed below.
Brenton Zola explores the world through storytelling and performance at Understudy.
Courtesy of Brenton Zola
Brenton Sizwe Zola, Persona: A Portal to the Selves Within
Understudy, 890 C 14th Street
Through July 31
Opening Celebration: Thursday, July 7, 6 to 9 p.m.
Performance Activations: Thursday, July 7, 3 to 9 p.m.; Thursday, July 14, noon to 4 p.m.; Friday, July 29, noon to 6 p.m.; Saturday, July 30, noon to 6 p.m.; Sunday, July 31, noon to 6 p.m.
Griot: An African Storytelling Experience: Friday and Saturday, June 29-30, 6 p.m., and Sunday, June 31, 5 to 7 p.m.; $15 to $20 at Eventbrite
Brenton Zola, a Denver native of Congolese descent, merges his polymathic projects, including mixed-media art, photography, interactivity, performance and powerful storytelling, for Persona: A Portal to the Selves Within, an installation that acts as a gateway to enlightening self-examination. Throughout the event’s run in July, Zola will host a series special performance-art activations of the space, culminating with a full-blown, ticketed evening of African storytelling with live music.
Slay the Runway
Roser ATLAS Center, ATLAS Black Box Experimental Studio, CU Boulder Campus, 1125 18th Street, Boulder
Friday, July 8, 6 to 8 p.m.
Slay the Runway, a collaborative project led by Elaine Waterman of the Firehouse Art Center in Longmont and Steven Frost from the Boulder Public Library’s BLDG 61 Maker Space, showcases creative garments envisioned and sewn by LGBTQ+ teens who participated in a two-week intensive fashion workshop. The teens will model their own creations, capping the process — from conceptualizing costumes to walking the runway — on Friday at CU Boulder’s ATLAS Black Box venue, with emcee LeeLee James at the mic. The event is free, and registration is required in advance at Eventbrite.
Brett Fox, Phantom Threads
Bell Projects, 2822 East 17th Avenue
Friday, July 8, through July 24
Opening Reception: Friday, July 8, 7 p.m.
Brett Fox’s ghostly photography and mixed media images will appear in a solo show at Bell Projects. The title refers to the act of re-personalizing previous images with further interventions using transparency film, gel transfers and found objects on canvas to bring about a new narrative.
Paint the Walls
Rising Gallery, 4885 South Broadway Street, Englewood
Grand Opening: Friday, July 8, 6 to 10 p.m.
Artist and graffitist Christian Millet, incidentally a great-grandson of French realist Jean-Francois Millet, premieres his new Englewood space Rising Gallery this weekend, with a peek at Millet’s private collection and an exhibition of new works, creating a mix of local and international urban artists. Faimworldwide, Chris Haven, AG-pnt, Jeff Gillette, Invader, Mr Brainwash, Hush and knowone are just a few of the names brushing elbows in the gallery. Street-art and pop-surreal enthusiasts, this is your moment.
Tiki & Tropical Show
Balefire Goods, 7513 Grandview Avenue, Arvada
Friday, July 8, through July 31
Opening Reception: Friday, July 8, 4 to 7 p.m.
The tiki craze comes and goes, and right now it seems to be in an upswing, which is fine with jewelry maker Jaime Hollier of Balefire Goods, who is already a staunch aficionado of the subculture. Instead of showcasing one artist for a gallery solo in July, Hollier gathered a whole collection of mugs, fine art, jewelry and barware with tiki themes from several local artists, including herself. Hollier recommends tiki attire for the opening party, where you’ll also find tiki cocktails, bites and an Ape DJ who spins second-hand vinyl — and gives each record away to the crowd after it’s spun. Additional events are being planned for later in July; keep up with Balefire on Facebook for the latest news.
Flux Studio Pottery Pop-Up and Throwdown
Eron Johnson Antiques and Flux Studio & Gallery, 377 South Lipan Street
Friday, July 8, and Saturday, July 9, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Get ready for two days of mud-flinging and trial by fire — and no, it’s not the Tough Mudder we’re talking about. It’s Flux Studio’s clay-tacular Pottery Pop-Up and Throwdown, a full day of shopping directly from local ceramic-art artists, watching artists work the wheel and fire raku pottery, studio tours, live music, food and even antiquing, courtesy of building-mate Eron Johnson Antiques.
Wrong Side of the Tracks: An Exhibition in Metal
The Tip of the Tongue: Anne Feller
Artworks Center for Contemporary Art, 310 North Railroad Avenue, Loveland
Friday, July 8, through September 24
Opening Reception: Friday, July 8, 6 to 9 p.m.
Artworks in Loveland debuts two new summer shows, beginning with the juried group exhibition Wrong Side of the Tracks, a call to metalsmiths for jewelry and sculpture submissions inspired by the romance — or the train-wreck — of the railroad and its place in American history. Christine Clark, head of the metals department at Oregon College of Art and Craft, served as juror. Encaustic and mixed-media artist Anne Feller gets a solo alongside Tracks, with a focus on muted works of figures milling about through scenes channeling time and place, which she likens to fossils.
I Think I’m Turning Digital/Rough Gems workshop: Digital Download
Union Hall Gallery, The Coloradan, 1750 Wewatta Street, Suite 144
Saturday, July 9, 10 a.m. to noon
Free, register online in advance at Eventbrite
Ivar Zeile and Sharifa Moore of Denver Digerati, the organization that brings the annual Supernova Digital Animation Festival to the streets of downtown Denver, will host a free workshop in conjunction with the new-media exhibition Aura, which closes this weekend. The duo will cover a lot of ground for artists interested in diving creatively into the digital world, from handling the tech to submitting the work. Since space is limited, registration is recommended in advance.
The Eternal Muse/La Musa Eterna
EastLosArte Galería and Artisan Shop, 12371 Mead Way, Littleton
Saturday, July 9, noon to 5 p.m.
Together, David and Velia Garcia-Martinez run their Littleton business EastLosArte Galería and Artisan Shop, hosting occasional afternoon openings for shows of original Latinx-themed art. This month, it’s a Frida Kahlo show for the iconic painter’s birthday week, with Frida images galore, along with live music, bites and artisan vendors to make the event more festive. Find more Frida art and a side of mole-tasting and entertainment in Westwood today, from 2 to 8 p.m.
Ascent and The Black Power Tarot Artist and Curator Talk and Exhibition Tour
RedLine Contemporary Art Center, 2350 Arapahoe Street
Tuesday, July 12, 6 to 8 p.m.
Spend an evening at the RedLine Contemporary Art Center, going in-depth into the world of Colorado artist Floyd Tunson, whose double-edged survey Ascent is currently on view at RedLine and the Arvada Center. Curators Wylene Carol, Daisy McGowan and Collin Parson will lead a talk and exhibition tour breaking Tunson’s career down into ten major series; then McGowan will join civil rights legend John B. Smith and, by Zoom, artist Arish Ahmad Khan (aka King Khan), for a discussion of The Black Power Tarot, on view along with Ascent, through July 31. The larger portion of Ascent at the Arvada Center closes August 28.
Biennial of the Americas: Edge Effect Project Call for Community Participation
Black Cube Headquarters, 2925 South Umatilla Street, Englewood
Donation Drop-off Dates: Saturday, July 16, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Monday, July 18, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Black Cube and the Biennial of the Americas are calling on the public to help Mexican artist Gabriel Rico create the community installation “La inclusión de mi raza” by donating objects reflecting our city’s identity. Rico will use the items to build a series of found-object totems to debut in September at Tail Tracks Plaza, on 16th Street between Wewatta and Wynkoop streets. The project, which is part of the Biennial’s overarching Edge Effect art project, driven by the idea of human intersection within the larger community.
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