It’s no surprise that Denver has an incredible art scene. In fact, there is so much going on in the art scene that sometimes it’s hard to catch it all. Westword made it easy for us to check out the best of the best that the arts have to offer in Denver. Westword hosted their 19th annual Artopia on Saturday night, February 22, at five different locations along Broadway’s club strip: Vinyl, City Hall, Salty Dog, Bar Standard and the Living Room. Denver art enthusiasts enjoyed live music, artist displays/demos, vendor booths, poerty and various performances throughout the night. Artopia is an event that us Denverlites wait all year for and this year was no exception! To put it lightly: if you missed out, well.. you missed out!
This year also marked the 8th Annual Mastermind Awards at Artopia, where our town was given the opportunity to honor five local artists/organizations for their contribution to Denver’s creative landscape. Westword recognizes that in order to help the arts grow in our town, the MasterMinds could use a little extra cash to expand to new heights. The MasterMind Awards gives grants to five local artists and organizations, who each receive $2,000, as a way of saying: “Hey, we like what you’re doing for our community, keep doing what you’re doing!”
Being named a MasterMind is a huge honor and allows us a chance to congratulate the five local creatives who went above and beyond when contributing to the arts community. Please allow me to introduce the 2014 MasterMinds:
Adam Stone: Performance Arts
Eric Dallimore of Leon Gallery: Visual Arts
Karen Lausa of Words Beyond Bars: Literary Arts
Kim Shively: Multimedia
Lisa Elstun: Fashion/Design
Fashion Denver is so proud of this class of MasterMinds and love what they do for our growing city!
_________________________________________
PICTURES FROM ARTOPIA 2014:
#Artopia14 in Instagram Photos
// Can I brag for a second? Brandi Shigley, founder of Fashion Denver, was part of the very first class of MasterMinds when she was won the title back in 2005 . . . In 2014 she’s still sharing her message to always “Do what you love, and love what you do!” //