Santa Fe Art District
WHAT: RMGA Membership Program – Santa Fe Art District
WHEN: February 8, 2016, 5:30--6:00 – networking and sign-in.
WHERE: Mai Wyn Fine Art Gallery, 744 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO 80204
PROGRAM: Michelle Johnson presentation and walking tour to introduce RMGA to the studios and interesting art in this area.
Guide Line Review
Santa Fe Art District
The President of the Denver Art on Santa Fe, gave us a brief history of how the Art District got started. Jack Pappalardo is the second President of the District and is an attorney. He has also worked with Visit Denver. Jack is married to an artist so he has an obvious interest in contemporary Art.
Before the Denver Art District on Santa Fe, there was an art district on South Broadway.
The Denver Art District on Santa Fe started in 2003. The area’s buildings were affordable and many artists bought their buildings. There were only 17 artists in the group in 2003 and their first advertising was a rack card. Then they developed a website. This art district encourages creative industry. There are musicians, architects, artists, galleries and a theater. There are “hands-on” programs including the ballet and you can create your own “art” at a couple of places along the street.
Denver Art District on Santa Fe is one of the largest art walks in the U.S. They participate with the other museums and galleries throughout Denver for “First Friday” of every month– where the venues are free and people are encouraged to visit. About 50% of the “First Friday” attendees are here for the first time – in August of 2015 there were 12,000 people who attended. Denver Art District on Santa Fe also participates in “Third Friday” of every month and Denver Arts Week. Santa Fe was closed in August and November 2015 for the Arts Week. The District is certified as a creative district and there over 100 members. There are now 13 art districts throughout the state. There is a shuttle bus for First Friday events – this runs from 5:30-10pm – starting at the 10th and Osage Light Rail stop and making a 22 minute loop down Kalamath to Stranahan’s Distillery and up Santa Fe. It goes to West High School where parking is available for $5 – these proceeds go to the High School Cultural Program.
In 2004 Denver Art District on Santa Fe had a test group tour with members of the Denver Art Museum – 450 people attended. More recent tours with DAM have had 1,000 people attend. Doors Open Denver (DOD) weekend – this year April 12-13.
We started at Mai Wyn Fine Art at 744 Santa Fe and had beverages and appetizers here. This building once housed a hair salon. Mai Wyn is an artist – she specializes in oils on stainless steel. She also has showings for other local artists as well. Mai Wyn’s studio is open to visitors too. Currently Rian Kerrane is represented with installation objects. One of the objects pays homage to the past life of the building with a long synthetic “hair” piece – about 10’ long. Rian uses metal in her installations – there was a small forest of mini x-rays on metal sticks, each of which was grounded in metal “pillows”. Mai Wyn also has jewelry and smaller items made by local artists for sale.
Our second stop was at Michael Warren Contemporary at 760 Santa Fe. Mike is a full-time artist and Warren was a music major who worked in charity business development. Their gallery changes the items displayed every five to six weeks. One of the artists currently exhibiting is Teresa Booth Brown whose work is mostly in oil and collage on panel. Mike had a couple of whimsical pieces displayed – one made of metal rings and pieces of old phonograph records was a lot of fun – done in black and white and metal.
Our last stop was at Artwork Network at 878 Santa Fe where owner Alan Kircher showed us around his space. Besides exhibitions of artwork, this location is also an event center. This gallery also does art rotations at various businesses, keeping things fresh and new. There are studios in the basement of this venue. Meredith is his Art Coordinator.
--- Nancy Brueggeman
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