Ginger White Brunetti Gets Straight to the Art in Aurora

"Broken But Together," Michel Benisty Aurora Highlands

Audio By Carbonatix

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There's a lot more to Aurora than rumors about Venezuelan gangs.

The cover of this year's Fall Arts Guide, inserted in the September 12 issue of Westword, takes us to Aurora, which is suddenly exploding with art. Overseeing that creative boom is Ginger White Brunetti, the former head of Denver Arts & Venues who's now leading the Aurora Library and Cultural Services Department, which includes seven libraries and their services, as well as the cultural facilities and activities in Colorado's third-largest city.

After a national search, she started the job in late February, and is still discovering new things about the city and the people who live and work in Aurora.

"I'm really encouraged by their real willingness and openness to take leaps on some different ideas and things that we're proposing," White Brunetti says. "It's a testament to a general energy, excitement and willingness to think big."

One of those big plans is the Aurora Borealis Festival, a new celebration of illumination that will light up the city November 1-3, but there's plenty of action before then. Over in the Aurora Cultural Arts District, the Aurora Fox just announced its fortieth-anniversary season, and First Friday celebrations have returned to Colfax Avenue, which will host the Colfax Canvas Mural Festival block party on September 14. The city has scheduled its first family-friendly Aurora Mini-Con on September 21. Vintage Theatre and the People's Building continue to offer innovative programming, as does the Aurora History Museum.

click to enlarge

Ginger White Brunetti gets straight to the art in Aurora.

Aurora.gov

Meanwhile, in the Aurora Highlands, you can take a two-mile-long Art Walk along Hogan Park at Highlands Creek, where more than twenty pieces of art have been installed — including Michael Benisty's "Broken but Together," the sculpture seen on our cover. "That area is still growing, and you'll see more," White Brunetti says. "We're hoping to use that as a case study for how developers can proceed."

And then there are all those culinary treasures along Havana Street. "You can eat your way through Aurora; it's remarkable," notes White Brunetti, whose son thinks Mango House offers the best sushi in metro Denver. "There are a lot of gems to uncover."

"When you scratch the surface, there are so many interesting things and so much vibrancy that perhaps Aurora doesn't get credit for," White Brunetti continues. "It's just as collaborative and innovative as Denver. I think it's just a matter of telling that story."

And while all those overblown rumors keep flying, this is definitely a story worth telling.