Fifth Annual COLORCON Painting the Town...and Westword Parking Lot

It's time to paint the town with COLORCON!

Back in 2019, Denver Arts & Venues set out to install murals throughout the Golden Triangle Creative District; five years later, buildings and alleys across the neighborhood boast incredible art. Now the fifth annual COLORCON will use a parking lot wall at 1278 Lincoln Street as its canvas — right by the Westword office. The artists are working on their pieces right now; they'll join in a free public celebration from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, August 26.

This is COLORCON curator Mary Valdez's second time organizing the mural event. She'd started working for Denver Arts & Venues in 2001 and during her time there created the Urban Arts Fund, which she managed for ten years before retiring from her role as public art coordinator.  After that, she founded her own company, which manages such artists as legendary muralist Detour.

Valdez knows the Denver art scene well, and chose this year's artists based on their ability to work around the chosen theme "Celebrating Local Icons, Past and Present," specifically focusing on people of color. "We were very specific and intentional with the request for qualification calling in Colorado artists," she says. "We're interested in working with artists who can create diverse, cohesive, representational or figurative images of significant people of color from the past and present."

Artists Will Barker, RJ Mello, Jasmine Holmes, Spencer Eudaly (aka Mr. Hanimal), Marco Garcia and Carlos Frésquez were chosen; they're currently working on five murals. Eudaly and Frésquez have teamed up under the name El Gatos Locos to create an image of famed activist Lupe Briseño, who was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2020.

"The interesting part about it is Carlos Frésquez was a retired professor at Metropolitan University and Spencer was a student of Carlos Frésquez back in the day," Valdez notes. "They're going to create a work of art that is highlighting civil rights activist Lupe Briseño. She is a Chicana civil rights activist who led a strike against carnation farmers for better working conditions and better pay for workers. So they really felt compelled about...highlighting this iconic person."  Valdez says she wanted the people highlighted in the murals to be associated with a variety of movements, from activism to music and entertainment, as long as the individuals portrayed made a lasting impact. Barker, who also has work showing currently at the Museum of Outdoor Arts at Fiddler's Green, decided to portray Coloradans who made it to the silver screen: Pam Grier and Don Cheadle, who both graduated from East High, as well as silent-film star Douglas Fairbanks, who was born at 1207 Bannock Street in 1883 after his Jewish parents emigrated from Germany. "We really believe he's from color origin, but back then they never talked about it," Valdez explains.

Jasmine Holmes is painting singer-songwriter India Arie Simpson, who was born in Denver in 1975 and went on to win four Grammy Awards out of a whopping 23 nominations. RJ Mello is taking on the performing arts genre, portraying the legendary Cleo Parker Robinson, who founded her dance organization in 1970. RJ Mello will also be painting the world-renowned jazz artist Jess DuBois, a Valdez suggestion.

Garcia, who is the brother of acclaimed Denver artist David Garcia, decided to paint policy trailblazer Patricia Barela Rivera, another inductee to the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame. "Throughout her career, she worked in bringing equality, unity, diversity," Valdez says. "Her résumé goes on and on."

While other big mural festivals, such as the inaugural Denver Walls, are bringing in international artists and occupying a whole neighborhood, Valdez says the intimacy of this festival is what makes COLORCON special.

"You could go to these large mural festivals and you kind of get lost in the crowds. With COLORCON, it's so great because you can actually walk up to the artists, have a great conversation, hang out, meet other really great people," Valdez says. "Last year, I just felt like so connected. And I think that's what they're trying to do, is really create connectivity in the neighborhood, building a great, healthy community offering that's free to the public.

"In my opinion, these murals are going to be fantastic," she says. "Just brilliant, provoking murals that highlight our people of color — iconic people that have that connection in Denver."

COLORCON, 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, August 26, 1278 Lincoln Street, will include a chance to interact with the artists and vibe to music from Denver producer Levi Double U. Food and drink will be available to purchase, with a bar on the roof of the adjacent parking lot that will provide a bird's-eye view of all the art happenings. Admission is free; find out more here.