#1: Andrew Novick Andrew Novick is many things, but it all boils down to being an enthusiast of the highest order: for weird food, goth culture, Harajuku style and visual Japanglish, Peeps, Casa Bonita, collecting nearly everything, horror films, lowbrow art, mini-golf, toppings, being this week’s Westword cover boy and…
#2: Suzi Q. Smith Suzi Q. Smith’s power lies in her words as well as her heart — and the great gift she has for sharing both so freely, both as a poet on a stage and a bedrock cheerleader behind the scenes. But the 2012 Westword cover girl and…
Earlier this week, Ken Levine announced he was moving on from Irrational Games after almost twenty years. In his time at the studio, Levine helped shepherd into being a number of games, from the groundbreaking System Shock to cult favorite Freedom Force. Those games had their fans, but it was…
#3: Richard Alden Peterson From his stint documenting punk-rockers in the 1970s and snapping art images for the early Bay Area zine Search and Destroy to his current gig — only one of many — as house photographer at MCA Denver, Richard Alden Peterson has covered a lot of ground…
#4: Adam Lerner There’s not much one can say about Adam Lerner that would truly do him justice. He runs MCA Denver with nothing resembling an iron hand: He’s funny, impossibly smart, steeped in culture and a natty dresser, and he has a knack for surrounding himself with people of…
#5: Kim Shively One of Westword’s newest crop of MasterMinds (all of whom will be honored this Saturday at Artopia 2014), Kim Shively expresses herself in images, rather than words, as a video artist and technician who’ll take on any subject matter, from Wesley Willis to Lucha Libre wrestling, not…
The eighteenth annual Rocky Mountain Cluster Dog Show took place this past weekend. Full of furry friends doing fun tricks, this event at the National Western Complex was a must-attend for dog enthusiasts. Our photographer Danielle Lirette was there to catch all the tricks and adorable pups. See also: Super…
#6: Nora Burnett Abrams Nora Burnett Abrams makes exhibits happen, and that’s not easy: As curator at MCA Denver, she can’t just pick up artists at a supermarket. Instead, it’s about developing a relationship — with a little detective work on the side — and getting inside each artist’s head…
Travis Conklin is an artist who explores a variety of mediums. As co-owner of F4D Studio, he photographs, films and creates beautiful imagery through his lens. But with Conkwear, his clothing company, Conklin has found a new way to share his art. What started as a way to get his…
A tattoo artist, teacher, writer and musician, Dave Regan likes to keep busy. Originally from Baltimore, he has lived in Colorado for almost five years and currently works at Landmark Tattooing. He also writes for Tattoo Artist and Tattoo Culture magazines. In his latest article, he chronicles his motorcycle road…
#7: Tricia Hoke Tricia Hoke is first and foremost an artist, but hers is an artistry that translates into the folds and drapes of her ingenious clothing designs, which morph into different style configurations with the slightest inside-out turn or flip of fluid fabric. As a dance costumer, she’s unparalleled,…
#8: Jose Mercado A Greeley native who left for schooling and a chance at the limelight in L.A., Jose Mercado returned to the state after garnering praise and awards on the stage in California. He took a job teaching theater at North High School in Denver, and his future path…
#9: Nikki Pike Nikki Pike is a poster girl for the new artist: She doesn’t do just one thing, she does it all — from performance to sculpture to installation to multimedia and cross-disciplinary works to art as activism. The former instructor at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design…
A man designing for men was once a rarity in the fashion business, but Denver has several male-focused male designers — including Shawn Regan, owner of Primary Ties, a men’s neckwear shop that is wrapping itself around the stylish men of Denver. We recently caught up with Regan to talk…
On this week’s episode of Under the Gunn, the designers faced the fun challenge of creating a performance outfit for seventeen-year-old Zendaya, author, actress and star of the Disney Channel’s Shake it Up.Zendaya gave very specific directions for the outfit: It had to be something she could move in, with…
When The Wind Rises opens February 28 at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, it will be the last new film from anime legend Hiyao Miyazaki, who is retiring. In honor of that auspicious occasion, the Alamo is paying tribute to the master with Miyazaki Madness, a series of seven of his…
#10: Manuel Ramos Manuel Ramos looms large in Denver’s Chicano arts and political communities: A veteran legal-aid lawyer for more than forty years, Ramos found voice as a writer when he wasn’t fighting for justice, though even that vocation is imbued with an innate understanding of the struggles of the…
#11: Marie Vlasic Like many of her portrait subjects, painter Marie Vlasic has nothing to hide. There’s no pretense to her hyper-realistic work: She paints what she sees — a lot of it skin, much of that skin tatted and otherwise permanently decorated. But her visual observations also peer deeply…
Valentine’s Day is almost upon us, and love is in the air. Lists of romantic movies. Articles on romantic date ideas. Five easy tips to please your lover. Love here, love there, love fucking everywhere. It gets a little tiresome, honestly, especially if you’re one of those people who isn’t…
Here is an easy way to borrow your best friend’s blouse or that dress you have always coveted: host a fashion swap party. The brainchild of Stacey Johnson, these canned parties are an easy way to build a new wardrobe and save money. Between landing great finds while swapping, Johnson…
So, you’ve got a kid, huh? Whether it’s your own rambunctious preschooler or the bratty nephew you’ve been charged with keeping alive for the next five hours, the most important thing is leaving your house where valuables are liable to be destroyed and seeking refuge on somebody else’s property. In…
#12: Anthony Garcia Sr. Raised in Globeville, Anthony Garcia Sr. knows the street, but his artist’s vision only wants to make the street more beautiful — with grassroots public art and murals. Garcia may have moved on from Globeville, but his heart remains in the community, where members of the…
