#30: Chris Bagley Filmmaker/videographer Chris Bagley studies the fringe artists of Denver and beyond, embedding himself in DIY culture concerns to create documentary portraits of musicians as well as music videos, including Wesley Willis’s Joyrides, a 2008 doc about the late savant musician that he co-directed with Westword MasterMind Kim…
After hosting the Handmade Homemade Market (HaHo), a venture that has helped launch dozens of small craft businesses, Stephen Toma and Dani Lanworthy are taking their concept to the next level with a shared workspace. But they need a Kickstarter campaign to reach its goal in order to take that step, and…
Sometimes going against the grain can help you stand out, creating very sticky style. That’s the case with Danyol Bernal, a Denver artist who creates his masterpieces using an unexpected medium: duct tape. Keep reading for his inspirations, as well as a look inside his bag. Here’s how his duct-tape…
What’s the Best Annual Festival? The Best Denver Arts District? The Best Club Night? You tell us: Voting ends at 11:59 tonight in our Best of Denver 2015 Readers’ Poll. In the first round, which started in January, we asked readers for their favorites in almost two hundred categories. In…
A few weeks ago, a friend and I started talking about planning a summer road trip to Los Angeles. We’re both working on large creative projects — he’s got a documentary in progress and I’ve been sitting on a book idea for years — and a long ride in the…
#31: Gary Isaacs Photographer Gary Isaacs, whose work has appeared in Westword’s pages over the years, qualifies as a Denver legend: Known for his gritty street portraits and ethereal photographic dreamscapes, Isaacs follows his muse down Colfax Avenue and into the dark hearts of local musicians and urban characters. “I’ve…
Reading is a vital part of early childhood education, but not all children have the means to practice their literacy skills. Reading Partners is seeking to change that by bringing books and tutors to children who need help with reading. “Access to books is something many of us take for…
“Gentle” Jen Mathiesen lives and breathes art. From tattoos to film to finding inspiration in the outdoors, she’s passionate not only about pursuing art but encouraging others to do so as well. She has been tattooing for sixteen years, and currently works at Mantra Tattoo. We recently caught up with…
#32: Rupert Jenkins Colorado Photographic Arts Center director Rupert Jenkins arrived in Denver from San Francisco in 2005 with an extensive resume in arts administration and curatorship, bringing an international flair to the respected Denver photography gallery and classroom. But Jenkins didn’t simply settle in at CPAC: He envisions a…
I’ve had disease on my mind the past three days: Since small children are nature’s perfect disease incubators and all, my toddler is sick. That means I’ve spent the past sixty hours or so wiping snot, administering drugs and having someone cough directly into my mouth every time I let…
Since I moved into a beautiful house in the Barnum neighborhood almost five years ago, my car has been hit four times while parked out front on Knox Court. A few months ago, it was completely totaled — hit so hard by the other driver that my car was pushed…
First Aspen Grove snagged the area’s first Alamo Drafthouse. Now it’s getting the Tattered Cover, which will be packing up its Highlands Ranch store and moving to the outdoor shopping center off Santa Fe Drive in Littleton next month. “While we are grateful to have served the Highlands Ranch community…
If you’ve ever dreamed of starring in a real-life heist film, Puzzah’s newest challenge is for you. The LoDo-based venue’s latest “puzzle room” — an hour-long interactive game that mashes up a live escape room with electromechanical puzzles — puts players in the shoes of a team of thieves tasked…
MasterMind, Fashion Denver founder and entrepreneur Brandi Shigley is now adding international philanthropist to her resume. Shigley and the four other members of Team Clean Water Philippines will leave Denver for the Philippines on March 22, with a goal of installing fifty clean water filters — and the team needs…
#33: Stan Yan Denver native Stan Yan started out a stockbroker and ended up a cartoonist. Self-taught as an artist, he not only found his calling in the pages of comic books but helped to found the Squid Works comics cooperative, a community of artists with similar goals. More recently,…
When Leonard Nimoy died last week, my immediate reaction was to tweet, “RIP Spock. You lived long and seemed to prosper.” In the intervening time, I’ve come to realize I got it wrong. It’s Nimoy who is dead. Spock lives on. I’m not just talking about the character as played…
When she envisioned NerdNest, Raine Giorgio wanted to create a one-stop shop and social-media sharing service for fangirls, And they have plenty to share. We asked three fangirls, including Raine, about their induction into fandom and what they consume each week. Keep reading for the answers. Raine Giorgio Age: 21…
Twenty-one-year-old Raine Giorgio is slumped into the soft leather folds of the old couch in her apartment near the University of Denver, wavy brown hair pulled loosely back, small frame hidden beneath a blanket while she does her Netflix-ing, blogging, fan-fiction writing and texting beside posters of The Fifth Element…
Fans of Japanese pop culture gathered over the weekend at the Sheraton Denver Tech Center for Animeland Wasabi, a nonstop anime love-fest, where cosplay — the art of becoming your favorite anime or video-game character — was a central part of the action. Photographer Danielle Lirette was there to capture…
Rags Consignment Store in Cherry Creek North hosted a style-street event last month for Denver’s fashion and style-insider community. One of the fashionistas we spotted was Lucas Randall, intern at Jiberish Apparel. We asked him to share his fashion philosophy and where he shops; keep reading for the answers. Randall…
March is here, and thoughts of all those spring fashions are keeping us warm. Events are also heating up the scene: This month you have a chance to be cast on Project Runway, shop exclusive collections at Denver department stores, discuss upcoming trends, purchase rare sneakers and attend a bridal…
In a recent conversation I had with rapper and activist B. Dolan, I asked him why he chose to write about issues that, on the surface, didn’t affect him directly. He does a lot of work to bring to light the concerns of women, people of color, trans people and…
