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CBS News
10-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Giant crystal tree may be next piece of art approved for Denver International Airport
On Monday Denver City Council will have its first reading to approve a $3,590,500 contract with an artist for a giant piece of artwork at Denver International Airport. The installation is called "The Stars and Cottonwood" and was created by artist Donald Lipski. According to the city council presentation, the tree would stand about 60 feet tall, with more than 30,000 crystals creating the canopy. At the base would be seating inspired by Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre. The tree would be built in the south end of the Jeppesen Terminal. Lipski also designed the horse on the chair artwork, called "The Yearling," which sits outside the Denver Public Library. Denver's 1%-For-Art Ordinance mandates that when a capitol improvement project has a budget equal to greater than $1 million, 1% of the budget must be set aside for public art. This current phase of the Great Hall project is called the Great Hall Completion Project. It's estimated to cost $1.3 billion, which means about $13 million must be spent on public art. The Great Hall Completion phase began in late 2022 and is expected to be complete by the end of 2027 with sections opening along the way.
Axios
05-02-2025
- General
- Axios
How Denver landmarks recognize Black history
Justina Ford's brick flat on Arapahoe Street didn't just serve as a home, but as a 20th century headquarters for a pioneering medical practice in Denver's Five Points neighborhood. Zoom in: Ford, Colorado's first licensed Black woman doctor, lived and treated people at 2335 Arapahoe St. from 1912 until she died in 1952, per the Denver Public Library. To save it from demolition, the house was moved to 3091 California St. in 1984. It now doubles as the Black American West Museum & Heritage Center. State of play: The preserved home is not an official city landmark, though it remains an emblem of Black culture in a city attempting to rectify the ways historically underrepresented people are elevated. City planning spokesperson Ryan Huff says the city conducts research on the histories of different ethnic, racial and cultural groups and how they contributed to local history. For instance, the city's currently completing a study on the Indigenous community. Context: Established in 1967 to encourage the preservation and improvement of historic structures and landmarks, Denver's Landmark Preservation office boasts 365 individual properties and 60 historic districts. Yes, but: Only about 11% of the individual landmarks are connected to historically excluded or underrepresented communities, Huff tells us. At least 13 properties in the city's program share direct ties to Denver's Black community, including the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance studio, Fire Station No. 3 and Zion Baptist Church. Caveat: Ford's former home resides near the Five Points Historic Cultural District, a landmark designation covering a swath of properties meant to celebrate and recognize an area once dubbed the Harlem of the West. "It was just an incredible space to make sure that our community was uplifted and taken care of," Terri Gentry, engagement manager for Black communities at History Colorado, tells us about Five Points in its heyday. Between the lines: Gentry says spaces with ties to the Black community weren't consistently considered culturally significant in the past. History Colorado's ongoing program, called Colorado Heritage for All, is trying to change that, she tells us. The program invites the public to identify and share stories of places with significant cultural ties to communities of color, women and LGBTQ individuals. Alison Salutz, director of education at the preservation nonprofit Historic Denver, says her organization has a similar local effort. It focused on lesser-known stories, including that of Julia Greeley, who was enslaved in Missouri before arriving in Denver in the 1870s and establishing herself as a philanthropist. Flashback: Historic Denver last year placed a plaque on Greeley's former home at 2911 Walnut St. (which now houses a photography company) with details about her life — a life that's earned her a potential canonization with the Catholic Church. "It's the building you'd walk by, you would never know, right? You would have no idea," Salutz tells us. What's next: Gentry will participate in a public conversation on Colorado Black history at the University of Colorado-Denver on Feb. 12.
CBS News
31-01-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Denver area celebrates Black History Month with music, theater and more
CBS News Colorado is excited to continue its Elevating Black Voices series with multiple new reports every week about the ordinary extraordinary people who make Colorado such a special place to live. Event organizers in the Denver metro area are also pulling out the stops for Black History Month this February with music, art, history, and celebrations of the legacies of influential Black members of the community. Check out the list below for some of the events happening in your area: Black History Live! WHEN: Feb. 2, 2025; 11 a.m. to noon WHERE: Denver Public Library These living-history portrayals of Harriet Tubman and Louis Armstrong by scholar/actors Becky Stone and Marvin Jefferson offer a first-person dramatization of these historical figures. The free event features a monologue by each speaker followed by 20 minutes of Q&A. Black LGBTQ+ History in Denver WHEN: Feb. 11 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. WHERE: Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library Celebrate Black History Month with a conversation about Black LGBTQ+ history in Denver and current efforts to support this community with Black Pride Colorado. Purnell Steen and the Five Points Ambassadors When: Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m. Where: Dazzle Denver Purnell Steen and the Five Points Ambassadors have been dedicated to preserving the jazz and blues music of Denver's Five Points neighborhood for over 30 years. Join them for a live performance at Dazzle Denver and enjoy food and beverages before the show. NAACP Boulder County Freedom Fund Celebration WHEN: Feb. 16, 2025 WHERE: Macky Auditorium, CU Boulder The Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble will set the stage for an afternoon of celebration at this year's NAACP Boulder County Freedom Fund Celebration. This event is free to the public. Black Futures in Art: The Space Between Us WHEN: Through Feb. 22 WHERE: NoBo Bust Stop Gallery, Boulder The NoBo Art District's "The Space Between Us" exhibition features art by Black artists in our community with the diverse and thought-provoking works of Cherokee Carr and Jasmine Baetz. Both artists explore themes of identity, community, and storytelling through their respective mediums. "Gee's Bend" WHEN: Jan. 31 to Feb. 23, 2025 WHERE: Aurora Fox Arts Center GEE'S BEND tells the powerful story of a family of quilters from the isolated town of Gee's Bend, Ala. through segregation, household conflict, and the Southern Freedom Movement. Owl Club of Denver: Legacies of Excellence WHEN: Through May 10, 2025 WHERE: History Colorado Center, Denver Explore the rich traditions of a prominent all-Black debutante cotillion club in The Mile High City through oral histories and photographs. This event offers a rare look at debutante culture from the perspective of African Americans who were historically excluded from the beauty standards of this European-born tradition. Dawoud Bey: Street Portraits WHEN: Through May 11, 2025 WHERE: Denver Art Museum This exhibit is the first stand-alone museum show to explore a transformational phase of the celebrated photographer and 2017 MacArthur Fellow Dawoud Bey's work. The show features 37 portraits he took between 1988 and 1991 when he collaborated with Black Americans of all ages whom he met on the streets of various American cities. Celebrate Black History Through Storytelling WHEN: Through September 2025 WHERE: Museum of Boulder Celebrate Black History Month through multimedia exhibits, educational curricula, Street Wise murals, oral histories, and a variety of programs to preserve Colorado's rich and complex Black histories. The Civil War Monument 'On Guard' WHERE: History Colorado Center After this monument was toppled in June 2020 during protests for Black lives, the History Colorado Center placed it on display to encourage discussion of what it means to the public. This statue to memorialize Colorado's role in the Civil War once stood in front of Colorado's State Capitol. Arts of Africa Gallery WHERE: Denver Art Museum The Arts of Africa gallery offers a collection that illustrates the diversity, relevance, and dynamism of creativity and culture across Africa. It encompasses about 800 objects including painting, printmaking, sculpture, textiles, jewelry, and contemporary art. The Museum for Black Girls WHEN: Open Wednesday through Sunday WHERE: 500 16th Street Mall at the Pavilions, Denver Over 20 immersive installations celebrate the dynamic contributions of Black women. The engaging displays are dedicated to empowering the celebration of art, culture, and heritage. Black History Month Public Art Tour WHERE: Various locations throughout Denver To celebrate Black History Month, the City of Denver created a self-guided tour including works in the Denver Public Art collection by Black artists and works celebrating Black history across the area. WHERE: Fort Garland Museum, Ft. Garland Eight artists explore the complex legacy of the all-Black Army regiments, known as the Buffalo Soldiers, who were stationed at Fort Garland from 1875 to 1879. The artistic creations trace their history from slavery to service. A collection of newspaper clippings, photographs, and documents at Boulder's Carnegie Branch Library called "Black Business Ventures" documents stories and profiles of Black-owned businesses in Boulder.
