Events

McNichols Lunchtime Program "Urban Treats"
Spend your lunch hour with us at McNichols! Join us every Thursday through May from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. for free live music, lectures, and on-site food trucks serving treats like sliders, Argentinian food, cupcakes and Asian cuisine. The third Thursday of each month we'll highlight jazz with Five Points Jazz Festival artists. McNichols offers free Wi-Fi, lounge space, and a unique atmosphere surrounded by some of Denver's best art and cultural exhibits. Oh, and did we mention it's free?

Artist Schedule:
May 16
11am Park Hill Brass   
12:15pm Swing Je T'aime        

Exhibits

Xi Zhang: 21st Century DNA
Second Floor Exhibition April 4 through July 29
Denver Arts & Venues and Plus Gallery are proud to present Xi Zhang: 21st Century DNA, an exhibition of paintings, featuring selected works created by Xi Zhang during his 2012 residency in Buenos Aires that will be shown for the first time. The young and talented contemporary Chinese artist is based in Denver and has been selected to represent the United States in the Biennial of the Americas, a distinguished program that every year brings together 15 artists from around the world.

City Beautiful 2.0: A modern interpretation of the built environment
A Create Denver Initiative, Installation and Co-working Space
Third Floor Installation May 10 through June 23
Beginning in 1904, Mayor Robert Speer took steps to implement The City Beautiful movement. The movement, rooted in the belief that landscape, city planning and architecture elevated the lives and health of citizens, took Denver from a dusty frontier town to an economic hub and destination for visitors. City Beautiful 2.0 incorporates these progressive era initiatives and provides Create Denver the opportunity to demonstrate the McNichols Civic Center Building 3rd floor as an installation and co-working destination through experiments in the use of space and exploration of citizen engagement to generate ideas for future integration of the building with its surrounding built environment. More information.

Design and Build
Outdoor Exhibition through September 3
Since 1991, the Museum of Outdoor Arts' Design and Build program has provided an opportunity for young Colorado artists, students and creative minds to express their creativity in collaborative public art projects. Assisted by professional artists in residence, Design and Build participants produce exciting and original art works for public space in the Denver metro area.

Regis University - Go Forth and Set the World on Fire
Lead by: Susan Porteous
Artist Collaborative: Hannah Breece, Angel Estrada, Janeth Gomez,Kaitlin Heaphy, Emily Mullen, Aimee Schmechtig, Katherine Wipfler, Cassandra Vagher, Julia York
Jesuit education attempts to educate and nurture the person holistically, not only on an academic level, but also on an individual character level. As such, the Regis University sculpture attempts to capture that process of growth and shedding of the constraints created by ignorance and prejudice. The warm colors are symbolic of St. Ignatius' famous quote, "Go forth and set the world on fire," inspiring others and spreading love, hope, and education.

Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design - #childhood
Lead by: Susan Stites
Artist Collaborative: Tyler McCall, Carolyn Shea, Jo Welborn
To inspire viewers to think like a kid again, RMCAD created fictional lands, characters and forts to interact with. By re-enacting imaginary scenarios and creating new ones in their own minds, each viewer will relate to the piece in a different way. The juxtaposition between the huge corporate structural buildings and our abstract child-like thinking that went into the creation of the forts, challenges us to let go of rational thinking and embrace the freedom of imagination. By sharing that with the viewers, we are reaching generations of all ages and inspiring them to join our journey into abstraction.

University of Colorado at Boulder - Uproot
Lead by: Yumi Janairo Roth
Artist Collaborative: John Borst, Alexander Drost, Sarah Erdman, Kyle Monks, Shelby Salem-Frech, Michelle Sparks, Nicanor Ulibarri, Joseph Vinson, Jacqueline Wright
This installation consists of multiple stacks of books, bound together, that act as planters to hold native prairie grass. Viewers are invited to take a bundle with them and post photos/stories on the UPROOT Facebook page. This interaction will bring the people of Denver back to the building and its involvement. It will re-educate viewers on the history that lays at their feet, invoking a reaction that begins multiple conversations. By being able to approach, interact, and actually physically take away part of this piece, our planters will act as a reference back to the library as well as the origins of Denver and the prairies that stood here before its conception.

"Before I Die" by Candy Chang
"Before I die I want to ___" is a global public art project that invites people to reflect on their lives and share their personal aspirations in public space. Originally created on an abandoned house in the artist’s neighborhood in New Orleans after losing someone she loved, the project is about remembering what is important to you and creating public spaces that better reflect what matters to us as a community and as individuals. Visit Before I die at the McNichols Building through April to contribute your own wishes and goals.  For more