Boulder Arts Week painting the town bold

In the past, Boulder has been named the happiest city in the U.S., the best city to raise an outdoor child and the No. 1 place to live — if you’re a Janus Supercomputer.

More recently, according to the National Endowment for the Arts, Boulder was tagged as the city with the third-highest concentration of artists, just behind Los Angeles and Santa Fe, N.M.

Though Boulder is by no means the best city to live in for starving artists — the median monthly cost of rent is $2,800, according to Zillow’s latest numbers — the city’s undeniable natural beauty is a top selling point for creatives searching for that extra bit of inspiration.

“There’s a lot of good reasons to be here as an artist,” said Todd Morton, one of said creatives. “You’ve got the foothills and the nature and the scenery to inspire [you].”

Morton, a theater director, moved to Boulder from Boston during the pandemic, and his latest production, “Every Brilliant Thing” is set to be featured in the upcoming Boulder Arts Week — a seven-day celebration showcasing all that the city’s vibrant art scene has to offer.

Kicking off Friday and running through April 15, Boulder Arts Week will feature art exhibitions, theatrical performances, mural displays, musical events and everything in between from area artists.

According to Morton, Boulder Arts Week offers a perfect opportunity to bring theater to Boulder’s downtown.

“I live a couple of blocks away from Pearl Street, and there’s always so many people walking around on Pearl,” Morton said. “There’s a couple of music venues, but there’s no live theater.

“A lot of people go to Pearl Street without wanting to commit to anything — they go for dinner, for a stroll, to people watch. I thought to myself, ‘Well, maybe a play is something that people would be inclined to see as a spontaneous purchase.”

“Every Brilliant Thing” is a play about a child being raised by a mother who is battling chronic depression. The mother attempts to commit suicide several times throughout the main character’s life, so the character creates a list of every brilliant thing worth living for in an attempt to comfort the mother.

A unique thing about the play, according to Morton, is that the script — authored by renowned English playwright Duncan Macmillan — is written so that the protagonist can be played by a person of any gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or physical ability.

The play is also interactive, so members of the audience will have the opportunity to participate in the play themselves, and become a part of the story.

“It’s a dynamic and duplicitous piece of theater,” Morton said. “Right now, our society is in great need of moments where we’re immersed in other people and we connect with other people. I think people are going to leave this show grateful for having spent time in a room with others. The message of this play is that you can always work to develop a perspective that there are many, many things in life worth living for.”

The play hit the stage at the R Gallery, 2027 Broadway, in downtown Boulder last weekend and will be staged there on weekends through May 14. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturdays and 1 and 4 p.m.

Strolling through sound

The Ars Nova Singers’ latest work, which will also be featured as part of Boulder Arts Week, was — like Morton — also inspired by scenic Boulder. The iconic a cappella vocal ensemble collaborated with Boulder-raised composer Divya Maus to bring listeners “Ascent: A Boulder Soundwalk” — an immersive, unconventional and deeply personal musical experience that guides listeners through a walk along the Boulder Creek to Scott Carpenter Park.

Listeners can tune in via an app that is then triggered by GPS. As the listeners begin to move, different musical pieces are prompted by a specific location. The app also offers two different versions of the concert — a walking version and a wheel-friendly version.

The concert is broken up into three main movements: “Ascent,” “Vista” and “Comes the Water,” which are all correlated with and were inspired by different features of Scott Carpenter Park.

Kimberly Brody, Ars Nova Singers’ executive director, said that the self-prompted soundwalk gives listeners the freedom to experience a concert at their own pace.

“We loved the idea because there’s a certain way that classical music is performed, and a way that it’s listened to,” Brody said. “Typically, you expect to go into a concert hall and sit in a seat quietly for 45 minutes and listen to the performers and clap in between — there’s just kind of a typical and formulaic way to do it. We loved the idea of something completely out of our usual scope of doing things. And to make it more accessible to so many more people.”

Maus has composed two other soundwalks, one of which was installed in Cheeseman Park in Denver, and the other in Griffith Park in Los Angeles.

According to Brody, Maus approached Ars Nova Singers with the idea for a soundwalk to pay homage to Boulder’s natural beauty.

“It’s cool that we’re a Boulder organization, its music composed by a Boulder native, so it’s a very Boulder-specific event and composition,” Brody said. “We want listeners to see how beautiful Boulder is, and we want listeners to hear how beautiful Boulder is.”

Mind-bending

Further up the road from Scott Carpenter Park, Boulder High students will be showcasing several different art pieces at University Hill’s Spanish- and Moroccan-inspired restaurant Cafe Aion, 1235 Pennsylvania Ave., as a part of Boulder Arts Week.

“It’s All In Your Head” features work from 16 Boulder High juniors and seniors who have used their creativity to portray what is going on inside of their minds. The exhibit, according to local artist Rick Dallago, is a testament to the talent and mastery demonstrated by this young generation of emerging artists.

“It’s All In Your Head” is an invitation for viewers to peek into the minds of the students through their art that depicts everything from dreams to nightmares and expressions of mental health issues.

“These pieces are incredible and so conceptual,” Dallago said. “The things that these kids did, this work is very, very personal, raw and revealing. It’s a very powerful show that these kids did.”

Dallago, who curated “It’s All In Your Head,” is also hosting an art critique group at the R Gallery and Wine Bar.

The critique group, according to Dallago, will be a live version of an online art group that began during the pandemic as a way for artists to support one another during lockdown.

“We would meet religiously every Saturday morning at 11, and it’s grown in the past couple of years,” Dallago said. “Now we have members from Virginia, Brazil and New England.”

At 11:30 a.m. Saturday, the online critique group will meet again — but this time, in person. Although, some members will still be joining from afar on Zoom.

“I believe that Boulder should be more recognized as an arts destination than it is, but it can only happen if we do it from the bottom up, and from the artists up,” Dallago said. “We have a lot of groups and organizations in the area, and Boulder Arts Week is a great place for these artists to intersect and interact.”

For a full list of the events going on at Boulder Arts Week, visit boulderartsweek.org.

Weekend picks

1. What’s Left: The first in a series, this mixed-media movement art piece features performances from co-creators Julie Rothschild and Laura Hoffman who will “weave our actions into a textile” in a “remnant (that) contains what’s left of all we thought, felt, moved, and made”; 2-9 p.m. Friday, noon-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; JRMade Studio, 4593 Broadway, Unit C-121, Boulder.

SEEN launches at Ozo: This new creative spot is the brainchild of Boulder High students and the arts organization Creativity Alive. Kicking off with the exhibit “Listening with our Eyes | Understanding with our Hearts,” the inclusive gallery and performance space will feature creative events for teens and adults. The opening reception will have live music, poetry, spoken word and projects; 5:30-8 p.m. Friday; OZO Coffee East Pearl, 1521 Pearl St., Boulder; creativityalive.org/seen.

Blue Dime’s Cabaret Spring Fling: This burlesque show mixes in comedy skits, singing, acro, drag and spoken word in a variety show that will offer “a lowbrow, avant-garde smorgasbord of a sideshow, with ludicrous acts and bawdy characters”; 8 p.m. Friday; V8 Distillery, 2480 49th St., Suite E, Boulder; dv8.fun.

Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition: CU Art Museum will display two rounds of student exhibits with the first one kicking off with a reception from 4-6 p.m. Friday and will be on display though April 20. There will be hors d’oeuvres and work from Laura Benson, Dennis Doyle, A Grix and Cory McKague. Round two launches with an opening reception and work from Andy DiLallo, Samira Hemmat, Marcella Marsella and Madeline Plumley from 4-6 p.m. April 28 and will be on display through  May 13; 1085 18th St., Boulder; cuartmuseum.colorado.edu.

BMoCA’s Open Wall: Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art’s annual exhibit celebrates hyper-local art from established and emerging artists who will hang their own pieces up in a self-curated display. Artists will install works from 4-6 p.m. Friday, and the sale runs from 6-8 p.m. Friday. The art will be up through Sunday; 6-8 p.m. Friday; 1750 13th St., Boulder; bmoca.org.

Rabid Rabits Galeria grand opening: This Longmont gallery is moving to North Boulder and will celebrate its launch this weekend. Owner, jeweler and multi-media artist Patti Burton will demonstrate the gelli printing and precious metal clay techniques and will have 10 Boulder County artists’ work on display; 5-9 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday; 4949 N. Broadway, #103, Boulder; noboartdistrict.org.

Beyond Academia Poetry & Literature Festival: Beyond Academia Free Skool launched in 2012 as an equitable alternative to traditional education. Now the nonprofit arts collective is launching its first-ever festival celebrating the written word and Boulder’s underground poetry scene with performances, an open mic, a mini-workshop and more; 2-5 p.m. Friday; Boulder Public Library, 1001 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder; calendar.boulderlibrary.org.

Samba Colorado presents AGO!: Kebrina Josefina De Jesús, the Afro-Latina founder of Samba Colorado, directs this dance-theater hybrid event where there will be master teachers from Brazil and live music; 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday (in Denver at Cleo Parker Robinson Dance); Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder; dairyarts.org.

Street Wise Walking Art Tour and Happy Hour: Street Wise Arts, the nonprofit responsible for beautifying Boulder’s outdoors with murals, will host a couple of docent-led guided walking tours of the city’s outdoor art displays and back alley galleries. Tours run about two hours and cover about 1.5 to 2 miles of ground; 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturday; 5-7:30 p.m. Wednesday; meet behind Pedestrian Shops, 1425 Pearl St., Boulder; streetwisearts.org.

Mexican Art Fabric Books (Libros de Tela de Arte Mexicano): In this drop-in class, learn how to create fabric and textile books while learning abou the history of Mexican art. Participants can take home the book they make and supplies will be provided as long as they last; 1:30-3:30 p.m. Saturday; Boulder Public Library, 1001 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder; calendar.boulderlibrary.org.

The Story of the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse: As Boulder’s famed teahouse (and the only authentic Persian tea house in the nation) turns 25, it takes over the walls as the newest exhibit at the Museum of Boulder. The display will follow the evolution of the teahouse with pieces from its earliest days to today. Light refreshments and snacks will be served; 1:30-3:30 p.m. Saturday; Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway, Boulder; museumofboulder.org.

Spring Fest at The New Local: This home to dozens of female-identifying local artists’ work will host interactive demonstrations and mini-workshops from 10 artists. Learn about eco-dyeing, miniature acrylic paintings, ceramics, mask-making and more; two time slots run from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and 2-4:30 p.m. Saturday; The New Local, 741 Pearl St., Boulder; thenew-local.org.

Sidewalk Paint Party: Ima Design Gallery and Boulder Art Matrix in NoBo is calling all to come paint the sidewalk with local arist Sally Eckert. All ages are welcome; 1-4 p.m. Saturday; Ima Design Gallery, 4688 Broadway, Boulder; noboartdistrict.org.

Iranian New Year celebration: Persian Cultural Circle is hosting an event to celebrate the art of Iranian Americans at the Museum of Boulder. There will be traditional music, Hafiz poetry, cultural art, an oracle card-reading station, a makers station for hanging yarn crafts, traditional refreshments and more; noon-5 p.m. Sunday; Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway, Boulder; museumofboulder.org.

Vihaan, A Short Margam: Performer Shreya Venkatesh will make her debut as a longtime dancer at this show that will display the ancient art of South Indian classical dance pieces; 3:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday; The Spark, 4847 Pearl St., Suite B4, Boulder; thesparkcreates.org.

Find the whole calendar of events at boulderartsweek.org.

-Christy Fantz, editor