There’s something spectacular — and something solemn — about this year’s official “relaunch” of the mural fest known as Crush Walls in Denver’s RiNo neighborhood.
The very good news is that the fest looks to be a blast: Dozens of artists, some world-renowned, covering a 30-block, urban zone with brilliant works of public art, many as big as the buildings they will be painted on. No doubt, Denver’s never seen anything like it.
The sobering part is that a bigger, better, more organized, business-sponsored fest, now taken over by the de facto government entity know as the RiNo Arts District, is yet another signal that the old RiNo is dead and gone. Crush, founded nine years ago by local artist Robin Munro, used to be an underground affair where artists showed up, picked a wall and had their way. Now, it’s kinda corporate.
Gentrification, of course, has become an old whine in Denver. Every neighborhood, and every art event, is grown up here these days. It’s best to look on the bright side, even if it’s difficult to hear organizers talk about Crush as a branding opportunity for the city, rather than the wild, disorganized, unpredictable paint-in it used to be.
Star power helps to see things in a different light — and there’s plenty of that. Shepard Fairey, probably the most influential street artist of the last decade, is the fest’s big draw. He’s completed major works across the country, though Denver knows him best for his pro-Obama “Hope” poster, which was plastered on every hard surface when the 2008 Democratic Convention was held here.
Other respected artists are coming from around the world: the Spanish duo PichiAvo, who mix images from classic painting and sculpture with elements of contemporary street art; Poni, from Mexico City, who brings a badass female side to an art once dominated by skater dudes; and Belgium’s Jaune, best-known for his complicated scenes of laborers, clad in reflective orange vests, attempting absurd interventions in the urban landscape.
Other prominent names in the street art world include Southern California’s Cryptik, the U.K.’s Nomad Clan, Canada’s Roadsworth and Mexico’s Smithe.
“Crush has always been more of a graffiti-driven festival,” said Carlo De Luca, the new executive director, who brings experience organizing the popular Mural Fest of Montreal. This year, Crush will be “more on the urban muralist side.”
And it won’t be all out-of-towners. Organizers are loudly touting a list of local muralists who will be part of the event, including Thomas “Detour” Evans, Birdseed Collective, Hollis + Lana, Jeremy Burns, Jolt, Gamma Acosta and the Ladies’ Fancy Work Society. These are artists who leave their mark around Denver all the time.
Their efforts will be spread across 44 walls and throughout an arts zone three times larger than the 10 blocks Crush occupied last year. For the first time, Crush is taking place on both sides of the South Platte River, typically a divide for the arts district. Buses will shuttle visitors to the varied sites.
There are more than 100 attractions on the fest’s seven-day roster, including live mural battles, video screenings, 3-D works, talks and demos, parties, workshops and satellite exhibits. It’s free and family friendly, with plenty of kid activities in the mix.
Notably, the San Francisco-based art magazine Juxtapoz will bring its Juxtapoz Clubhouse for the week, with immersive art exhibitions and live music. It’s the first time the Clubhouse will be set up outside of the massive, annual Art Basel fair in Miami, where it was a major (and corporate-sponsored) hit with the party crowd.
While the fest’s international expansion does overshadow local efforts, there are some benefits for Denver artists. They’re in good company, no doubt, with the likes of Fairey, and street artists tend to be generous to one anther. Connections will be made, and that’s a career-boosting opportunity for emerging talents, a potential “launching pad,” as De Luca has imagined it.
It’s also better for spectators. Crush was alway authentic but it could be hit-or-miss, depending on who showed up. There was good work and not-so-good work, and it wasn’t always easy to find.
This year, there will be a map and guided tours. In another first, the entire roster of artists was selected by a committee. Crush’s randomness, for better or worse, will be diminished, though you never know what will happen when art gets created live.
The new Crush has benefits, as well, for the RiNo Arts District, which is powered by businesses in the neighborhood,. RiNo has been in a wrestling match with itself for a decade now, with relentless development and rising real estate prices pushing out the artists, studios and galleries that made its reputation. It urgently needs to make big moves to prove it is still the city’s art hub.
The “seismic growth” of Crush, as district president Jamie Giellis puts it, advertises RiNo’s creative soul with the power of four dozen billboards. An international fest gets international attention. Media, curators, tourists could follow. Some things lost, some things gained.
“For us, it’s a stake in the ground for who we are, a message to the world about what we value, and a way for us to give back to the local artist community,” according to Giellis.
Crush Walls runs Sept. 3-9, with live mural creating and more in the RiNo Arts District. It’s free. Info at crushwalls.org.
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