ART

OPENS APRIL 20: Kent Monkman: History is Painted by the Victors – Denver Art Museum Based in New York City and Toronto, Canada, Monkman is known for his provocative interventions into Western European and American art history. Through his painting, Monkman pushes forward an understanding of the lived experiences of Indigenous people today while confronting colonial injustices. Featuring 41 monumental works, History is Painted by the Victors draws from the DAM’s extensive collection of Monkman’s work alongside newly created works and loans from other institutions and private collections. These works explore Kent Monkman’s use of history painting as a contemporary genre to highlight relevant issues such as climate change and environmental protection, the impact of governmental policies on historically marginalized communities, generational trauma, and Two-Spirit and other queer identifying communities’ visibility and pride.

THRU MAY 4: SUKI SEOKYEONG KANG: MOUNTAIN—HOUR—FACE – MCA Denver The exhibition is co-curated by Ellen Bruss Chief Curator, Miranda Lash, and Associate Curator, Leilani Lynch, and features a wide array of over 70 artworks the artist has developed over the past several years. Showcasing Kang’s deft use of materials—from traditionally woven grass mats, dyed wool, and mulberry paper, to industrial materials like steel and brass—to create wondrous and spiritual objects and installations, the exhibition brings the artist’s vision of the landscape into three dimensions. Sculptures, wall-based works, textiles, installations, and video will occupy the entirety of MCA Denver’s building and highlight her singular approach to engaging with these materials. Kang’s practice is deeply connected with the natural world and our historical relationship to the landscape. Colorado’s abundance of rich natural resources, including our majestic mountains, essential water sources and expansive plains, present a fitting setting for Kang’s exhibition. The formal experimentation and the visual exuberance of Suki’s work will be presented in a space deeply connected to the landscape and its abundance, ensuring a site-responsive presentation that will reinforce the power and beauty of her objects. The exhibition’s title Mountain—Hour—Face, can be read as a poetic phrase and by its individual components, utilizing the homonyms “hour” and “our” to suggest a reflection on the collective vision of humanity and nature.

INSTALLED MARCH 14: “Catalysts” by Jann Haworth – Denver Art Museum The Denver Theatre District announces Catalysts by renowned British-American artist Jann Haworth featuring a collage of 34 stenciled portraits of behind-the-scenes individuals, who are integral to the success and vibrancy of Denver arts and culture, as selected by participating arts organizations. The work will be installed on the Denver Theatre District billboard, on the side of the Buell Theatre, on Champa Street. Haworth is known for her work in the Pop Art movement and her co-designing of the iconic “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album cover. “Catalysts is a celebration of each of the individuals represented and of the collective community, telling a story of the meaningful – and sometimes invisible – connections between and among us,” said Haworth. “The meaning of the artwork is layered. What do we see when we experience art? What do we not see? Questions like ‘Who gets to make art?,’ ‘Who gets to be in a museum?,’ and ‘Is collage proper or fine art?’ are all embedded in this project.”

THRU APRIL 12: MONTH OF PHOTOGRAPHY – Space Gallery Featuring works by Paul Brokering and Marc McClish. Artist reception March 7th, 6-8pm. Space Gallery – 400 Santa Fe Drive. 303-993-3321 www.spacegallery.org

MUSIC

MARCH 31: Indie 102.3 Presents Amyl and The Sniffers – Mission Ballroom The 75-minute set never lets off the gas. It is a non-stop loud up-tempo crazy punk show dominated by Amy’s captivating performance. This is punk at its finest. There is nothing pretty, there is nothing perfected – its raw, its full of attitude, its real. This is a band standing up for their beliefs, their opinions and their sound. This is potentially the most important band in punk right now. 

APRIL 1: Franz Ferdinand – Boulder Theater To say that Franz Ferdinand puts on an incredible performance is almost an understatement! They are super-energetic and dramatic.Everything they do is to the nines, performed and played impeccably well, their instruments and voices having never sounded better. 

APRIL 22: Fontaines D.C. – Mission Ballroom One of Dublin’s finest exports since Guinness, the Irish quintet was named “Best Band in the World” at the 2022 NME Awards.  Fontaines are still indelibly tinged with emerald, but now it’s a more lurid, palate-stripping shade, one not a million miles from pop maven Charli XCX’s brat green.

COMEDY

AVAILABLE NOW: Roy Wood Jr., Lonely Flowers – Hulu, Disney+ Rather than delivering a special that feels like a grab bag of hot-button issues, he focuses on the idea of connection, exploring what is lost when we continue to eliminate human interaction even in places as seemingly mundane as a grocery-store checkout.

FILM

OPENS MARCH 28: The Friend – Select Theatres In The Friend, writer and teacher Iris (Naomi Watts) finds her comfortable, solitary New York life thrown into disarray after her closest friend and mentor (Bill Murray) dies suddenly and bequeaths her his beloved 150 lb. Great Dane. The regal yet intractable beast, named Apollo, immediately creates practical problems for Iris, from furniture destruction to eviction notices, as well as more existential ones, his looming presence constantly reminding her of her friend’s problematic choices in both life and death. Yet as Iris finds herself unexpectedly bonding with the animal, she begins to come to terms with her past, her lost friend, and her own creative inner life.

OPENS MARCH 28: Death of a Unicorn – Select Theatres A father (Paul Rudd) and his teenage daughter (Jenna Ortega) accidentally crash into a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat with his billionaire boss (Richard E. Grant), Dell Leopold, and Leopold’s family. The Leopolds seize the unicorn, and their scientists discover that the creature is endowed with supernaturally curative properties, which the Leopolds seek to exploit. However, as they delve deeper into their research, they discover the deadly consequences of their actions, as the unicorn’s mate arrives and begins to hunt down and slaughter those involved in the exploitation of the dead animal.

OPENS MARCH 28: The Penguin Lessons – Select Theatres Inspired by the true story of a disillusioned Englishman who went to work in a school in Argentina in 1976. Expecting an easy ride, Tom discovers a divided nation and a class of unteachable students. However, after he rescues a penguin from an oil-slicked beach, his life is turned upside-down. Starring Oscar nominee Steve Coogan, this poignant dramedy from director Peter Cattaneo follows the Englishman’s personal and political awakening after he adopts a penguin during a cataclysmic period in Argentine history. A family-friendly tearjerker, like so many animal films with facile lessons, is all it is and aspires to be like so many before.

OPENS MARCH 28: Holy Cow – Landmark Theatres After the tragic death of his father, 18-year-old Totone is thrust into the unexpected and very adult role of looking after his younger sister and their failing family farm in the Jura section of France. He assumes even more responsibility when he enters a cash competition for the best Comte cheese made in this western part of the French Alps. A «verité» look at the hardscrabble life of French agriculture, it is simultaneously a moving love story and above all an ode to the love of cheese. Courvoisier lets splendid young actors breathe at their own beat in their roles, with an undeniable ability to connect with the audience.

THEATRE

APRIL 11 – MAY 25: Little Shop of Horrors – Wolf Theatre Feast on the Denver Center’s production of a beloved sci-fi musical that has rocked the globe for generations! The meek, yet nurturing, Seymour Krelborn is perennially down on his luck. Working at a flower shop on Skid Row, he is constantly berated by his boss, Mr. Mushnik. He’s infatuated with his co-worker Audrey, but she is caught in a toxic relationship with a sadistic dentist. One day, Seymour chances upon a strange and mysterious new plant cutting, which he nurses back to health. When he discovers the flytrap’s appetite for human blood, it thrives and begins to sing for its supper. But when Audrey II’s bloodlust becomes insatiable, Seymour must take a stand to prevent the carnivorous plant from world domination. Unforgettable musical numbers, including the title track, “Skid Row,” and “Suddenly, Seymour,” will provide massive dose of nostalgia for theatre-lovers. For newcomers to musical comedies, Little Shop of Horrors provides a delicious introduction to the joyful, larger-than-life world of Broadway.

EVENTS

MARCH 14-16: Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival – Sie Film Center We are Colorado’s only all Asian & Asian-American film festival! This Film Festival is organized by 501(c)3 non-profit organization Colorado Dragon Boat. We highlight and promote the culture, contributions, and accomplishments of Asian and Asian-Pacific American communities through film. “The goal of the Colorado Dragon Film Festival is to celebrate the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities by building bridges of awareness, knowledge and understanding between the different AANHPI communities through Asian and Asian American cinema.” 

MARCH 15: Denver St. Patrick’s Day ParadeMcMullen Bushman – 19th and Wynkoop St.

How do you begin to tell the story of Denver’s finest community event for the past 58 years?  Many argue that the parade has become the single largest gathering of Colorado residents every year in one place, where everyone sets aside their own heritage to become Irish for a day.    

MARCH 14-16: Frozen Dead Guy Days – The Stanley Hotel Frozen Dead Guy Days (FDGD) is a unique weekend-long festival honoring Grandpa Bredo Morstoel, who is cryogenically frozen in Nederland. After over 20 years of festivities in Nederland, the festival was relocated to northern neighbor, Estes Park. Celebrate the season with contests, competitions, live music, great food, parades, and parties. The New York Times named FDGD in its “Top 10 Best Parties of Winter,” a list which also included Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. The festival started in 2002 in remembrance of Grandpa Bredo Morstol who is frozen in a Tuff Shed above the town after being shipped overseas from Norway following his death. As the story goes, Morstoel was out cross-country skiing in Norway and died of a heart attack. His grandson Trygve Bauge immediately put the body in dry ice and transported him to the U.S. in 1989. He was then stored in liquid nitrogen until 1993. That year, he was moved to Nederland where he is currently still resting.

MARCH 21: Denver March Powwow – Denver Historic Coliseum Since 1984, the heritage of American Indians has been celebrated in Denver every year at the Denver March Powwow, one of the largest events of its kind in the country. The Powwow features more than 1,600 dancers from close to 100 tribes from 38 states and three Canadian provinces. The three-day event in the Denver Coliseum is packed with singing, dancing, storytelling, food, art and more, ensuring a wonderful experience for everyone.

MARCH 21-23: Denver Home Show – National Western Complex Every March in Colorado, HGTV fans flock to the Denver Home Show for renovation inspiration. If you are hungry, you can grab food and drink on-site. a vibrant marketplace where you can shop for home-related products and services, experience stunning displays to help inspire your next home project, connect with industry experts, and enjoy informative presentations from renowned local and international home professionals. Whether you’re joining us at the National Western Complex with a specific project in mind or just looking for some inspiration, our local home professionals have you covered. With 400+ booths to explore and several unique feature displays to enjoy, this is a valuable event for all Denver homeowners.

APRIL 3-6: Denver Jazz Fest – Various Locations Emphasis will be on Denver’s downtown and the historic Five Points cultural district. April was chosen to coincide with Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM), which celebrates America’s only indigenous art form — recognized by joint houses of Congress as a National Historic Treasure. Also occurring each April is International Jazz Day, which highlights the role of jazz in uniting people worldwide.