BY SHALEEN DESTEFANO
ReCreative Denver is dedicated to cultivating creativity, community, and environmental stewardship through creative reuse and arts education. Tell us about this and how you got started?
We are a nonprofit creative reuse center, which means we accept donated art and craft supplies and make them available at a deep discount in our storefront. Our doors opened in 2016 after recognizing first that art supplies are often prohibitively expensive, particularly for people just starting out. Also, as artists ourselves, we know that people who have been at it for a long time tend to have LOTS of old supplies that they no longer need but are hesitant to throw away. ReCreative serves to get these unwanted supplies into the hands of people who can use them.
We offer several classes and workshops that utilize our cache of donated supplies as much as possible. This helps keep the per-student costs down while communicating the idea that reuse is economically, philosophically, and aesthetically viable.
Our gallery has a new show every month and we try to favor artists who incorporate reuse into their work. We rent out private art studios and have a community workshop in the back where, for a small monthly fee, people can come work on projects! We’re a community art center that is anchored by the store and driven by the philosophy of reuse.
We love the fact that you believe strongly in the power of art. How has your mission changed the way people think about global impact?
It’s challenging to quantify how we’ve impacted participants thinking, but we have undeniably benefited from the participation and support of our community. In just over a year, we have served over 5,700 artists and makers through our retail store, workshops, exhibitions and outreach programs, while hosting events attended by nearly 10,000 people and diverting more than 30,000 pounds of reusable materials from area landfills.
Every day we have people of all walks of life drop by in search of inspiration, advice, connection and affordable goods they aren’t finding elsewhere. It’s impossible to quantify the value of instilling a sense of self-worth in another person by fostering their creative work, but we firmly believe this is the work of humanity. If we can address the barriers of affordability and access to arts education in our community while also reducing waste and challenging people to rethink their habits, well, we regard that as a win for everyone.
Environmental activism is clearly the underlying focus of ReCreative Denver. Are there any other local programs in Denver that we should know about who put sustainability and the earth
first?
Environmental activism is one of the many things that drives our organization. While keeping useful things out of the landfill is certainly one of our primary aims, we feel equally passionately about making art accessible to all people. That’s why creative reuse is so great! It services both sides of the equation. There are many local programs doing great environmental work in Denver. GrowHaus is doing amazing work in sustainable agriculture in Elyria-Swansea, while simultaneously addressing important issues like food deserts in underserved communities. Groundwork Denver is an environmental organization that partners with lower-income communities to create positive change for local residents while improving the physical environment.
We have met several artists in Denver that make it their mission to use only sustainable materials. Do you see this movement gaining speed?
There are a lot of people out there who gravitate toward reuse for a variety of reasons. Last February we juried and hosted a group show in our gallery with reuse being the organizing factor. It was a huge success and both surprising and inspiring to see all the ways in which people interpreted that theme and incorporated it into their work. Everything from repurposed musical instruments, to taxidermy, to a huge sculpture made from discarded Women’s March signs.
How can our community help your cause?
We recently created a Skill Share Fund so that we can regularly provide free learning opportunities for all members of our community regardless of their ability to pay, while at the same time compensating our teaching artists for their valuable time and expertise. These funds will be used to provide scholarships for youth in our summer camps, in classes we currently offer, and also to fund free public workshops and events. You can donate directly to this fund on our website: www.recreativedenver.org
As a young organization, exposure and awareness are our biggest challenges. You can support us by shopping here, donating your unwanted arts and crafts supplies, enrolling in a class or summer camp, volunteering your time, attending one of our exhibitions, or hosting an event in our beautiful gallery. ReCreative’s success depends on the many small contributions from our neighbors: artists, makers, dreamers, environmentalists, and invested parents alike. Come down, say hello, and be a part of the vibrant community we have started!