Summer Art Market returns to Wash Park

The Art Students League of Denver's annual art sales event, the Summer Art Market, is returning to Washington Park this month. The event on June 8-9 features 240 different visual artists. There will also be demonstrations, events for kids, live music, as well as food and beverage vendors.

Sixty of the artists are first-time presenters, according to a news release from the organization. Awards will be given on June 8.

This year marks the market's 27th year. It will be held between East First and East Fourth avenues and between Logan and Sherman streets.

For more information, go to www.asld.org. To read about last year's Summer Art Market, go to https://washparkprofile.com/stories/shared-inspiration-energizes-annual-art-market,266321.

Two Denver artistic leaders receive awards

The Bonfils Stanton Foundation gave three awards on May 14 for “outstanding contributions to Colorado's arts community.”

“Ed Stanton's goal with these awards was to shine a light on achievements by individuals that too often go unsung in our own community, even as they are celebrated nationally and internationally,” said Gary Steuer, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation President and CEO, in a news release. “These honorees exemplify that objective, which remains as relevant as ever.”

Anthony J. Garcia, a Denver native and artistic director of Su Teatro in the Art District on Santa Fe, received the Community Service in the Arts award. Using sharp wit and political satire, Garcia has brought conversations about gentrification of neighborhoods, racial inequity, immigration, impacts of war and even the trials of love to light through Su Teatro's varied programming, the news release said.

The Arts and Society award was given to Damon McLeese, executive director of Access Gallery, which is also in the Art District on Santa Fe. Access Gallery works with artists with disabilities. The gallery's model allows artists to sell their work and work collaboratively with other artists, McLeese said.

“There's so many things that they're told they can't do,” McLeese said of artists with disabilities. “It's really finding their strengths and building on that.”

The Artists award was given to Colorado Springs artist Senga Nengudi.

Each recipient received $35,000 from the foundation.

Exhibit celebrating Sistine Chapel headed to Aurora

Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Exhibition will open in The Hanger at Stanley Marketplace in Aurora on July 4. The exhibition will bring near life-size reproductions of 34 of the famed fresco paintings that line the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Stanley Marketplace is at 2501 Dallas St.

The reproductions, which include “The Creation of Adam” and “The Last Judgement,” will be on display until Aug. 13. Tickets for the exhibition start at $16.

The reproductions allow visitors to interact with Michelangelo's work in a contemporary and curated space, uncluttered, self-timed and in depth, said a news release from Stanley Marketplace. Guests may enhance their experience by adding an optional audio guide, with narrative accompaniment available in four languages.

For more information, go to www.chapelsistine.com