The Broadway Triangle Art Wall in RiNo

There's a new gallery in town folks, but this ain't your typical rodeo. Instead of an establishment made up of four walls, its works are to be seen on the side of a wall. Dubbing itself the first "public art gallery" of its kind in Denver, this gallery plans to take its art out of the usual white cube realm art exhibitions, opting instead to display its work out on the street smack dab in the middle of the city's most culturally relevant neighborhood at present. May I introduce to you, the Broadway Triangle Art Wall.

Located at Larimer and Broadway in the River North District (RiNo) - the up and coming neighborhood that is quickly rising in the Denver arts, culture and restaurant scene - the Broadway Triangle Art Wall is the brainchild of Denver based developer Focus Property Group LLC and Denver based architect firm Tres Birds Workshop. The duo is using the side of their newly developed building - where a number of delicious restaurants are soon to open this month - to create a permanent outdoor exhibition space. Witnessing the neighborhood's unique blend of urban culture with that of its creative community, the wall brings an important outlet for artists to display sanctioned works of art on our streets without the fear of removal. This is significant, seeing as Denver has a plethora of eclectic graffiti art that is always under the threat of removal no matter the talent that lies behind it - just take a walk along the alleyways of South Broadway where you'll find some incredible examples. Granted, this sort of graffiti art and "tagging" uses private businesses as a canvas, creating a costly problem of vandalism for city officials. Thus, to have an established vehicle for this public art, such as the Broadway Triangle Art Wall, is a step in the right direction.

Officially, the wall's purpose is to offer the community a "rotating outdoor mural exhibit," featuring work by local, national and international artists every six months. The wall measures 48 x 8 feet and is divided into four sections, each designated to showing individual works measuring 12 x 8 feet. Conveying the building's dedication to presenting artworks long term, the walls' display is permanently fitted for artists to hang each piece after their completion in the studio - setting them apart from the usual street art process wherein artists create while on site. The first installment of the project, which had its unveiling during a First Friday Art Walk on Nov. 1st, features local talents Like Minded Productions (Jonathan Lamb and Michael Ortiz), artist trio Pedro Barrios, Jaime Molina and Joseph Martinez (aka Palabros/Collabros), Jolt of Guerilla Garden, and international artists Harikrishnan Panicker and Deepti Nair, both of whom hail from Mumbai, India and now call Denver home.

To learn more about the works currently on view, read 303 Magazine's article Concrete Canvas: The Broadway Triangle Art Wall. You can also visit the wall's Facebook page to stay tuned in on its upcoming projects.