Mile High Music Festival Partners with The Denver ArtDistrict

Article Contributed by madison | Published on Friday, May 16, 2008

In an effort to give festival-goers the ultimate regional experience, the Mile High Music Festival and Denver's ArtDistrict on Santa Fe have agreed to work together combine the finest of art with the finest of music.  The Mile High Music Festival will bring a diverse selection of music to a diverse demographic. Festival-goers will now have the opportunity to enjoy a unique accompaniment to the music as the ADSF and the MHMF seek out the best regional artists to participate in the Festival's Fine Art Marketplace. Applications are going out this week to artists in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona with the goal of attracting up to 50 artists who will have retail booth space at the Festival.

The ADSF is spearheading the effort and looking to include contemporary art as well as folk art and novelty pieces.  All art will be for sale at the Festival.

"This is going to be an extraordinary experience," says Judy Hagler, president of Denver's ArtDistrict on Santa Fe and owner of Translations Gallery. "Artists have the opportunity to get an enormous amount of exposure while festival-goers will enjoy a most unique and possibly curious retail environment. This is the chance to really be a part of something special."

To apply, artists must live within the above-specified region and artwork must include at least one of the following mediums: painting, photography, sculpture, drawing, ceramics, mixed media, fiber, fine art jewelry or fine art prints. Deadline for entry is June 7, 2008, and artists will be notified by June 16, 2008. To select participating artists, the ADSF has assembled a diverse and local-minded jury to review the applications. The members of the jury are as follows:

Michael Burnett graduated from the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland with a degree in painting and drawing. After graduating, Michael opened the Space Gallery in Denver in 2001. He is currently the curator of Space Gallery, which specializes in local and national artists of distinction who focus on new and innovative media.

Michael Burnett, Space Gallery, 765 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO 80204 t: 720.904.1088 www.spacegallery.org

Kate Merkel is the manager of Translations Gallery in Denver and is the public relations coordinator for Denver's ArtDistrict on Santa Fe. She graduated with her Masters in Art History and Museum Studies from the University of Denver in 2008.

Kate Merkel, Translations Gallery, 855 Inca Street, Denver, CO 80204, t: 303.629.0713, www.translationsgallery.com

Petra Sertic is the executive assistant to the Director/Chief Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver. Before joining MCA DENVER, Petra was with the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art. Currently, she is completing a thesis toward a Master of Arts degree at the University of Denver in Art History and Museum Studies.

Petra Sertic, Museum of Contemporary Art, 1485 Delgany, Denver, CO 80202, t: 303.298.7554, www.mcadenver.org

Darlene D'Agostino is a Mile High Music Festival coordinator and the assistant to the Festival's director of operations, Robert Thomas. She also operates a freelance-writing business, Word!Creative, from which she edits and writes craft and hobby books. Currently, she is overseeing mixed-media book projects with Interweave Press.

Darlene D'Agostino, AEG Live Rocky Mountain Region, 930 West 7th Avenue, Denver, CO 80204 t: 720.931.8702, www.milehighmusicfestival.com

The Mile High Music Festival is Denver's first world-class music festival and will bring more than 40 bands to Denver over the course of the weekend of July 19 and 20, 2008. Bands include Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Steve Winwood and The Roots. These are just a sampling of the bands that is intended to attract more than 100,000 people throughout the weekend from Denver and beyond. The Festival grounds are located on the Outer Fields of Dick's Sporting Good Park, just off of I-70, so there is plenty of room to enjoy the best music and art, all under the auspices of the Colorado sunshine.

DENVER'S ARTDISTRICT ON SANTA FE
Santa Fe Drive from 5th Ave. to 11th Ave. Denver, CO 80204, 303-629-0713   www.artdistrictonsantafe.com.
Just minutes from downtown on Santa Fe Drive between 5th and 11th Avenues, Denver's ArtDistrict on Santa Fe has the largest concentration of art galleries and working artist studios in Denver. Most galleries are open Tuesday through Saturday. Special monthly events showcase local, national and international artists: First Fridays Art Walk (5 to 9 pm monthly) and Third Friday Art Walk (5 to 8pm monthly).

Contact: Kate Merkel, [email protected], 303-629-0713