Bright golds, oranges and purples are rolled across a concrete wall primed white. Paint splatters dot shoes and pants, but also beautify a shared space in Historic Westminster.
“Art is a fundamental way to connect our community,” said Kate Cooke, cultural affairs coordinator with Westminster’s Parks, Recreation and Libraries Department. Her team was tasked with bringing art to life throughout the city, and they called in some help to complete the job.
Westminster Public Schools (WPS) students are the creative spirit behind the new mural at Westminster Station Park Nature Playground near 69th Place and Lowell Boulevard. The student painters are either enrolled in international baccalaureate visual art courses or are members of Westminster High School’s (WHS) art club. Wielding well-honed creative talents, the group of students worked with local mural artist Grow Love to transform the park’s pavilion into a colorful design honoring Colorado’s beautiful sunsets.
This was one of many partnerships recently coordinated by the City to introduce more creativity and color to Westminster during the first ever Arts Week event held in September 2023.
The week-long celebration included painting, musical performances, poetry, and even live theater, but not on a stage...
Parking is such sweet sorrow… especially when the parking lot could be used for performing arts! WHS provided their lots as a stage to host “Shakespeare in the Parking Lot” performances. Through a partnership with Denver Center for Performing Arts, Westminster residents were dazzled by modern renditions of “Romeo and Juliet” and “Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
All in all, Arts Week boasted over ten individual events aimed at being inclusive and free to the community. Cooke says working hand in hand with local groups was the key to success.
“Westminster’s Arts Week is a partnership that includes North Metro Arts Alliance, the Paletteers Art Club, Poetry Society of Colorado, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Westminster Public Schools, the City of Westminster, and funding from the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District,” says Cooke. Although the City has had a number of art and music events over the years, often hosted by individual organizations, Cooke is confident that this new partnership model will allow Arts Week to thrive and endure for years to come.
In addition to Arts Week events, the City has been gifted with new artwork in several different neighborhoods. Fifty-three WPS students recently designed wraps for more than a dozen traffic boxes scattered around Westminster. Additionally, WHS students participating in Front Range Community College’s TRIO Upward Bound program painted storm drains around the city, including near College Hill Library. The storm drain beautification effort was implemented to remind residents that stormwater runoff is directly linked to our community’s rivers and streams, and keeping them clean of trash or other pollutants is a shared commitment.
If you’re curious about where to spot all the new artwork, the location of each piece of Westminster public art is cataloged and can be located on the City’s new interactive Public Art Map.
One place you’ll find on the public art map is the Vicky Bunsen Sculpture Garden located at 73rd Avenue and Orchard Court. It’s a hidden gem in Historic Westminster featuring three-dimensional sculpture work with 11 different sculptures rotating annually through an international call for entries.
One of the more unique items you’ll see in the garden is from Annette Coleman, a mosaic artist and so-called “recyclista.” She created her piece called “Apollo’s Journey” using home satellite dishes and recycled glass. “The glass will tell you where it wants to be,” she said about the two-way experience of putting the mosaic pieces of her artwork together. Coleman was excited for the opportunity to share her work with the residents of Westminster. “What I like about these rental programs, is that I’m able to test out some of my ideas, that way when I do the larger projects, I have some of the things worked out.”
If you’d like to take part in the selection of sculptures in the future, community input is solicited every year at the Summer Block Party in June.
By investing in new art installations that enhance the beauty of our community, the City’s goal is to make residents feel more connected to art and creativity. So, the next time you drive past a traffic box with a colorful animal on it, or a storm drain covered in an ocean design, or a mural with a beautiful Colorado sunset, we hope you feel a sense of pride to call Westminster home.
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