Boulder Arts Week Springs into Action
Photo courtesy of Lauren Click
BHS junior Sophie Katz designed this sticker as the official logo for this year’s Boulder Arts Week. She said she made it as a tribute to one of her friends. “He was diagnosed with cancer this year. And hey found it in his hip and his lungs. And he’s one of my close friends, and I wanted to do something because I knew it was like a sticker that a lot of people would see. I wanted to do something in contribution to him, so that’s why it’s a torso with a ribcage and pelvis. And one side of it is like a butterfly and flowers because he relapsed again this year.”
When you think of art, what do you imagine?
Oil paintings? Maybe Picasso’s funky-looking cubism or that one Monet exhibit you saw in Denver?
Whatever your definition, Boulder Arts Week (scheduled March 27-April 4 of this year) is here to expand it. With roughly 350 events all over town, Boulder’s Office of Arts and Culture has partnered with private companies and small businesses to let you experience art in all its forms, ranging from the hands-on craftsmanship of metalworking and pottery to the more out-there technical skills of film and aerial dancing.
According to Boulder Arts Week director Lauren Click, the event is really one of celebration and exposure. “I still hear that people don’t know how to find out about what’s going on [in the art world]. And there’s a ton going on, but they feel kind of disconnected. Boulder Arts Week started as a way to be like, ‘look at everything that we have going on, and here’s an easy way to go attend [art events].’”
It’s also a good opportunity to experience the work of Boulder High’s own student artists. One such student is junior Sophie Katz, who partnered with Art Sticks—a Boulder-based sticker company—to create the Boulder Arts Week sticker and logo for this year.
Although collaborating with organizations like Art Sticks and Boulder Arts Week might seem intimidating at first, Katz said the reality was anything but. “It was very laid back, but it’s a structured place to work with. So you have deadlines, but they [also] have parties where you pack all the stickers and you get to meet everyone that made them. It was a really good experience.”
Katz said that landing the gig in the first place wasn’t as difficult as she originally thought. A friend’s dad had a part in creating Art Sticks, so when Katz’s art teacher Ms. Llerandi recommended her for the job, she felt comfortable saying yes to being the mystery sticker designer. “I think it’s a pretty easy thing to get into if you want to pursue. And it wasn’t super challenging, especially if you’re already in an art class because Ms. Llerandi makes it really accessible and everyone that works there is super nice, so I think I definitely would encourage [people] to put [themselves] out there.”
You can find Katz’s sticker at Illegal Pete’s and Buffalo Exchange in the Art Sticks vending machines.
But Katz’s isn’t the only artistic event worth checking out. Here are a couple other events Director Lauren Click recommended:
Frequent Fliers Aerial Dancing Open Rehearsal
WHERE: 3022 E. Sterling Cir., #C WHEN: March 30, 7-9 pm COST: Free |
2020 Student Banner Project
WHERE: 1942 Broadway Street WHEN: March 27, 12-1 pm COST: Free |
Open Wall
WHERE: 1750 13th St WHEN: March 27, 4:30 pm doors open for artists 4:30-6:30 pm installation period 5:30-8 pm free public reception + silent auction COST: Free to enter art; less free to buy it. |
To learn more about Boulder Arts Week and to find out about more events, check out their Instagram @boulderartsweek and check the Boulder Arts Week schedule (easily found by googling).
EDIT 3-22-2020: Due to social distancing, Boulder Arts Week has been relocated to an online event. See online event schedule here.
