The blocks south of 72nd and Hooker in Westminster got a whole lot more interesting to look at after a group of 28 mural artists descended on the area.
Babe Walls, a first-time festival of mural art, brought 28 Denver-area woman artists to Westminster to dress up the buildings, most of them apartments, with fresh paint and colorful art work August 13 through 16
In all, 28 artists and helpers tackled 12 street-facing walls on 10 buildings along Hooker Street south of 72nd Avenue and along 71st Avenue between Hooker and Federal Boulevard.
“Most are local, and we wanted to focus on having it be a more local event, since it is our first year,” said Romelle, creative director for the event. “Even if we have some artists coming in from out of town, they all have want connection to Denver. They used to live her or were based out of here at one point.”
The images ranged from artist Danielle SeeWalker’s nod to Native American women to graphic designs and patterns and from flowers and animals to images of other famous artists, like Georgia O’Keeffe.
“We are a all women and non-binary artists,” Romelle said. “We are focused and committed to making space for women and non-binary people in art.”
Mural art on public buildings, whether done with cans of spray paint, brushes or rollers, is one of the oldest forms of public art and it has been growing in popularity.
In Denver, many of more well known muralists are men, according to Romelle, but plenty of women specialize in it.
“It can be very male dominated, so just creating space for people that are not men to create street art in a safe, supportive environment is our goal,” Romelle said. “And, at the end of the day, all of us are artists and doing great work. Just being able it support that locally is very important.”
The buildings were all privately owned, facing public streets and organizers worked with the landlords and building owners to secure the space for the art work.
She said organizers would love it see the event be an annual happening, moving to different locations each time.
“We’d love to take it across the country, but we’re really focused on bringing our A game this first year and then seeing where it takes us,” Romelle said.