Meow Wolf’s recent downsizing in Denver represents a major hit to one of the city’s greatest points of pride – the arts’ positive impact on the local economy. That starts with an estimated 13,550 jobs in the creative sector, according to the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts.
But now about 50 Denver Meow Wolf workers have been eliminated as part of a larger effort, CEO Jose Tolosa said, "to cut expenses by 10% companywide ... in order to right-size the business to ensure future success." On Thursday, Senior Public Relations Manager Erin Barnes told The Denver Gazette that "lower visitation was definitely a key part of the decision."
While the positions affected were across the board, including management, most of the lost jobs were performative in nature. Meow Wolf's “Creative Operators” are “in-world,” costumed staff who engage with visitors and provide one-on-one experiences unique to each guest. (And tell them where the bathrooms are.)
It is hard to overstate how rare it is for local artists to find (in many cases) full-time creative employment that comes with salaries and health-care benefits. But what I stated here in 2021 is true today: When Meow Wolf opened, it brought a desperately needed boost to Denver’s pandemic-ravaged arts employment sector. According to the SCFD, the pandemic wiped out at least one-third of all creative-sector jobs. That was more than 50,000 livelihoods.
Of Meow Wolf’s 300 initial overall positions, about 210 were full-time hourly positions, and about 120 were salaried jobs. Additionally, Meow Wolf commissioned 110 Colorado artists whose 79 interactive installations make up the immersive world of the Denver experience.
I wrote then that, for the Denver creative community, Meow Wolf was the unicorn of arts employment. And that, sadly, has turned out to be more literally true.
Say what you will about what Meow Wolf even “is,” but in my several visits there, I depended on those talented, passionate and kind Creative Operators to give me a fighting chance of making any sense out of what the hell is going on there. Their loss is felt.
Hossein Forouzandeh plays the title character in Curious Theatre's "Letters of Suresh," which was forced to cancel all four performances last weekend because a wave of COVID hit some cast and staff.
Curious Theatre survival update
Recent news that the estimable Curious Theatre Company is in an existential fight for its financial life has shaken the local arts community to the core. But it hasn’t exactly opened up floodgates of cash.
On March 1, Curious took the extraordinary step of launching a public emergency giving campaign that must raise $250,000 by July – with the fate of the company potentially hanging in the balance. The alarm has been heard, and this week, the company announced that, after six weeks, it is 30 percent toward its goal, or about $75,000 raised.
That is, in Artistic Director Jada Dixon’s view, “a fantastic start” – but the company still has its work cut out.
“We are 100 percent looking at this from a positive and optimistic perspective,” Dixon told The Denver Gazette. “We are so full of gratitude and deep appreciation for all the people who have already shown up for us.”
DONATE TO CURIOUS THEATRE
Curious has been bringing in an average of about $12,500 in weekly donations since the campaign began, which is considerable – but that will not get the company all the way to its $250,000 goal by July. Dixon is not yet prepared to state what will happen if the campaign comes up short.
“Yes, we have some distance to go,” she said, “but we are encouraged that people will continue to donate to help us fill that gap.”
Precedent is not working in Curious’ favor, though. In 2017, when the comparably sized, disability-affirmative Phamaly Theatre Company also faced an immediate $250,000 shortfall, an emergency campaign reached its funding goal within 17 days.
The final show of Curious’ current season is a musical play called "Cullud Wattah," by Erika Dickerson Despenza. It takes a look at the contaminated water crisis in Flint, Mich., from the perspective of an intergenerational cast of Black women.
“This will be the first time (in its 26 years) that Curious will have an all-Black female cast on stage – and they are amazing,” Dixon said. “This will be a warm and connected, energy-filled room.” "Cullud Wattah” runs May 18-June 15. Tickets at curioustheatre.org.
Coleman: STAGE Act won’t pass
Readers have also been anxiously asking for an update on the proposed STAGE Act, a bill that if passed would provide $1 billion a year for struggling nonprofit theaters across the country for five years. The legislation was just recently introduced in the House of Representatives, so it's still in its early stages. And it now has more than 170 endorsements from theaters across the country.
But Denver Center Theatre Company Artistic Director Chris Coleman, who was in Washington earlier this month rallying for support of the bill, is keeping it real. “To be clear: None of us expect it to pass in this Congress,” he told The Denver Gazette. “ But we do hope to build enough support to be in a position to have a shot when the makeup of Congress is ready.”
Around 4,000 students participated in the 2022 Denver Public Schools Shakespeare Festival. Officials are planning for more than 5,000 on Friday.
Shakespeare Festival turning 40
The Denver Public Schools Shakespeare Festival turns 40 on Friday with its annual parade and performances featuring up to 5,000 students from kindergarten through high school. The fun starts at 10 a.m. at Skyline Park and continues through 4 p.m. throughout the Denver Performing Arts Complex and Sculpture Park. This is the largest and oldest student Shakespeare festival in the country, and the public is invited to take it all in.
Nataki Garrett and Chay Yew.
Largest artist prizes have Denver connections
Today is a good day to be Nataki Garrett or Chay Yew, both of whom have ties to the DCPA Theatre Company.
Garrett and Yew have been named winners of The Doris Duke Foundation’s 2024 Artist Awards, an honor that comes with an unrestricted cash prize of $525,000 – and up to $25,000 in retirement funds. That makes these the largest national prizes ever given to performance artists.
Garrett was the company’s unofficial interim artistic director between Kent Thompson and Chris Coleman, and she directed several shows including “Smart People.” She is now the co-artistic director of an arts-and-wellness initiative called One Nation/One Project. Yew directed the company’s world-premiere production of the intentionally lower-cased play “black odyssey” in 2014.
"Flowers and People: A Whole Year Per Hour" is a 2020 interactive digital work by Hideaki Takahashi from “Biophilia: Nature Reimagined,” a new exhibition that opens May 5 at the Denver Art Museum.
DAM opens “Biophilia”
“Biophilia: Nature Reimagined,” a new exhibition original to the Denver Art Museum, opens May 5 and runs through Aug. 11.
“Biophilia,” curated by DAM curator Darrin Alfred, is a multisensory exhibition that brings together more than 70 artworks, including architectural models and photographs, fashion, digital installations and immersive art experiences that collectively highlight the transformative power of nature.
Briefly…
We’ve told you that Castle Rock-born and Tony Award nominated actor Beth Malone has been developing a new musical called “Starstruck” with Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls. Potential investors will get their first look at a special preview performance May 31 at an off-Broadway theater in New York. It stars Malone, Elizabeth Stanley and Claybourne Elder …
One of the best things going at Denver Film is its screenings of plays performed across the pond. Next up: National Theatre Live's “Hamlet,” with Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch taking on the title role of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy back in 2015. Noon Sunday (April 28) at the Sie FilmCenter. Tickets at denverfilm.org. …
RedLine has announced the 27 Colorado artists and organizations that have been chosen to receive a total of $661,000 though its 2024 Arts in Society program. The recipients range from the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival to “Unshuttered: A Youth-Led Exploration of Intergenerational Trauma” to “Art in Prison” to “Mentorship through Music for Foster Youth in Metro Denver.” Find the whole list at redlineart.org …
Renowned violinist Francisco Fullana takes center stage this Saturday with his debut performance with Boulder Philharmonic at its "Spring Romance" event at 7 p.m. at Macky Auditorium.
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