Once known as a "cow town", Denver has shed its rustic image. RMCAD students new to the area quickly discover Denver supports a thriving mix of visual and performing arts.
Check out Art in America's February 2007 profile of Denver’s art scene.
The Denver Art Museum
The Denver Art Museum complex includes collection gallery space, three temporary exhibition venues, and the Lewis I. Sharp Auditorium. Opened in 2006, the Hamilton Building addition was designed by famed architect Daniel Liebskind. In addition to a vast array of art collections, the DAM has received critical acclaim for encouraging art appreciation through interactive activities.
Museum of Contemporary Art
The MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART | DENVER (MCA) is an innovative forum that inspires and challenges all audiences and creates understanding and dialogue about art of our time. British architect David Adjaye designed the new MCA, which is currently under construction and set to open in early 2008.
Explore Denver's Galleries: First Fridays
Denver boasts over 120 commercial art galleries representing regional, national and international artists of all genres, from western to contemporary. Santa Fe Drive just south of downtown Denver is a favorite neighborhood for gallery hopping. Drop in for a gallery crawl the first Friday evening of each month. RMCAD students and faculty members routinely show their work in these venues.
Denver Public Art Program
Whenever the City of Denver spends more than $1 million on any capitol improvement project 1% of the total budget goes toward integrating public artwork into the design. So with our new bridges, buildings and highways come world class sculpture, murals, and other installations -- over 300 works of art with new pieces popping up all over the city every year.
Notable works include sculpture by Fernando Botero, Sol LeWitt, Claes Oldenberg, Robert Mangold and Donald Lipski.
Red Rocks Amphitheater
Few experiences are as beautiful as a summer concert at Red Rocks. With Mother Nature as the architect, Red Rocks is a geologically formed, open-air Amphitheatre that is not duplicated anywhere in the world. If you decide to attend RMCAD from out of state, a trip to Red Rocks should be considered an essential Colorado experience. If you're coming for an open house or campus tour you may want to check out the concert schedule before booking your trip.
The Denver Performing Arts Complex (DPAC)
One of the largest arts complexes in the world, the DPAC features ten individual performance spaces connected by an 80 foot tall glass roof. Located in downtown Denver, DPAC is a four block, 12 acre site that is home to a Tony Award winning theater company, Broadway touring productions, contemporary dance and ballet, magnificent chorales, a symphony orchestra, and an internationally acclaimed opera house.