Twenty-one years ago two brothers sat reminiscing in the sun on a 60-degree January day, talking about their African-American culture. That conversation spawned a Denver tradition, The Denver Black Arts Festival, which runs through today at Denver City Park.
Perry Ayers, director and founder of the event, said he and his brother, Oyedele Oginga, realized on that day in 1986 that there was nothing going on to celebrate African-American arts. So they decided to “bring it all together in one place.”
This year’s festivities, themed “A Legacy Unfolds,” brought the park alive with music, art and dance.
Ayers likened it to a treasure chest of culture.
“At most festivals people drink beer and eat funnel cake,” he said. “We want people to remember the experience. Jazz music, traditional dancers, sweet-smelling incense.”
At the Jazz Garden, “an incubator for our young children in the craft of jazz,” Ayers said, a group of students from fifth through 12th grade had the crowd grooving.
They were a refreshing break from the norm for KUVO radio show host, Linard “Scotty” Scott.
“It was good to see them playing real instruments, trumpets, saxophones, trombones – not just turntables and beat boxes,” he said.
Along with the music, paintings, prints and textiles were scattered throughout the festival grounds.
Debbie DeVan, a local part-time artist, has been coming to the festival for three years to sell her paintings and get tips from other artists.
“There’s a lot of seasoned artists here,” she said.
And while she’s followed their advice to go bigger and frame some art, she came up with a secret ingredient on her own – Mop & Glo.
DeVan uses the household cleaner to create texture on plexiglass and sheets made of PVC that she paints with watercolors, varnish and ink.
The festival’s art was just one of the reasons Marie Duval of Alaska dropped in at the event during her trip to Denver.
“They’re trying to keep that black hope alive,” she said. “If we don’t do this every year, the young people won’t know what’s going on. It’s a way to enlighten them and keep the culture going.”
The festival continues today with the Cleo Parker Robinson dancers; a concert by New Hope Baptist Church Choir; and the presentation of the Louise Duncan Award, a lifetime achievement award for excellence in the arts, to John Henderson, the first licensed African-American architect in Colorado.
Staff writer Simona Gallegos can be reached at 303-954-1555 or sgallegos@denverpost.com.
