Dan Sorensen leaned over a drawing table inside his art studio in the Aurora Cultural Art District and examined the loose lines of a dragon that he was painting on a small white canvass.
“When I came here into this community of artists, it was called the Other Side Arts,” Sorensen said. “When they went under, I stayed here with (a few other artists) and it’s been great.”
Sorensen has used the 150-square-foot room at 1400 Dallas St. to create his collection of acrylic paintings, graphic designs and paper and wooden prints for the past four years.
“Honestly, my life changed when I got this studio,” Sorensen said. “Being part of a community was a big part of that … and I like that it’s separate from my house. Everything that’s going on at home doesn’t interfere with my art at all.”
Sorensen is one of more than a dozen local artists or art groups who work from the ACAD Gallery, which was donated to the nonprofit Aurora Cultural Art District by the City of Aurora last year.
There are 12 studio spaces for artists, who typically sign a year-long lease and go into a rotating schedule for solo exhibitions in the main gallery space. Almost all of the spaces for the next two years are rented out.
“It’s a good thing. The city started trying to make an arts district about seven years ago,” said Tracy Weil, managing director of the Aurora Cultural Art District. “They awarded ACAD the space last December … and we’ve already had a lot of art events there — theater rehearsals and performances, poetry reading, benefits and other things like that.”
Weil pays $10 a year in rent for the 5,000-square-foot building.
“It’s a pretty great deal,” he said. “It’s mostly for us to be able to generate income for the arts district.”
The district has been under a theoretical construction for several years. independent arts companies and a brewery, and may work with a couple restaurants to get them all — the arts district.
“We’re trying to really activate the gallery space and do things that are community-based and work with the people who are directly living here,” Weil said. “We’re working to set (and grow) the programs for the next two years now.”
He said one of his big goals with the gallery and studio space is to locate as many diverse artistic disciplines there as possible, and to host a variety of community engagement events and classes that foster art education.
And the ball is already rolling. Next year, , a new Aurora-based theatre company, will establish its headquarters inside the building. One of the co-founders of the company, Maria Cheng, said that the space on Dallas Street is ideal.
“We’re actually working out of the private home of one of our board members who lives in Aurora now,” Cheng said. “We want to stay in the city, and we really think the space of (the ACAD gallery) is perfect for us. We’ll definitely be holding our May 2015 season there.”
While Theatre Esprit Asia will just take up office space for now, Cheng said she would eventually like to form a partnership where the theatre company invests in lighting and sound equipment to create an informal, dynamic theater space in the main gallery.
Two other theatre companies, Ignite Theatre and Phamaly Theatre Company, already use the gallery and studio space for their rehearsals.
Cheng said: “If we come to an agreement, that would improve (the gallery’s) rental capabilities as well because that space will become more versatile. And then we will have a home.”
Megan Mitchell: 303-954-2650, mmitchell@denverpost.com or twitter.com/Mmitchelldp
