Through Oct. 5:Ìę°Őłó±đ Bright Nights lantern festival is back at Four Mile Historic ParkÌęwith weekly dates through Oct. 5. This year’s themes showcase “whimsical Farmhouse Flora and Fauna,” where you can “step into a surreal Chinese Dreamland, and dive into an expanded interactive zone full of surprises,” organizers said.

In other words: a walkable, kid-friendly experience with plenty of photo ops, all taking place under 40 or so larger-than-life sculptures. On-site food and treats will be available, and kids can play on swings, try their hands at a panda whack-a-mole and make “a video call with the Cleveland Asian Lantern Festival.” (There are also 21-and-up nights on Aug. 27 and Sept. 17.)

Tickets: $21-$48, with food upgrades available; kids 3 and under free. General park admission is 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and costs $6-$8 (kids 6 and under free). 715 S. Forest St. in Denver. Call 720-865-0800 or visit for details.

Kirkland Museum goes kid-friendly

Friday:Ìę°Őłó±đ littlest kids likely don’t appreciate the design brilliance at the Golden Triangle’s Kirkland Museum, but then again, they’ve never really had the chance. The 13-and-up policy was removed in June, however, and on Friday, Aug. 1, Kirkland will host Art Crawl: A Tour for Infants and Their Caregivers to The Kirkland.

Now a part of the Denver Art Museum, the Kirkland joined with DAM and the nearby Clyfford Still Museum to give little kids and their parents a guided tour of the salon-style exhibitions and colorful pieces, which celebrate late artist Vance Kirkland and his Technicolor milieu. The free tour runs 10:30-11:15 a.m. Friday and meets in front of theÌę Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway in Denver. Sign up at .

Free ‘Goonies’ at Sunset

Tuesday:Ìę°Őłó±đ ongoing Sunset Cinema Series at the Denver Performing Arts Complex this week turns toward the 1985 coming-of-age comedy/adventure “The Goonies.” Whether you’ve seen it 50 times or not at all, the free event in downtown’s iconic Sculpture Park offers more than just the outdoor screening, with local food trucks, pre-show entertainment from DJ Cyn, movie snacks and drinks (including craft cocktails), and selfie and photo ops.

Doors open at 6 p.m., with the pre-show at 6:30. The film begins at 7:30 p.m., and you should plan to bring your own chairs and blankets. All ages. Register at and visit for more details.

‘Moulin Rouge’ at the Buell

Wednesday-Aug. 17:Ìę°Őłó±đ jukebox musical “Moulin Rouge,” based on the 2001 fantasy-romance by Baz Luhrmann, conjures high-minded ideals while serving up plenty of steamy dialogue and choreography. The touring Broadway version, which triumphed in Denver during its initial visit in April 2025, is a must-see for Broadway fans looking for a visual and auditory feast, as well as some lovely escapism.

The show runs Wednesday, Aug. 6, through Aug. 17 at the Buell Theatre in the Denver Performing Arts Complex. Tickets are available from Denver Center for the Performing Arts for $53.10-$159.30 via . It takes place at 1350 Curtis St. in downtown Denver.

Every museum — with its own collection and, more important, its own style and curatorial vision for bringing art to the community — is like another dollar bill in your pocket. Some metropolitan regions are rich and some are poor.

In that way, the consolidation of the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art and the Denver Art Museum, announced on May 9, makes Denver less well off. For all of the benefits that the union might bring — and, to be clear, there are many possibilities — it scratches a museum off our list. It takes away a dollar.

The move is being positioned publicly as a merger, but it will play out more like an annexation. The DAM will eventually control all operations, approve all exhibitions, make all the crucial decisions about how the Kirkland’s magnificent collection is cared for and expanded, and how it is presented to the public. In essence, the Kirkland becomes just another department at an art megaplex that already wrangles 11 of them, from European art to the rapidly growing area of Latin American art.

Yet, in many ways, the move makes sense. The two institutions are across the street from each other. It is easy to view the unification as the creation of a genuine campus for DAM, already the city’s most important visual arts presenter. Pulling the buildings together in a cohesive way is an urban planner’s dream; it will be interesting to see how that integration happens.

Plus, the museums are already great friends.

The local philanthropist Merle Chambers was the driving financial force behind the Kirkland as it expanded over the years, growing its collection to a considerable 30,000 objects by more than 1,500 makers from around the globe.

The museum started out as the steward of paintings by late Colorado artist Vance Kirkland, and it still has about 600 of them. But, thanks to backing by the Merle Chambers Fund, it grew to be (much more crucially) a museum for decorative arts, with a collection that ballooned through the sheer will of Hugh Grant, who was married to Chambers from 1989 until 2017, and who retired recently as the Kirkland’s executive director.

Grant was a compulsive shopper, buying important pieces of furniture and household objects — scores and scores of tables, chairs, vases, lamps, desks, screens, tabletop ceramics and more — from important eras of design and by key historic figures in the discipline. The Kirkland’s collection is mind-boggling, thanks to Chambers and Grant.

The museum was originally housed in Vance Kirkland’s former studio (Kirkland and Grant were friends, and he got the works in the will) from 2003 until 2017. But it moved in 2018 to its larger quarters a 12th and Bannock streets.

As that museum grew, so did DAM, opening its massive Hamilton Building expansion in 2006 and then renovating its original 1971 Martin Building in 2021. The Chambers Fund was a major financial sponsor of both of those multimillion-dollar moves, and Merle Chambers, the Kirkland’s unpaid vice-president, has personally sat on DAM’s board of trustees since 2019.

For all of its panache, the Kirkland remains a small institution. It reported expenses of $1.6 million in 2022, according to Internal Revenue Service filings. DAM, by comparison, reported $71.6 million in expenses that year.

The Kirkland’s relatively small size kept its profile minimal on the local cultural scene. It cared for its collection, but lacked the curatorial firepower to make the most of its holdings or to promote itself into a national player despite the fact that it has the goods. Its exhibitions were stable but not ambitious and ground-breaking. Not everyone, even in this city, knows what the Kirkland does.

Exhibition-making is DAM’s superpower, and this is where the merger should pay off. It has a team of talented curators, show designers, marketers. It has a massive, world-class collection, a building that stands tall on the landscape and a reputation for excellence that expands well beyond the city’s borders.

The Kirkland’s collections, for which DAM paid nothing, will morph into the Kirkland Institute at the Denver Art Museum. It will have similar standing to other elements at DAM, such as the Petrie Institute of Western American Art, which oversees the museum’s Western American art collection.

One of the Kirkland’s unique features is that it exhibits its possessions “salon-style,” which means it arranges things in groups, placing objects on the walls, floors and ceilings so that they play out more like little dioramas, or packed living rooms, rather than as formal museum-style exhibitions. DAM pledges to maintain that practice.

But with its curatorial firepower, it should be able to showcase these treasures in a more professional and diverse manner, with better packaging and better signage. DAM already has an architecture and design department with 18,000 objects, plus design pieces across the board in its textile, Indigenous and modern and contemporary art collections. The addition of the Kirkland material will allow for shows with much greater depth and interest. DAM has more capacity to borrow other works to round out special exhibitions, and it’s more likely to loan works to other museums for their special exhibitions.

The Kirkland’s objects will get more exposure and so, by extension, will Denver.

In a sense, DAM and the Kirkland each told separate chapters of the story of design. Combined, they can write nearly the entire book, at least from a Western and European perspective and over the last few hundred years.

In the short term, DAM will be challenged to make the most of the merger; it has problems of its own. It wants to build attendance, which is rebounding from the coronavirus pandemic, and it is currently dealing with labor strife: Its rank-and-file workers recently opted to unionize and the contract negotiations are sure to be costly and traumatic. It will be difficult for the Kirkland collection, as big as it is, not to get lost in DAM’s bureaucracy. Right now, the union is as much a distraction as it is a bonanza.

But the long-term looks promising. The annexation is among the most significant acquisitions of new work in DAM’s history, a fabulous donation of desirable work from one institution to another.

The move may leave Denver with one less museum, but Chambers and Grant are leaving a lifetime of good work in the hands of a capable new steward.

Ray Mark Rinaldi is a Denver-based freelance writer specializing in fine arts.Ìę

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“I’m absolutely thrilled because this is a gem of an institution,” said Christoph Heinrich, director of the Denver Art Museum, in an interview. “To bring this into the brand of DAM… but at the same time to keep the spirit and character of that institution is, well, the best of two worlds.”

The Kirkland Museum, located down the street from the Denver Art Museum at 1201 Bannock St., will be renamed the Kirkland Institute of Fine & Decorative Art at the Denver Art Museum. The new institution will contribute its commitment to uplifting Colorado artists and its extensive collection of distinguished Colorado painter and namesake Vance Kirkland, who died in 1981.

“We have a wonderful neighbor in the Denver Art Museum, and we both came to the realization that by combining our strengths we can really amplify the impact on the artistic providings for our members, offering a wider breadth of scholarship and engagement, and it’s exciting,” said Sally Leibbrandt, a member of the Kirkland Museum’s board.

The majority of Kirkland’s estate — and his art — was willed to family friend Hugh Grant, who curated Kirkland’s exhibitions.ÌęBy the late 1990s, Grant worried Colorado artists were not properly appreciated and got to work orchestrating a museum to show off the work of local artisans.

The Kirkland Museum made its public debut in 2003.

Last fall, Grant retired, and the Kirkland Museum’s leadership began thinking about preserving the institution’s legacy, Leibbrandt said.

Throughout the past six months, Denver Art Museum leadership evaluated Kirkland’s situation, Heinrich said, and the museum’s board voted Wednesday night to merge.

“It¶¶Òőap not that in any way it was necessary right now for the survival of the Kirkland Museum,” Heinrich said. “Nothing is broken.”

The Kirkland has its own endowment, Heinrich said, so funding is taken care of.

“This is really about securing the legacy in perpetuity,” Heinrich said.

The Kirkland’s three-room studio building will remain as a highlight of the museum experience. Heinrich said the Denver Art Museum is committed to keeping the intimate, homey character of the museum, which he likened to the feel of a visitor walking through somebody’s house admiring their collection of decorative arts and crafts.

Visitors can expect changes, though.

For example, Heinrich wants to label the Kirkland’s pieces in Spanish, too, like the Denver Art Museum does. Currently, children under 13 aren’t allowed in the Kirkland Museum due to the fragile nature of some works.

“That is something we have to change,” Heinrich said. “Denver Art Museum is known for its accessibility and for its meaningful programs for little toddlers all the way to the seniors. We cover them all, and that is definitely something we will have to address in the Kirkland Museum.”

Leibbrandt marveled at opportunities for greater programming and scholarship, as well as introducing more people who come through the Denver Art Museum to the next-door neighbor.

“We’re so optimistic about our future together,” Leibbrandt said.

The organizations will merge over the next 12 to 18 months, according to their announcement.

“This merger represents a bold step forward in our collective mission to honor our shared heritage, foster creativity and cultivate a deeper appreciation for the arts,” said Merle Chambers, Kirkland Museum co-founder and board chair, in a news release. “Together, we are charting a course toward a more dynamic cultural future.”

Reciprocal membership benefits will be phased in starting June 1, Heinrich said, so that the nearly 30,000 Denver Art Museum members aren’t all storming the Kirkland Museum at once.

The Denver Art Museum, which traces its lineage to 1893, serves 800,000 visitors a year with facilities spanning more than 350,000 square feet.

The smaller Kirkland Museum is coming off a rocky few years.

In 2018, the museum quite literally moved — the original 107-year-old, 150-ton brick studio was dug up, mounted on wheels and driven to its Golden Triangle location. The studio was grafted onto a 38,500-square-foot building, its $22 million new home.

In 2020, the pandemic forced the museum, along with most cultural delights, to temporarily shut its doors. Then a burst water valve during a 2021 polar vortex caused extensive damage to the building — largely sparing most of the art — that left doors closed for months as repairs and restoration took place.

“As we celebrate the 21st anniversary of Kirkland Museum and reflect on our thriving presence in this new building for the past six years, I believe it¶¶Òőap the opportune moment to gracefully pass the torch of leadership,” Grant, the Kirkland’s founding director, said in a news release. “Kirkland Museum stands in excellent shape, a testament to the dedication and passion of our incredible team. Now, it¶¶Òőap time to entrust fresh minds and innovative perspectives with the task of charting a new path for the next vibrant chapter in our journey.”

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Chandler died after battling esophageal cancer, Rassenfoss said. She had previously survived a bout with breast cancer in the 2000s.

“If anyone deserves the word ‘comprehensive’ around her work, it’s Mary,” said Rassenfoss, a longtime friend who hired Chandler at the Rocky Mountain News in 1987. While the Rocky shut down in 2009, Chandler continued consulting and researching for architecture firms and finishing massive projects as a journalist,Ìęcritic and author, according to architect Alan G. Gass.

“She was an outspoken voice, but everybody respected her,” said Gass, who contributed to Chandler’s 311-page book “Guide to Denver Architecture,” which enjoyed two editions and featured a forward by then-Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. “She had her own sense of values, which didn’t always coincide with mine, but we had some (incredible) conversations.”

“She was voracious in her pursuit of the best art Denver had to offer, and she took it all in,” said Bobbi Walker, owner of Walker Fine Art. “Her powerful voice was indeed instrumental in shaping the robust art scene we enjoy today.”

Chandler was born in St. Louis on June 14, 1948, and went on to write for newspapers in Michigan, New York, Virginia and Florida before moving to Colorado with husband David Leon Chandler. She joined the Rocky Mountain News as a reporter in 1987 and three years later convinced her editors to let her write what would become a long-running, must-read arts column.

“She was a great influence on me as a curator and she recognized integrity,” said Timothy J. Standring, curator emeritus of the Denver Art Museum. “She was brass-tacked and hard nosed and didn’t please everybody, but that made her a more admirable critic in my mind, and someone who served the public well.”

Chandler’s award-winning reporting and uncompromising opinions could make artistic careers and infuriate curators, but it was always confident and well-argued, said friends and former colleagues. She closely covered Denver’s Scientific & Cultural Facilities tax district, which supports hundreds of nonprofit cultural organizations, and chronicled the late ’90s and early 2000s museum-building boom in Denver’s Golden Triangle neighborhood from the inside.

“She came to each story with an open mind and genuine curiosity,” said Christoph Heinrich, director of Denver Art Museum. “Her dry sense of humor and passion for Denver’s cultural evolution are deeply missed.”

Renowned architect Daniel Libeskind’s sleek, silvery addition to the Denver Art Museum, known as the Hamilton Building, helped usher in a new age for Denver’s museum scene. Chandler covered that as seriously as then-tiny museums such as the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art. She opposed and endorsed major civic projects — such as a proposed move of the History Colorado Center to Civic Center — and influenced mayors, architects and artists, and readers.

“I think I did about 30 temporary exhibitions at the original Kirkland Museum location, and Mary reviewed every single one of them,” said Hugh Grant, founding director and curator of the Kirkland Museum.

“It was extraordinary how she did it week in and week out, year after year. And, in addition to all that coverage of museums and individual artist’s shows, Mary reported on historic buildings being threatened and kept up with new architecture across the city,” Grant said. “She deserves to be considered one of the most important art critics in the history of Colorado. We will miss her a great deal.”

Architect David Tryba, who founded the nationally known Tryba Architects, met Chandler around the time he was just getting started in the business, in the late 1980s. Despite their occasional and pitched battles, they always remained friends.

“We often found ourselves on different sides of issues, and she never pulled any punches,” Tryba said. “But what she did was critical as Denver was becoming a contemporary city. We went through a very bleak period when historic buildings were being (demolished) all over Denver, and she and I worked together on preservation. Her column was so important in helping everyone understand why we needed to save what we had left. She dominated the public opinion.”

The Denver Press Club will host a gathering for friends and family of Chandler at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, at 1330 Glenarm Place. She was inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame in 2015. Details on another memorial event will be posted at .

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Ziggi’s Coffee is brewing up two big giveaways in September. On Sept. 7, all educators and school district employees — teachers, principals, bus drivers, custodians and anyone else who has a valid school/faculty ID or other proof of school district employment — can enjoy a free 16-ounce drink of their choice. The offer is available at all locations. Next up, Ziggi’s celebrates the opening of its newest Colorado location in West Arvada at 18168 W. 92nd Lane by offering a free 16-ounce drink from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 17.

Water World’s Bow Wow Beach Doggie Day

Water World is offering a rare opportunity for furry kids to have big fun with its annual Bow Wow Beach Doggie Day on Sept. 10. Pooches must be at least one year old, leashed during park arrival and exit, and be accompanied by a responsible owner 18 or older. Proof of current rabies vaccination and waivers must be signed prior to entry. Pet parents will also be wagging their tails because admission is only $9.99 per dog. (Pet parents get in for free.) Each timed entry session at 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon lasts one hour and 45 minutes. Tickets are only available online. Attractions are closed and owners are not permitted to swim. Remember to bring lots of towels and doggie treats for the wet car ride home.

Seltzerland

By popular demand, the hard seltzer-fest Seltzerland returns to Denver this fall for more fizzy fun at Overland Park Golf Course (1801 S. Huron St.) on Sept. 10. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., attendees will enjoy an afternoon of tasting more than 100 unique hard seltzers. While sipping on the bubbly, there will be tons of entertainment. Play seltzer pong, lemonade ladder golf and cornhole with your crew, with a DJ providing a live soundtrack in the background. Plus, take fun pics inside the inflatable bubble booth and go home with lots of seltzer swag. General admission and VIP tickets are available starting at $35. Save 20% on tickets with promo code MILEHIGH.

Electronics recycling event

Got old electronics cluttering your house? If it can be plugged in or runs on batteries, there’s on easy option to recycle it on the cheap. Denver 7 and AAA are hosting an Electronics Recycling Event on Sept. 10 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (6000 Victory Way) in Commerce City. The drive-thru event in Parking Lot H runs from 7 a.m. to noon. Cost is $5 per car, with no limit to the number of drop-off items. All things electronic (including small appliances) are welcome. However, there is an extra fee for select items, including TV or CRT monitors. Cash and credit cards will be accepted.

The Urban Farm Fest 2022

The Urban Farm (10200 Smith Road) in Denver opens its gates to all for free for Farm Fest 2022 on Sept. 10. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the farm will be open to the public for self-guided tours. Walk the grounds and explore the chicken coop, goat and sheep pen and rabbit hutch with farm educators. Learn about the farm’s animals and have a chance to get up close and personal with many furry and feathered friends. In addition, there will be kids crafts and games, face painting, storybook time, food trucks and live music. A waiver must be completed before you visit, which can be completed online to save time.

Denver Oktoberfest

The annual Denver Oktoberfest is so large it spans two weekends. This salute to Bavarian heritage features authentic German beer and fare, crafts, music, dance, oom-pah-pah entertainment and more. It runs in the Ballpark Neighborhood from Sept. 16 to 18 and again from Sept. 23 to 25. Raise your glass because there’s big news for 2022: Admission is free with no ticket required. Among the event¶¶Òőap highlights are the stein hoisting challenges, keg bowling and the always-popular Long Dog Derby, where wiener dogs show off their racing skills. Plus, along with the beer, enjoy bratwurst, turkey legs, sausage, sauerkraut, potato salad, warm pretzels and more. Festival hours are 5 to 11 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Dunkin’s $3 pumpkin drink special

For many restaurants, autumn is the time to “spice up” their menus with seasonal treats and beverages. At Dunkin’, customers can enjoy the warmth of the season with many returning favorites, as well as two new seasonal beverages: the Blood Orange Dunkin’ Refresher and Nutty Pumpkin Coffee. For pumpkin spice fans on a budget, the doughnut shop is serving a medium Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew or Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte for just $3. The bargain beverages are available through Sept. 13.

Superior Chili & Beer Fest

Here’s an event that’s sure to be hot, hot, hot! The Superior Chili & Beer Fest features two live bands, a super-sized kids zone and, of course, lots of chili. The fest is on Sept. 17 from 2 to 6 p.m. at Superior Community Park (1350 Coalton Road). Free chili samples are generously provided by the cooks (including restaurant pros and amateur chefs) and are distributed on a first come-first served basis. Get there early, since samples go fast. For a nominal fee, buy a reusable chili tasting mug with an attached spoon; eat all the chili you want and take home the commemorative cup. Food trucks will be on-site for less spicy (as well as kid-friendly) dining options.

Smithsonian Museum Day

On Sept. 17, Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day offers free access to hundreds of museums across the country, including 13 in Colorado. Each pass is valid for complimentary general admission for two. (The pass does not include special exhibits, IMAX film screening, parking or other select events.) Among the participating museums in the metro area are American Mountaineering Museum (Golden), Center for Colorado Women’s History (Denver), History Colorado Center (Denver) and Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art (Denver.) Museum hours vary, so plan accordingly. There’s a limit of one admit-two pass per e-mail address.

Meow Wolf’s one-year anniversary

Convergence Station, Meow Wolf’s immersive-art installation, is celebrating one year since opening its doors in Denver on Sept. 17, 2021. To celebrate the milestone, the otherworldly exhibition is hosting Convergiversary Party on Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., an all-ages celebration featuring discounted tickets to Convergence Station, access to an artist village and spectacular surprises spilling out into the parking lot. Tickets are just $15, nearly 60% off the regular admission for Colorado residents.

Smashburger’s $5 chicken sandwich special

Smashburger may be known for its juicy burgers, crispy fries and cool shakes, but it also serves tasty chicken sandwiches. Through Sept. 30, the restaurant is bringing back its Scorchin’ Hot Crispy Chicken Sandwich for a limited time and at a discounted price of $5 (regularly $8). The offer is available in-restaurant and online via the chain’s site or app. No promo code or coupon necessary. Limit four discounted sandwiches per transaction.

Denver Film membership

Calling all cinephiles, film aficionados and movie lovers. As the only nonprofit theater in Colorado, Denver Film is dedicated to engaging both its members and the general public in a lifelong relationship with film. There’s no better way to support an important local arts organization than by becoming a member. However, paying the annual membership fee upfront can be prohibitive for many movie lovers. Thankfully, Denver Film is now making it “less dramatic” on the budget by offering monthly payments starting as low as $5.50. Members get treated like a star, getting discounted tickets and all-day happy hour at the Sie FilmCenter, as well as early reservations and admittance to the Denver Film Festival.

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Saturday. Fans of English-style cask ales don’t have a lot of places to go for a pint in Colorado, despite the beer’s popularity around the world. In fact, only a very few breweries produce cask ales, which are naturally carbonated in casks and then typically served at warmer temperatures than most beers – and most bars aren’t equipped to serve it.

That¶¶Òőap why Saturday’s Cask Fest at Hogshead Brewery is so special. Not only will Hogshead, which is owned by a British ex-pat, have its own creamy cask ales pouring from the beer engines, but there will be be selections from the brewery’s friends, including Westbound & Down Brewing, Comrade Brewing, Liquid Mechanics, Cannonball Creek, Strange Craft, Call to Arms and Bierstadt Lagerhaus.

It takes place 2-10 p.m. on Saturday, June 18, at Hogshead Brewery, 4460 W. 29th Ave. in Denver. Tickets are $50 on eventbrite.com and include beer, a 10ounce logo glass to keep and grilled bratwurst with all the works.

The one where “Friends” gets immersive

Through Sept. 5. Fans of the ’90s NBC sitcom “Friends” can tap into a faux-NYC coffee shop vibe this week when they cram themselves onto the iconic orange couch, splash (figuratively) in the opening-credits fountain, and 10 other self-friendly, officially licensed rooms in Denver.

The pop-up was created to celebrate the show’s 25th anniversary in 2019 and proved so buzzworthy it’s since traveled to New York City, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas and Phoenix, The Denver Post’s Tiney Ricciardi reported.

“The Friends Experience” opens at the Cherry Creek West shopping center, 2500 E. 1st Ave., on Thursday, June 16, and runs through Sept. 5. Tickets: $32 (plus tax and fees) at .

True genius in Kirkland’s “Returning Wright”

Friday-Jan. 8, 2023. The work of architect Frank Lloyd Wright is oft praised but seldom studied in person. Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art has been helping change that this year with its series of Wright-focused lectures, a striking window display (since reunited with its original house), and, starting Friday, June 17, the “Frank Lloyd Wright: Inside the Walls” exhibition.

Running through Jan. 8, 2023, it features stellar and seldom-assembled decorative art objects designed by Wright specifically for 11 of his architectural projects. Spanning 50 years of his 70-year career, they include bold and beautiful chairs, lamps, tables, windows and more.

The special exhibition is included with museum, $10 general admission (ages 13+ only) and $8 for seniors (age 65+), and teachers and students (13+). 1201 Bannock St. 303-832-8576 or

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And not even consecutive months, museum officials told The Denver Post. That’s because of the pandemic, but also a Feb. 15 plumbing catastrophe that is every curator’s worst nightmare.

“The staff was here immediately and moved about 1,000 objects to safety right away,” said associate museum director RenĂ©e Albiston, who said employees first noticed the museum’s burst water valve through a live security-camera feed.

Fortunately, they were able to save the majority of Kirkland’s priceless, on-display collection from the extensive water damage that the building suffered. Only a handful of works on paper saw permanent damage, officials said, and most of the artwork that got wet is back and being redisplayed.

Post-flood, Kirkland Museum is preparing for a Friday, Aug. 27 reopening with the temporary exhibit “Truth, Beauty and Power: Christopher Dresser and The Aesthetic Movement.”

“We had planned to open in the spring, but we’ve been able to make some concrete choices about when we can print the wallboards and get the show up and running,” said Maya Wright, director of interpretation.

Working in her world often requires a combination of creativity and logistical know-how. In addition to debuting “Truth, Beauty and Power,” which runs through Jan. 2, 2022, the museum also will resume regular hours when it returns later this month, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. on Sundays (closed Mondays). Pre-purchased, timed tickets are no longer required.

It’s a remarkable, encouraging turnabout for an institution that was facing economic ruin and an existential crisis only a few short months ago. In addition to losing revenue and furloughing employees during 2020, the museum had just reopened for the first time since the start of the pandemic when, in February, leaders revealed they needed to close down again.

The building had sustained water damage from a burst valve during the polar vortex that froze pipes across the city, they said. They asked for patience during the painful triage process. To the public, the potential losses seemed staggering.

But curators worked around the clock to determine the repairs needed for the 38,000-square- foot collection of unique items from late Denver artist Vance Kirkland, as well as dozens of other mid-century and contemporary names. About 4,000 items in total were “rescued,” officials said.

“We were heartbroken by the (water damage), but I can’t tell you how much of a relief it was that the original studio avoided any damage at all,” Albiston said.

She’s referring to the 150-ton brick structure that was moved — whole, and at great cost — in late 2016. The spectacle found Vance Kirkland’s fragile, immaculately preserved studio traveling slowly by truck from its original perch at Pearl Street and 13th Avenue on Capitol Hill to its current home in the Golden Triangle neighborhood, at 1201 Bannock St. — shutting down busy city streets in the process.

Only a sliver of the museum’s 30,000 items are on display at any one time, but the recent flood was enough to have warranted months of restoration and construction, painting and painstaking cataloging, to get a clear picture of what really happened.

“Truly, I feel like Vance was watching over us because it’s amazing more artwork did not get damaged,” Albiston said.

Leaders have not said which pieces may have been total losses, but last month told The Denver Post that all three floors of the museum sustained water damage. Since the spring, stop-start construction has been underway to replace wood floors in the galleries, carpeting throughout the offices, drywall and an elevator panel.

Museum leaders also has been mum about whether the building’s original contractors are liable for the damage, or the total dollar amount of damage, deferring repeatedly to their insurance company’s ongoing investigation. They hope to have a total dollar figure soon, Albiston said.

Meanwhile, a lengthy “conservation assessment” by the museum’s 11 full-time staffers and Colorado Art Restoration Services helped truly save the collection, Albiston said. The company First OnSite, a disaster-restoration company, also joined the effort.

So why, exactly, is the museum reopening now?

“We were really at the mercy of construction,” Albiston said. “It was hingeing on the restoration of the interior, and until all those pieces were in place we couldn’t start reinstalling the galleries.”

Those processes had to line up perfectly, and staffers were at the mercy of deliveries, supplies and labor delays. Once construction was close to finishing, marketing plans, new safety and conservation measures, and operational plans soon followed.

Albiston and Wright praised the museum’s “resilient staff,” including founding director and curator Hugh Grant, for the turnaround.

Kirkland Museum was formerly located on Denver’s Capitol Hill, where its internationally renowned, namesake painter and visionary surrealist Vance Kirkland worked and taught until his death in 1981.

Museum leaders opened Kirkland’s architecturally distinct new building in the gallery-heavy Golden Triangle neighborhood in March 2018. With its terracotta bars and shimmering, yellow glass panels, the building has for the past three years stood out from its peers, and complemented other major institutions a block or two away, such as the Denver Art Museum and Clyfford Still Museum.

Due to the up-close, salon-style displays and fragile items, visitors under 13 are not allowed. Masks are required for unvaccinated visitors, and the museum said its state-of-the-art HVAC system that mixes inside and outside air for extra safety is fully functional.

Mostly, they just can’t wait to throw open their doors again. And maybe, for the first time in their new home, they’ll be able to stay open for 12 months straight.

“It could have been so much worse,” Wright said. “Much, much worse.”

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The Feb. 15Ìęcalamity, , came right after the museum had reopened following a long COVID-19 closure.

Leaders at the time said the structure had sustained water damage, and that curators were still working to determine the extent of repairs needed for the 38,000-square foot collection of unique items from late Denver artist Vance Kirkland, as well as dozens of other mid-century gems.

Originally scheduled to end in March, and then July, the closure has been extended so museum leaders can continue hammering out details with their insurance provider, according to a statement provided to The Denver Post this week.

Museum officials also declined interviews, citing construction meetings and reinstallation work, and did not respond to questions about the dollar value of the damage — or the liability of the contractors that built the structure.

Associate Museum Director Renée Albiston did, however, provide new details about the incident:

• All three floors of the museum sustained water damage, which cameÌęfrom a burst water valve caused by February’s polar vortex that froze much of Denver
• Approximately 4,000 pieces in the collection and all display cases were “moved and stored swiftly,” thanks to quick work by museum staffers who noticed the burst pipes on surveillance cameras.
• The restoration is nearly complete, with repairs on all three levels to replace the wood floors in theÌę galleries, carpeting throughout offices, drywall and the elevator control panel.
• Most of the damage is limited to the three floors, although a “conservation assessment” of the number of objects affected by water is still underway. “We won’t know the true extent of the art damage for quite some months yet,” according to Albiston. “We are working with a professional art conservation team on this.”

Despite not having a firm reopening date, the museum is “working quickly to assess a dollar value from the damage,” which affects only its own holdings. Unlike many other museums, all objects in Kirkland Museum are from the museum’s permanent collection, with no artifacts on loan from outside institutions.

Kirkland Museum was formerly located on Denver’s Capitol Hill, where its internationally renowned, namesake painter and visionary surrealist Vance Kirkland worked and taught until his death in 1981.

Museum leaders opened Kirkland’s architecturally distinct new building in the gallery-heavy Golden Triangle neighborhood in March 2018. With its terracotta bars and shimmering, yellow glass panels, the building stands out at the corner of West 12th Avenue and Bannock Street.

It features numerous pieces installed in shatter-proof, UV-protected glass displays that double as windows, thanks to Seattle-based building architect Jim Olson.

The museum will use the mid-August reopening to launch its second exhibition of 2021, “.” The exhibition showcases works from the museum’s permanent collections, many never seen before, officials said.

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Ragland was an award-winning artist who worked in multiple mediums and some of his works are on public display, including his 1990 sculpture, “,” at the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art.

In 2016, a short video documentary was produced about Ragland, titled “.” It was directed by a fellow artist, friend and former student of Ragland’s, Samantha Lobato.

“When I met him, his energy was so absolutely intense, but in such a good way, his passion for art really pushed through,” said Lobato, who studied art at Denver Public Schools Career Education Center in 2010 when Ragland taught there.

Lobato describes Ragland as a mentor, a teacher who never marked students’ art pieces, instead marking a piece of vinyl over or on the piece.

“It really struck me that he really respected everyone’s work,” she said.

Ragland’s simple brick home, with a front porch where he seemingly always worked, was full of his art. He had pieces catalogued in his mind and could retrieve a piece at a moment’s notice.

The artist was well known for that artists should, and must, make money to pursue their discipline.Ìę“Bread and shelter has to be paid for, I’ve got to heat and eat,” Ragland said often, and with a smile.

In a 2005 Denver Post story, a satisfied Ragland said he paid off what was left of his home mortgage in 1998 with an advertised art sale. Eighteen arts lovers paid $300 — a subscriber fee — and each got to choose one painting and one sculpture from his home. The mortgage was paid.

Ragland bought his modest home in 1972 and paid $11,500. In the documentary Ragland said: “Being rich isn’t having a gazillion dollars, it’s being able to do what you like to do.”

Friend to artists, artist to friends

Dean Mitchell, a renown Florida artist, has , including award-winning pieces, over the years. The two men met in 1991, when Ragland telephoned Mitchell about an upcoming prestigious show in Denver to which Mitchell had been invited.

“I got a call from this guy,” Mitchell recalled. ” ‘You don’t know me, my name is Bob Ragland. I don’t want anything from you…’ ”

“I started laughing,” Mitchell said.ÌęRagland joined Mitchell in laughter on the phone and a rich, lasting friendship was born.

“He wanted me to know that I was the first Black artist invited to the show,” Mitchell said. “That’s how I met him, he’s been a friend ever since.”

Ragland and Mitchell exchanged telephone calls, typically about two a week, mostly on Monday and Friday. Last Friday, they didn’t hook up.

“He has been a guiding force for me,” Mitchell said. “I’m going to miss him, it’s a tough loss.”

One of Mitchell’s portraits of Ragland is in the .

Ragland’s life in Colorado

Ragland was born Dec. 11, 1938, in Cleveland, Ohio. He joined the Army at age 18 and was stationed at Fort Carson. After his service, Ragland moved to Denver in 1959 and worked for U.S. Post Office for six years. He attended the Rocky Mountain Art School and learned to weld at the Emily Griffith Opportunity School.

In 1966, Ragland held his first art show in a Denver church basement that he rented for $10. He sold 17 of the 35 works that were up for sale.ÌęRagland was listed in Who’s Who in American Art since 1976.

“Bob was a passionate advocate for Colorado art and artists,” said founding director and curator Hugh Grant, of the Kirkland Museum, in a statement. “We are glad to have him represented in our collection and on our website.”

As a child, Ragland starting drawing on brown paper sacks that his mother gave him. As an artist in Denver, he drew inspiration and materials from his Whittier neighborhood. Potential art subjects were never more than a walk away. Ragland also enjoyed trips to New Mexico where he’d also seek and find inspiration, especially landscapes.

Ragland was best known for his oil paintings. His popular sculptures were made of discarded materials, including bedsprings, tires, pipes, chains and car parts. He authored two books,” The Artist’s Question and Answer Book” and the “The Artist’s Survival Handbook: Or What to Do Till You’re Rich and Famous.”

“They’re practical nuts-and-bolts books on how to have an art career,” Ragland told the Post. “Everything that they don’t teach you at art school is in these books.”

Known to write a great many letters to a great many people, including prospective art clients, Ragland incorporated art into the envelopes and the letters themselves.

Clyde Steadman, a local artist and art teacher, has known Ragland for about 20 years.

“He was passionately devoted to art and the art community,” Steadman said. “Bob was exceptionally devoted to the business of art. I think of him as a great networker. He was a monument.”

A viewing will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. April 23 at the Taylor Funeral Home, 2531 Ogden St., Denver. Attendees can speak their thoughts about Ragland from 6 to 7 p.m.

Memorial contributions can be made to the , for the Ford-Warren Library; to (Salvation Army) or .

“Good news!” the city and county of Denver’s this week. “Thanks to a new public health order, many smaller museums that have been closed for a long time can now open at limited capacity. Pls (sic) wear a mask, check for reservations, & only visit with members of your household. #NoSeriously we’d hate to see them close back down.”

Despite that noble sentiment, December brings fresh challenges to those who market indoor cultural experiences. A quarter of the state’s nearly 4,000Ìęcoronavirus-related deaths arrived in the last month, andÌęthe deadliest week of the pandemic ended on Dec. 6, as Colorado recorded the deaths of 382Ìępeople who had COVID-19.

No matter how comfortable people feel with distancing and cleaning procedures, that number will likely weigh on the minds of anyone buying tickets to indoor programming. Even museums that previously offered free entry, such as History Colorado’s statewide network of museums, require tickets now.

“(History Colorado Center) maintains strict capacity limits and has been converted to a no- to low-touch environment,” officials wrote last week. “Mandatory advance tickets and more information, including details about additional History Colorado museums open to visitors around the state, are available atÌę.”

Downtown Denver’s History Colorado Center, which sits across from the Denver Art Museum and other major institutions, had been closed since Nov. 20Ìębefore it reopened last week. But it¶¶Òőap not just museums. The public health order that allows them to operate at 25%Ìęcapacity under Colorado’s Level Red coronavirus restrictionsÌęannounced Dec. 8Ìęalso allowsÌęzoos and aquariums to have guests indoors in counties that are at Level Red on the state’sÌędial framework.

Those settings are limited to 25% of capacity or 25 people per room,Ìęwhichever is fewer. That means museums can operate at a higher percentage of capacity than gyms and non-critical offices, but lower than retail stores, The Denver Post has reported.

“Along with other cultural partners around Denver, we have lobbied hard for the revision of the Level Red public health order by demonstrating our commitment to safety and public health,” saidÌęRenĂ©e Albiston, associate museum director at the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art, in a press statement. “Not only will a visit toÌęKirklandÌęMuseumÌębe a touchless experience, but you will more than likely explore our beautiful galleries in quiet solitude, finding respite and renewal.”

Kirkland Museum, which reopened Dec. 11, touted itsÌę”state-of-the-art dual-air HVAC system designed to constantly create a mix of outside and inside air” in its current home, .

Last week’s amended orderÌędoes not affect the city’s two largest museums, Denver Art Museum and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science — both of which are still selling timed-entry tickets to special exhibitions. They’ve held variances and shifted their cleaning procedures to remain at a minimum of 25%Ìęcapacity throughout the run of their current shows.

Still, Denver Art Museum stopped selling tickets to its popular briefly last month, and has been forced to reschedule or refund some tickets to the exhibition.

“This particular change does not affect our operations at this time,” said Shadia Lemus, senior communications manager at Denver Art Museum. “Tickets are available on on a rolling basis one week in advance of visit date.”

For popular nonprofits such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver or the Molly Brown House Museum, last week’sÌęrule change was a surprise opening to earn some last-minute, 2020 revenue.

“We (were) relieved that the state amendedÌęthe public health order to reflect that museums are among theÌęlowest-risk activities someoneÌęcould participateÌęin right now,” said Courtney E. Law, communications director at MCA Denver, which reopened Dec. 11. “We’ve been operating at 25% capacity since July, so our timed ticketing and safety and cleaningÌęprocedures will remain the same.”

Despite last week’s amended order, some inherently high-touch museums are staying closed, such as the Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus. Starting in late October, Aurora’s Hangar at the Stanley Marketplace was hosting the virtual-reality show a program more or less designed to be pandemic-proof with its inherent social distancing and low capacity.

AsÌęof press time, the exhibition was closed and not selling tickets.

“Carne y Arena” organizers are mounting in the meantime to keep attention focused on the VR experience, which won a Special Academy Award for director Alejandro G. Iñárritu (“The Revenant”) and its of an undocumented border crossing from Mexico into the U.S. (see more at ).

Given that Aurora marked the premiere of the show’s national tour, it would be a shame to see it move out — as it¶¶Òőap scheduled to do Jan. 30Ìę– without many Coloradans getting a chance to experience it, organizers said.

“There’s no specific date yet, but the ‘Carne’ team is working on figuring out all the logistics now — staffing, ticketing platform, etc.,” said a Stanley spokesman. “We’re eager for them to reopen, especially since their capacity is naturally so low.”

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