Arts in the Park

By Regina Smith, Arts & Events Supervisor, Foothills Park & Recreation District

It became very clear in April, that things would be different this summer. As the Arts & Events Supervisor for Foothills Park & Recreation District, I started to see all of my 2020 event plans crumble before me in a pile of restrictions, mandates, and safety concerns. How could we safely have thousands of people attend concerts in the park? Or even hundreds of people attend Shakespeare in Clement Park when we cannot gather in groups? The answer was, we couldn’t. My goal has always been to bring art to the community. Up until this year, my team and I accomplished this through classes, events, theatre, and dance performances. With this new roadblock before us, it was a moment to pause and pivot. What could we do to engage individuals and small family groups in the arts?

I saw local artist, Austin Zucchini-Fowler, gain international attention for his “Walls of Gratitude” mural series around Denver. His murals are colorful, engaging, and were bringing hope and joy to the community. The idea for Arts in the Park was born! Our new goal was to create long lasting pieces of visual art that could be experienced well after the pandemic is over and would give the community an artistic outlet right now. I quickly met with Sarah MacAfee, Parks Volunteer & Operations Coordinator, to identify potential mural walls in the district. Sarah is a huge supporter of the arts and had been advocating for this type of project. Utilizing Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) grant funds, that the art department is so grateful to receive every year, we had the funding to get started. This type of project isn’t possible without

an enormous team. Staff from the arts and parks departments as well as the management team were instrumental in getting the project moving. With a timeline and funding in place, our Executive Director brought the idea to the Foothills Board of Directors and they agreed to give it a try. We chose the southwest wall of the Grant Family Amphitheater in Clement Park for our first public mural location. In addition to being a performing arts space, the wall faces the main walking path in the park which allows the community to experience art by just stumbling upon it. We chose Austin Zucchini-Fowler as our first mural artist and he created a beautiful concept incorporating the performing arts and nature. The feedback from the community has been so beautiful and the gratitude overwhelming. Because of this, we will continue the Arts in the Park project into 2021 with more murals, art wraps, and instillations. 68 cans of spray paint and 38 hours of a dedicated artist created the first ever Arts in the Parks mural for Foothills Park & Recreation District. Every time I look at this mural I am reminded of how something beautiful can come from something so dark, how teamwork can make an unimaginable project come to fruition, and how creating arts in a pandemic is not only possible, but necessary.

About the Artist:

Austin Zucchini-Fowler of AustinZArt has been creating art his entire life and jumped into Denver’s mural scene just last year. His medium of choice is painting and he’s best known for utalizing pointillism in his pieces. His subject matter usually focuses on animals, mountain scenery, and portraits. In April he gained international attention for his “Healthcare Hero” mural, the first of his “Walls of Gratitude” series to honor the essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. When Austin isn’t painting, he is a full time swim coach working with National level age group swimmers. For more information on Austin visit https://austinzart.com/

SCFD makes our community more vibrant.

Like many of the other sectors of the economy, the arts and culture community has been hard hit by necessary cancellations and closures. Working artists rely on live events, exhibits and other audience-driven experiences to support their families and themselves. Shuttering these experiences, while absolutely necessary, creates hardships for these individuals and the organizations for which they work. Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) is working to help fund cultural projects. The SCFD is a seven-county tax district created within Colorado law, approved by Colorado’s General Assembly, and renewed by voters multiple times over more than 30 years. The seven-county Denver metro area including Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties participate, with the exception of Castle Rock and Larkspur in Douglas County. SCFD is the only cultural funding model in the nation that serves a region of seven counties. This broad base has allowed them to grow into the second largest cultural funding mechanism in the United States. SCFD funds nearly 300 organizations across our front range urban corridor, distributing more than $60 million annually. These tax dollars provide critical operational support for small, medium, and large organizations. SCFD is also a catalyst for bringing world class exhibits and events to the metro region which would otherwise never be presented. SCFD is proof that we are stronger together. Culture is not just available in the epicenter of our cities, but surrounds us throughout the metro area. SCFD has a list of resources for artists and cultural organizations available on their website. Learn more at www.scfd.org.