When Sarah Fox began Fox Art School in 2010, she wanted to fill what she saw as a hole in the arts community. "I have a background in art education and I was really missing it," says Fox, who at that point had taken some time off from teaching art -- which she had been doing in Colorado and Oklahoma since 1995. "I started to look around at what different art opportunities there were for kids in Denver, and seeing if there was something that would be a good fit for me -- and I was really surprised."

The surprise was the lack of immersive arts programs geared towards school-age children. That inspired Fox, herself an artist who also works in advertising, to create Fox Art School, a small effort involving a partnership with Space Gallery, which houses the one-of-a-kind, week-long seasonal camps.

See also:
- What is Colorado culture? The Art Students League of Denver looks to provide answers
- Our band (of Pickles) could be your life: A reflection on coaching Girls Rock camp
- Dylan Scholinski seeks donations in his mission to bring art to kids with gender issues

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Robert Ransick

As part of Vanessa Place's exhibition The Lawyer Is Present, opening this Friday, April 12, at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, the Los Angeles-based writer, attorney and artist wants you to confess. For the piece, which plays off Marina Abramović's The Artist Is Present, Place will be collecting and taping confessions from members of the audience hidden behind a mirror over the weekend. Then on Sunday, April 14, she will perform the confessions with identifying information removed. (Or participants may pay her hourly rate of $105 per hour, the state-set rate for representing indigent felons on appeal in California, to keep them completely confidential.)

In advance of this multi-faceted exhibition and performance, Place spoke with Westword about the idea of confession and what it means to experience guilt -- even when there is no reason or cause for that guilt.

See also:
- Poet Serena Chopra on contemporary loneliness and her first full-length book
- Artist Maya Gurantz on textual pornography and her installation The Whore's Dialogue
- BMoCA seeks reminders of your once-broken heart for the Museum of Broken Relationships

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Tobias Spellman

A scene from The Whore's Dialogue.

In Maya Gurantz's latest piece, The Whore's Dialogue, she presents a collection of stories about women -- but she also offers commentary on the role of women in the history of the pornographic tale in a very upfront and captivating way.

Gurantz will be leading a discussion on the exploration of how women acquire and transmit sexual knowledge at Thursday's closing installment of the Feminism & Co. series at MCA Denver. In advance of that event, Gurantz spoke to Westword about the in-depth research involved in her latest installation, and how 120 Days of Sodom as a text influenced the content in this multi-screen video piece.

See also:
- Professor Melinda Barlow talks boobs in film and Jayne Mansfield's genius IQ
- 100 Colorado Creatives: Feminism & Co. co-curator Elissa Auther
- Artist Ellina Kevorkian on taking the academia out of art and growing up a Gilman Street punk

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Truth or Dare: A Play Date with Kidrobot, an eye-catching and puckishly irreverent exhibition, continues through April 14 at Next Gallery. Curated by local artists as well as Veronica and Dan Ma, Truth or Dare gleefully eschews the false dichotomy between fine art and toys while celebrating the ingenuity of local artists and the interactive appeal of Kidrobot designs.

Kidrobot, which recently moved its base of operations from New York to Boulder, is attempting to reach out and make inroads into the Denver arts community -- and it seems to be succeeding.

See also:
- Getting freaky at Next Gallery
- Best Collectible Toy Store 2013: Kidrobot
- Kidrobot, relocating to Boulder, makes best stoner toys ever

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Burke Raby

Lucas Richards and his Cuddly Cryptozoological Creations.

Lucas Richards, creator of the Horndribbles, is ready to take his project to the next level. Initially, each Horndribble functioned like a unique soft sculpture; now Richards hopes to cut down on the labor involved in this labor of love in order to introduce the toys to a new generation.

Westword caught up with Richards in advance of Return of the Horndribbles, an event slated for April 15 at the Children's Museum, where he and his partner, Devon Braun of Explorer's Playground, will debut a story book and a line of Horndribbles manufactured for sale as toys. An RSVP is requested, as space is limited; visit the Facebook event page to let them know you're coming.

See also:
- Wild Ones: The Horndribbles will satisfy your animal urges
- Horndribbles Sexy Beast T-Shirt Bash
- Toot Your Own Horndribble

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All photos by Kate Gibbons.

Artist Candy Chang speaks with members of the Community Coordinating District.

Before I Die, an art installation that encourages people to create a communal bucket list, has been standing in the northwest corner of Civic Center Park since January -- and yesterday, Candy Chang, its creator, came for a visit.

The New Orleans artist first conceived of Before I Die after she lost someone she loved; after going through a self-described "period of grief," she says she wanted to do something to beautify her neighborhood and inspire people. She focused her efforts on a nearby abandoned house.

See also:
- 100 Colorado Creatives: Terri Bell, artist/gallerist at tbellphotographic
- Paul Michel will unleash The Fanciest Tiger at Fancy Tiger's Civilized Living tomorrow
- Artist Ellina Kevorkian on taking the academia out of art and growing up a Gilman Street punk

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Katelyn Hall

This Saturday, April 6, Hooked on Colfax will donate its wall space to Local Goes Global, an evening devoted to raising money through art for a global health-focused nonprofit, Comunidades Unidas Peru. A student-run organization, CU Peru comprises volunteers from various schools at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Members have donated pieces for the show, and the proceeds from Saturday's sales will help them train health workers in the Peruvian Amazon this summer.

See also:
- Crowdfunding Corner: Lauri Lynnxe Murphy thinks art is for the bees
- Photos: Hooked on Colfax completes expansion, doubles capacity
- Flobots hawk collectibles on eBay to raise funds for its non-profit

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With his subtly satirical humor and deeply intricate ink drawings, Paul Michel creates stop-and-think images of layered, comedic art. He'll debut new work in The Fanciest Tiger, a show opening tomorrow at Civilized Living, the monthly First Friday event at Fancy Tiger Clothing.

In advance of that opening, we caught up with the local illustrator to chat about graphic design, poking fun at mainstream America, and differences between Denver and Portland.

See also:
- Lucky 13: Matthew Brown of Fancy Tiger
- Womenswear Wednesdays: Ryan Bailey on his gothic-decadence fashion sense
- Scary monsters and sideshow freaks in Daniel Crosier's Showdevils

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The plane lands in Aspen at a quarter after four; I'm late. Outside the terminal, which doubles as a café for sharp-dressed skiers and businessmen, D.J. Watkins is waiting in his heavy-breathing '89 Subaru Legacy. The 29-year-old Kansas native moved to Aspen five years ago, determined to preserve Hunter S. Thompson's legacy by wrangling art inspired by the writer's journalistic exploits and hanging it in a building that he's dubbed the Gonzo Museum that he's now being forced out of. The museum has to close by April 1; there's not a moment to waste. So we start talking as the Suburu cruises south on highway 82.

In profile, Watkins looks much like Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson. He wears a pair of matte-black Ray-Ban sunglasses, in the fashion of Annie Hall and John Lennon, and his beard is speckled with a mélange of red, gray and white hairs. He's soft-spoken, with the twang of an intellectual Maui surfer, and as he tells his story, he chooses his words very carefully.

See also:
- NORML presents Hunter S. Thompson media award to "Denver Westworld"
- Marilyn Manson on post-Columbine threats and Hunter S. Thompson being the worst possible father figure in the best way
- Gonzo: Ben Corbett gets weird with Hunter S. Thompson

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With her blog Violet Against Women, Los Angeles-based artist Ellina Kevorkian explores how she informs and presents her own identity through online curation. Kevorkian, who was commissioned by MCA Denver to expound upon Violet Against Women: Confronting Notions of the Feminine, a collection of live performances that she presented in Los Angeles in 2010, will be in town for tomorrow night's installment of Feminism & Co. at MCA Denver -- which focuses on feminist bloggers.

In advance of that event, Kevorkian spoke with Westword about the state of feminism in 2013, and her work as an artist in the contemporary art world.

See also:
- 100 Colorado Creatives: Feminism & Co. co-curator Elissa Auther
- Scholar and fighter L.A. Jennings talks feminism in the world of Mixed Martial Arts
- Artist Rachelle Beaudoin on Kathleen Hanna's "Slut" proclamation and co-opted sexuality

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