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CHAC opens new headquarters

CREATIVE| Painting by Alicia Cárdenas owned by Alfredo “Al” Cardenas. (Pictures/ El Comercio de Colorado)

COMMUNITY HONORS THE WORK OF ALICIA CÁRDENAS

Newsroom El Comercio de Colorado

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Two new galleries celebrate Colorado’s Chicano and Hispanic art community.

The Chicano Humanities and Art Council (CHAC) is hosting its grand opening for its new headquarters with an exhibition. In April, CHAC moved its gallery from the Santa Fe Arts District to a new location in Lakewood. The great paradox is that CHAC contributed tremendously to turning the aforementioned artistic district and its first Friday into a “fashionable” place, but gentrification displaced them.

CHAC is an institution that has been a protagonist in the Denver art scene for almost half a century. This organization is proud to have contributed to preserving, educating, exhibiting, and reflecting the Chicano, Hispanic, and multiracial essence that characterizes Colorado. The opening of this new location represents an opportunity for CHAC to ratify its commitment to promote new and established artists from multicultural and multiracial communities.

BIG FORMAT| Painting collaborated by Kaycy Jonez and Alicia Cardenas.

Tribute to an influential artist

CHAC’s first exhibition in its new location has a special meaning. This exhibit is dedicated to the late Alicia Cárdenas, who was a noted artist in the Denver community. Cárdenas passed away after being the victim of a shooting at her “Sol Tribe” tattoo shop in December 2021. The exhibit, “A Journey Through the Generations,” will honor all the work she did CHAC.

“Cárdena helped bridge the gap between the younger artists and the older established artists in CHAC. She was always bringing in younger artists to the gallery. We want to make sure we pass the torch and that the younger artists feel welcome.” says Rebecca Rozales, artistic director of CHAC.

PORTRAIT| Alicia by her father Alfredo.

A partner gallery

IN LAKEWOOD| The new CHAC headquarters.

Those who visit the new CHAC headquarters before August 21 will be able to enjoy a mural that honors Cárdenas. Along with this work you will also be able to appreciate several other works by different local artists. Many of these works have already been exhibited at CHAC’s partner gallery, “Art Contained del Sol”, a studio made of shipping containers, converted into a flexible space for artists to create and display their work.

“With these two galleries we want to have a safe space for members of the community to create. We have to give them opportunities that we didn’t have before,” says Rozales. “Art Contained del Sol” was created thanks to the Chicano art community. Rozales explained how members of her family and her community came together to create this space. The current exhibition, “Artista Femminista,” will be available until June 30.