AFTERNOON SALOON: A MEMBERS-ONLY PROGRAM JUST FOR YOU

It's time to cool down with another Afternoon Saloon on Wednesday, August 26, 2020 from 4-4:30pm!

Afternoon Saloon will be featuring a look at one of the delicious cocktails available at Denver Distillery. Denver Distillery is located in the historic Baker neighborhood and specializes in handcrafted cocktails made with in-house distilled alcohols, but also a curated collection of local spirits, beer, wine, hard ciders, and Rocky Mountain sodas. 

Following our delicious beverage, we will host a conversation with two of MCA Denver's incredibly talented Octopus Initiative Artists, George P. Perez and Sierra Montoya Barela, about their process and journey through creating work during a pandemic on our virtual program.

In addition, one lucky viewer will win the opportunity to hold onto the art work, 5' After Some Reflection by George P. Perez, for ten months in their own home or office. In order to win, you must be a Denver metro resident and attend the Afternoon Saloon during the broadcast! All other Octopus Initiative rules apply and you can visit the complete list and learn more about the program here. 

What's Afternoon Saloon? It’s sort of like an old fashioned salon where people like artists, makers, and creators gather to engage in some meaningful, educational discussions. We’ve taken that concept and (we think) made it more fun by turning that salon into a saloon and featuring a cool Denver bartender too. So, let’s drink and get smart together.  

A little about the artists:

George P. Perez

George P. Perez received his BFA in 2014 from the University of Colorado, Boulder and currently resides in Denver. He was a resident artist at RedLine Contemporary Art Center from 2014 to 2016. He also completed a residency at the Denver Children’s Museum in January of 2018, where he created a collaborative artwork for the museum’s permanent collection. Perez is part of M12, an award-winning interdisciplinary group of artists that explores the aesthetics of rural cultures and landscapes. He has also served as a Photo Facilitator for the Berkeley, California-based group Working Assumptions.

As an artist, Perez often explores ephemera from daily life. Discarded photographs are his primary source material. He appropriates these images to create collages, installations, and sculptures. In the body of work he produced for the Octopus Initiative, he mined his archive of found photographs for those with stereotypical sentimental characteristics. He alternately undermines and emphasizes the photographs' nostalgic qualities by tearing, scanning, and rearranging them. As he understands it, this process is akin to textile weaving. The works explore the hackneyed conventions and personal nuances found in these inexpensive, increasingly anachronistic artifacts. 

Sierra Montoya Barela

Barela earned a BFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2015 and was an Artist-In-Residence at the Vermont Studio Center and the Horned Dorset Colony that year. Recently, her work has been included in group and solo exhibitions at Yes Ma’am Projects, Gildar Gallery, and the Open Shelf Library at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver.

Montoya Barela’s practice combines painting, sculpture, collage, and printmaking in an exploration of the figure as an unidentified subject. At times, the works are diagrammatic and instructional in nature. Many combine references to both digital tools and traditional, perceptual painting.

Members reserve your spot today by shooting us an email here.

And if you aren't yet a member, join today so you can join us for the event!