Octopus Initiative
Have you ever looked at a work of contemporary art in a museum and wanted to bring it home? Well, now’s your chance.
Have you ever looked at a work of contemporary art in a museum and wanted to bring it home? Well, now’s your chance. MCA Denver’s Octopus Initiative is offering any resident of the Denver metro area the chance to borrow and live with a work of art made by a Denver-based artist for ten months. FOR FREE. You in?
Our Spring lottery is curated by our Senior Art Preparator and one of the leaders of our install team, Mike Howard. Mike’s been installing art at MCA Denver since 2018 and done everything from suspending a latex-coated apple tree from the ceiling, to unpacking and staging hundreds of used baby strollers. From gently hanging one of Bo Diddley’s original guitars, to mixing and constructing a full adobe dance floor. He’s installed art all over the state of Colorado and was part of the install team of Prospect.6 in New Orleans, selections of which will be in view at MCA during our summer exhibition.
An artist in his own right, Mike currently has two pieces at Squirm Gallery as part of Cigarette: A Group Art Show and was part of our Staff Art Show last summer, Look at Me Now. His artwork was part of The Nail That Sticks Up at the Buffalo Exchange Gallery, as well as at various group shows including at Lane Myers Project’s Mudd Club Tribute. He’s incredibly excited and honored to share his Octopus selections with you!
So, get ready, get registered, and start hearting your favorites. We can’t wait to lend you an artwork from the Octopus Initiative collection!
Next lottery opens April 21, 2025!
How it works
Sign Up
Are you a Denver metro area resident? Yes. Then create an account to start favoriting works of art.
Heart your art
Just press the “Heart” to add works of art to your list of favorites.
Get Lucky
Winners are randomly selected through a lottery for each and every work of art.
Meet the artists
George P. Perez View Profile
George P. Perez explores mundane situations and day-to-day scenarios in his artwork. Utilizing everyday images and unconventional processes, he creates 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.
