Contestants Sought for 6th Annual Park Hill Alley Art Contest
By Jack and Pam Farrar
Have you installed or contributed to an interesting bit of art in an alley in northeast Denver, or do you know someone who has? If so, let us know and we’ll make sure the work is considered in the 2013 Park Hill Alley Art Contest.
Great prizes will be presented to winners, including a custom piece by stained glass artist David Wilson. Other prizes will be donated by local merchants and institutions.
Last year, two winners emerged: a mural based on van Gogh’s iconic The Starry Night on the east wall of the garage behind John and Jamie Higgins’ bungalow at 2800 Magnolia and a mural with a hybrid Dia de los Muertos and Zen theme on the north side of the garage behind the house of Sal and Molly Bertolone at 1578 Jasmine.
Art eligible for judging by our highly-educated and sophisticated judging committee can include: natural art, such as gardens; person-made art such as paintings, sculptures or other types of installations behind residences; or art in public or quasi-public spaces. The art and/or garden has to be clearly visible from the alley. You don’t need to contact us to be eligible (we’re already driving up and down alleys), but it will assure that your masterpiece is “appraised.”
The judging committee will be looking at alley art through September and winners will be profiled in the October issue of the Greater Park Hill News.
To let us know about your alley art (or someone else’s), contact Jack and Pam Farrar at 303-388-5204 or denverfarrar@comcast.net.
Alley Art Criteria
• Originality
• Humor
• Creative or surprising use of materials
• Color
• Irony
• Hidden meaning
• Weirdness
• Collaboration with other alley neighbors
• Improvement of an otherwise shabby location (bus stops, abandoned lots, etc.)
• Nifty integration of natural and manmade stuff
Past Alley Art Finalists
• 2645 Clermont. An eclectic (and Celtic) collection of pieces constructed of stone, masonry and metal.
• 2619 Clermont. A portfolio of odd junk/found items, some with political messages, from every imaginable type of recycled material.
• 2212 Hudson. Creative masonry pieces, including Kokopelli themes, and great use of old window frames.
• 2080 Dexter. An expanding constellation of tennis shoes.
• 2372 Cherry. Peter Max-like mural.
• 1560 Ivy. Hundreds of plastic figures.
• 2257 Ash. Sunflowers, etc. on garage door.
• 2073 Holly. Moose mural.
• Entire alley between Holly and Hudson, from 22nd to Montview. More than 60 pieces.