The Biennial of the Americas is one of Denver’s more globally-minded organizations, and certainly one of its most adventurous. For a decade now, it’s been activating real-world connections between folks in Colorado and their hemispheric peers up and down the two continents.
"Agua, Sustento y Vida,” by Juls_Mendoza is part of the “Double Vision” exhibit at the Biennial of the Americas 2025 Festival. (Provided by the Biennial of the Americas)The biennial’s work can be as serious as a summit of political leaders from across the region or as playful as a group trip to an art fair in Mexico City or Toronto, Havana or Santiago. It also knows how to throw a great party, understanding that interesting people can bond equally as well across conference tables discussing business as they can over a shot of mezcal sharing their life stories.
The biennial stays loose — and that’s the secret behind its many successes.
And speaking of mezcal … that will certainly be part of the fare for the 2025 Biennial of the Americas Festival, which starts its run downtown on Oct. 15. The event is smaller and more concentrated than past biennial fests, and definitely more locally-minded. But it has plenty of the organization’s trademark spirit of adventure — with opportunities to see art, shop, watch performances and have a cocktail.
There is a lot of free fun to be had through Oct. 26, including the main event, a Party on the Plaza, set for 2 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18. (Check the website for more details.)
The overall festival might be best described as a pop-up of pop-ups, taking over seven vacant storefronts at Writer Square, the retail center in LoDo that is partially closed as it undergoes renovations. The shops are there, and empty, so the developer is turning them over to the biennial for its fest. There is a sizable public plaza in the middle that also will be used as a gathering space.
The biennial invited local creatives to occupy the spaces and, by and large, do whatever they wanted. So, the offerings are all over the map. Among them:
“Double Vision,” a group art exhibition culled from the Biennial’s Culture Club, a membership group that participates in outings across the Front Range, and which also happens to include some of the region’s more interesting artists. On the roster: Diego Florez-Arroyo, Marcos Acosta, Moe Gram, Mario Zoots, Juls Mendoza, Markus Puskar, Saul Acevedo Gomez, and others.The show is being curated by Esther Hernandez, who programs the Union Hall art space downtown. The title, she said, came from the idea that people from across the Americas often move around from place to place, seeing things from multiple perspectives depending on their backgrounds. It evolved from her personal experiences.
Among the fare in “Double Vision” will be “Green Peaks,” by Sergio Noé Perez-Reyes. (Provided by the Biennial of the Americas)“I’m Mexican and Native American, and I’m also white and grew up in different kinds of families,” she said. “A lot of us are between two places at one time in terms of identity.”
That same cross-cultural mix is driving many of the attractions. A team led by Bobby LeFebre, Colorado’s former poet laureate, is turning one of the storefronts into a space that “seeks to dissolve the boundaries between gallery, bar and ritual space.” But the fuel for the activation is mezcal — with guided mezcal tastings, curated cocktails, performances and more. The concept store M68, which promotes emerging brands from across Latin America, will also set up on site, which means shopping opportunities for fashion, jewelry and home decor from lines such as GAG, Studio Conchita, Nudd, Hoseu, Blobb and others. Artist Jonathan Saiz is setting up CANDY STORE, described as “an experimental exhibition featuring thousands of miniature and affordable artworks by over 20 Colorado artists.” The show features collabs with Julio Alejandro, James Holmes, Collin Parson, Shadows Gather, Joel Swanson and more.Other storefronts will feature an immersive work of digital art by Esteban Azuela and a reading room covered in grass — actual grass — set up by the local design firm Matter, which specializes in graphic art and printmaking.
Located inside an empty dance studio will be Liberation Movement, an experimental space organized by Allegra Giddings and Adam Geluda Gildar, which promises live music, visual art, workshops, dance and interactive experiences led by local artists and activists.
“I’ve always wanted to see more spaces for creatives, artists, movers and healers to kind of collaborate and perform and support each other,” Giddings said. “And so we are going to create a mini-version of that here for two weeks.”
Among the events already planned for the space: a surprise album drop by a local musician, and sessions with a “yoga teacher who does this rhythmic metamorphosis method where she DJ’s and does synchronized movement to the beat,” as Giddings explained it.
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The 2025 fest is a super casual affair overall, and visitors can make what they want of it. It can be a quick stop or a place to hang out. The point — as with everything produced by the Biennial of the Americas — is to create those connections between interesting people.
IF YOU GO
The fest will be open daily from noon “until late” Oct. 15-26. Writers Square is located at 1512 Larimer St. Check the organization’s website for more details: biennialoftheamericas.org/2025-festival.
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