All over Denver, the vibrant energy of summer finds a home in art galleries and museum experiences across the city. Denver’s art scene comes to this occasion by breaking the rules of how traditional art and museum exhibits look and feel. Check out our guide to the immersive art experiences you need to see this season.
FRESH
Photo Courtesy of The Unreal Garden
Where: Denver Pavilions, 500 16th St Mall, Denver
Cost: $24.99 – $29.99
The low point: FRESH is a new virtual reality experience run by Enklu on the second floor of the Denver Pavilions. The VR experience immerses guests in art through audio headsets and augmented reality displays.
The Denver experience first opened in April 2022 with VERSE – The art of the future† a digital art gallery that displays NFTs – non-fungible tokens – through the use of virtual reality headsets.
on June 15, The unreal garden opened in the same room. This experience allows guests to enter a fantastic neon garden and an underwater world full of hidden crystal gems, interactive stories and aliens – such as a huge glowing snail. The unreal garden welcomes visitors of all ages over the age of five to try out their immersive experience that blurs the lines between reality and technology.
Mazes and brain games
Photo Courtesy of Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Where: Denver Museum of Nature and Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd, Denver
Cost: $14.95 for youth, $19.95 for adults
The low point: At the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the Mazes and brain games exhibition also has a kid friendly environment.
The traveling exhibit, which opened in May and will run through September 25, offers mazes of all types and levels of difficulty to activate the brain during the summer holidays.
“It works the brain through puzzles, games and illusions. There are even puzzles within puzzles,” said Kelsi Cowan, program coordinator at DMNS. “We’re trying to avoid the summer shift by training our brains.”
Operated by Minatuar Mazes, the experience seeks to entertain each guest in a new and unique way through maze-themed artwork, finger mazes, floor mazes, and a private maze area. The main act of the experience is The Maze of Illusions – a huge indoor labyrinth full of visual illusions and dead ends.
“There’s definitely something for everyone,” Cowan said. “It is not a traditional exhibition, but an experience. It’s more about playing than big chunks of information.”
For the DMNS, this distinction is important. The museum is constantly looking for ways to adapt exhibitions and experiences to their space.
“we try to make” [the exhibits] better through interactive elements such as adding actors and volunteers or by locating them in our environment,” explains Cowan. Although Mazes and Brain Games still has a few months of playing time left, she is already looking forward to the next experience of the DMNS.
Public Art Tours in Denver
Photo Courtesy of Denver Arts and Venues
Where: Various locations in Denver
Cost: $5
The low point: Beyond galleries and museums, immersive arts have also hit the streets of Denver in the form of: Public Art Tours in Denver offered through Denver Arts & Venues and the Public Arts Program. The program offers both guided and self-guided tours, including virtual art experiences and a self-guided art walk from Paco Sanchez Park to the Denver Animal Shelter.
The tours provide insight into public art installations in Denver’s neighborhoods, including City Park, Golden Triangle, and the 16th Street Mall. The tours run monthly at 6:00 PM during the summer months. Tickets can be reserved on their website. Children 10 years and under are free.
Other art experiences
Beyond these experiences, the Denver area offers several other immersive events, each with its own individually unique approaches to art and culture. THE END: A bus tour of Denver’s climate future is an equal parts gig and educational tour of Denver’s changing climate scene. Earth lit: dark modean interactive photography experience also in the Denver Pavilions, invites technology into art with colorful neon sets designed for photo shoots.
However you want to see art come to life, there is a way to do it in Denver.