Introductory Adult Workshop

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afa-adult-workshops

Reigniting Your Creative Genius

The Phoenix Rising process is designed to allow participants to recognize their inherent creative power and how perception affects our identity and our reality. Art from Ashes uses the latest research in left-brain/right-brain functioning and the role of creativity in transformation to encourage participants to access the creative subconscious and the power available through artistic expression.
:: Saturdays from 11 am to 12.30 pm, April 22 – June 3 with Catherine O’Neill Thorn (skipping May 20)

First Friday – March

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Recurring Event (See all)

FirstFriday-postcard 2015Join us every First Friday in Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe for youth spoken word performances at different venues on Santa Fe Dr. between 6.30 and 7 p.m. (during summer we will be performing on the corner of 9th and Santa Fe).

Much more than a public performance, youth gather at Art from Ashes at 4.30 for a FREE one-hour Phoenix Rising writing wordshop, followed at 5.30 by a FREE 45-minute performance workshop, featuring a local performance poet. All youth are welcome; pizza provided.

AfA facilitators and local artists/performers guide the youth through poetry writing prompts and spoken word presentations to prepare them for their community performances.

Contact Courtney Chandler, Director of Programs at Art from Ashes for more information.

All Sacred February Fundraiser

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tattoosforgood_februaryGet tattooed for a cause! All Sacred Tattoo kicks off its 2017 fundraising with the first event of the year. Come to Tattoos for Good, featuring 17 artists from eight different studios!

Get the tattoo you’ve always wanted, and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Art from Ashes and two other local charities.

Call ahead for appointments, and be sure to join the Facebook event here.

Brighton Image Summit

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Art from Ashes is excited to partner with the City of Brighton for their upcoming “Image Summit” on Thursday March 2, 2017 at The Armory Cultural Center.

The mission of the Image Summit conference is to empower youth, build confidence, teach leadership, and inspire young people to use their voices to impact their communities and policy governance.

Art from Ashes’ newest program, Drawing on Air, will be offered at this event for ten mini ‘breakout sessions’ for hundreds of youth attendees from all over Colorado, ages 10-19.

AfA Partners With DU Students

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Programs_ApostropheHover_160x100Exciting things to come! Staff members Courtney Chandler and Veronica Holyfield have been in collaboration with students from the Daniel’s School of Business at the University of Denver. As part of their master’s program scope of work, classes have dispatched into groups and sought out local non-profit organizations in need as part of their social good challenge.

Art from Ashes has been selected as one of the lucky recipients of this support of business-minded ingenuity with specialization in marketing and development strategy. Currently under construction is a revamping of the corporate workshop concept Apostrophe Factor 2.0, which is set to launch trials in spring.

We’re looking forward to seeing success in sponsorship through business alliances while utilizing the spectacular Phoenix Rising and Drawing on Air curriculum!

House Lighting

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lightsOn First Friday on March 3rd at 6 pm, Art from Ashes will hold a house lighting…like a housewarming, just with more, well light.

We want to keep our new home filled with love and light, so we are asking that everyone bring something that generates, photosynthesizes, reflects or refracts light. What does that look like? Floor lamps (we need a few!), crystals, plants, faerie lights, strings of lights, Chinese lanterns, or any other delightful gift that will bring more love and light to our new home. And of course, the youth will perform. So you get light right back!

As always, there will be amazing performances from youth in our community. Our young people have put their soul on a page to share it with you. Miss Angela Nicole will be the MC for the evening.

We are so excited for everyone to see our new home! We’ve moved, we’ve organized, we’ve settled in and we’re finally ready for company.

There is plenty of parking on the street (meters expire after 6 pm) or you can take advantage of Denver’s light rail service since our new home is conveniently located half a block north of the Osage Light Rail Station.

If you would like to see some of our past First Friday performers go to our Youtube channel here.

First Friday Details:
Where: 1310 W 10th Ave Denver, CO 80204
When: Friday, March 3, 2017 from 6 to 7.30 pm
What to bring: Anything that generates, absorbs, or reflects light. Also bring lots of enthusiasm for the youth who are performing.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone there! If you’d like to sign up on Facebook, please go here; if you’d like to help by bringing wine or appetizers, please go here.

AfA Youth Write Dreams on a Prayer Wheel

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Prayer Wheel (in progress)by Courtney Chandler

On July 11, 2016, Art from Ashes partnered with Arts Street and artist Deborah Jang to facilitate a workshop dedicated to a Denver-based community art project called Turn It Around. As a collaborative effort for this project, the group of youth at Arts Street and AfA’s drop-in workshops wrote oodles of prayers, in the form of 3-minute poems and drawings, expressing their hopes and aspirations for the betterment of our community and furthering racial equality.

Jang created three interactive sculptures inspired by Tibetan prayer wheels for her Turn It Around project, funded by Art Students League of Denver. Each hand-written youth poem was physically placed on the inside of one of the prayer wheel sculptures, which was just installed on February 10, 2017 at the light-rail station located at 10th Avenue and Osage Street—half a block away from AfA’s new office!

Next time you stop by our agency, be sure to spin the prayer wheel and spread our youth’s poetic love for our community.

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Alysa

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Alysa is an amazing student from Endeavor Academy who has worked through issues of self-esteem and body image in the Phoenix Rising workshops. Halfway through the workshop series, she came up to a facilitator after class and said she had an idea for an incredible performance piece, and wanted to perform it for her classmates. Alysa was the guest artist for her workshop this past week, and she dazzled the room with her inspiring poem and her radiant beauty – with AND without makeup. We love and honor our youths’ powerful voices!

Ivan’s First Performance

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IvanIvan Villegas, 16, walked in the packed auditorium of Cherry Creek High School on February 4th and immediately wanted to leave. He told AfA Program Manager, MJ Smart, that he wouldn’t have agreed to perform if he knew how big the audience would be. There were roughly 250 people filling the room. The energy was high and people were anxious for the opening ceremony of the Diversity Fair to begin.

Ivan, keen to the energy of the room, started searching for a way to get out of his performance. Luckily, he was calmed by the confidence MJ and youth poet, Rachel Icolari, shared with him. Sweaty and shaky, Ivan jumped up out of his seat in the first row when the em cee called his name. He scurried across the stage, grabbed the mic free from the em cee and drew in a deep breathe.

With the confidence of a seasoned performer, Ivan introduced himself to the hundreds of spectators before him. “My poem is titled ‘Diversity,’ and it goes like this…”

Ivan knocked it out of the park! His piece was powerful and timely, and perfect for the event! The inspiration for Ivan’s piece came from his experience at Slam Nuba, a local poetry slam that his workshop attended last month.

Ivan is a pleasure to work with and an inspiration to all he comes in contact with. Welcome to the Art from Ashes family, Ivan!