Denver Arts & Venues Announces DenverPublicArt.org Contest

Denver Arts & Venues has announced the re-launch of the DenverPublicArt.org contests, encouraging exploration of the interactive website.

"DenverPublicArt.org was built with user participation in mind," explained Michael Chavez, Denver Public Art program manager. "You can search the entire collection from your desktop computer or smartphone. The website offers location-based maps, so you can find public art near you, or you can search the collection by neighborhood, artist, title or art type. You can even create a custom profile to build and share personal galleries of your favorite Denver Public Art pieces."

Contestants can earn points on the website in several ways including creating a profile, saving favorite artworks, checking in at an artwork, sharing artworks and more. Points will be tallied on the DenverPublicArt.org website May 1 through May 31, and one winner and two runners-up will be selected. The website user with the most points at the end of the month will win two eight-inch replicas of "I See What You Mean" (colloquially known as the Big Blue Bear at Colorado Convention Center), a copy of "Beyond Blue: Denver's Public Art Collection" (a 171-page print guide to the Denver Public Art collection), a private tour for two at Demiurge Design (a Denver-based sculptural and architectural design and fabrication firm), and a meet and greet with the Demiurge team. Two runners-up will each receive a replica of "I See What You Mean."

"Denver Public Art has given so much to the development of Demiurge LLC over the past 20+ years that it's not even a question to participate in this contest and offer a tour of our facilities to give the lucky winner some insight into the monumental effort it takes to create large-scale sculptures," said Joe Riche, Demiurge owner. "No telling what we will have in the shop come April, but it's assured to be exciting."

Demiurge has helped create many of Denver's most iconic and recognizable monumental sculptures including "Sun Spot" at Denver Municipal Animal Shelter, "Albedo" at Denver Botanic Gardens "Mine Craft" at McNichols Civic Center Building and "Iridescent Cloud" at Denver Museum of Nature and Science among others.

"This contest encourages people to explore the Denver Public Art collection online and in person," Chavez continued. "With so many pieces in the collection, people are sure to discover new and hidden gems as they explore."

Contest participants can earn points by:

• Creating a profile at DenverPublicArt.org
• Saving their favorite pieces to their online collection
• Curating personal galleries online
• Using the website to share art with friends
• Visiting pieces in the Denver Public Art collection and checking-in at the artwork through the website
• Building their own online self-guided tours

Winners will be notified via email at the email address associated with their DenverPublicArt.org account.