Denver Arts & Venues Screens SIQUEIROS: WALLS OF PASSION Plus Panel Discussion

Denver Arts & Venues announces a film screening of "Siqueiros: Walls of Passion" and a panel discussion with the Director and several local arts luminaries, Saturday, Oct. 19, 4:30-7 p.m. at McNichols Civic Center Building (144 W. Colfax Ave.)

"Siqueiros: Walls of Passion" is a one-hour documentary film about Mexican visual artist David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896-1974) and the resurrection of his Los Angeles mural "América Tropical." The mural, centered in the cradle of Los Angeles, was later championed by the Chicano movement as a symbol of its oppressed culture. One of the great Mexican artists of the 20th century and one of three great Mexican muralists (with Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco), Siqueiros was a controversy-stirring revolutionary and lifetime activist who lived with theatrical flair and painted on an epic scale.

"What I learned most from Siqueiros is that art needs to be liberated from the constraints of museums and galleries; art needs to populate our shared public space," said film director Miguel Picker. "Art has an essential role in inspiring us, making us think, question and understand our past and imagine our future. I'm excited to share Siqueros' vision with the people of Denver."

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with director Miguel Picker, Emanuel Martinez - a Denver muralist who collaborated with Siqueiros on "March of Humanity" in 1968, Claudia Moran - Executive Director of the Museo de las Americas, and Lucha Martinez de Luna - curator of "Para mi Pueblo: Chicano/a Muralists of Colorado" (on display at McNichols Building through Dec. 22). The discussion will be moderated by art writer, Michael Paglia.

The film screening and panel discussion will be held on the third floor of the McNichols Building, and is free and open to the public. Attendees are asked to please RSVP at Eventbrite.com.