DENVER — The Center on Colfax and Rocky Mountain College of Arts and Design partnered to host an art contest called "The Words We Teach...", highlighting Denver LGBTQ+ history with local middle, high school, and higher education art students.
“I partnered with the Center on Colfax, and specifically David Duffield, who is an organizer of this contest, to think about the ways in which we can build, you know, institutional connections,” Stephanie Kang, RMCAD Assistant Professor of Art History said.
“So we decided that we wanted to create a contest that was ultimately about highlighting LGBTQIA+ histories in Denver that often just get overlooked or ignored in official histories,” Kang said. “One of which was the history of the Gay Coalition of Denver.” Recent Denver East High School graduate Madelyn Arnold was a contest winner who depicted the Gay Defense Coalition and De Soto in her artwork.“When I saw her mug shot, one of the only pictures of her, she just like really looked really angelic,” Arnolds aid. “I'm also a trans person, and it's not really safe to be a trans person. In Colorado and Denver, it is a lot more acceptable. And I’m really glad I moved here, because that's when I really discovered the queer community.