AURORA | There’s more to the Aurora Cultural Arts District than eight urban blocks in northwest Aurora.
At least, that’s the hope of Bob Hagedorn, president of the ACAD Board of Directors and longtime community activist.
For the past year, Hagedorn and a slew of other city lever-pullers have been lobbying to export the ACAD’s myriad cultural commodities to other areas of the city via temporary, pop-up galleries and markets.
“The idea is to develop means and ways so that the Aurora Cultural Arts District can be a citywide arts district,” said Hagedorn, who is a former state senator. “We don’t consider ourselves just an Urban Aurora, or just an Original Aurora or just an A-Town arts district. We consider our neighbors a constituency.”
At its core, the initiative is intended to entice local creatives to display their work in the city’s many abandoned storefronts and strip malls for a set, yet abbreviated amount of time — anywhere from one-day markets to weekend events that could occupy a space for an entire year, according to Hagedorn. Although potential finances are murky, Hagedorn aims to have the business owners front the costs for utilities and liability insurance, while neighborhood volunteers would operate the nonpermanent bohemian pods.
“This is not something we’re trying to make any money on,” Hagedorn said. “It’s a way to bring art to other places.”
But gaining support in both city hall and the Aurora business community has become an increasingly thorny task for Hagedorn and others involved in the project. Despite finding several viable businesses across the city that could, in theory, host artists, Hagedorn said business owners have been skeptical to assent to the idea.
“I was a little disappointed that everybody essentially wanted to lease the places,” Hagedorn said. “This is something we’re obviously only going to be able to do if there is interest in it…it’s a project that I thought would have had a lot more initial interest.”
Hagedorn said that the ACAD has not hosted any pop-up-style art events outside of the north Aurora district since he initially pitched the idea more than a year ago.
Recently, Hagedorn was shot down by a string of possible businesses within the Havana Business Improvement District on South Havana Street, the owners of which cited a bullish commercial market as a reason for showing disinterest in the proposal. Gayle Jetchick, executive director of the Havana BID, said that the commercial real estate market is simply too hot for business owners to consider giving away any space for free.
“We couldn’t pull it off,” Jetchick said. “Unfortunately, along Havana we don’t have much space and (business owners) can lease their space for as much as $30 a square foot. And if they can get that kind of money, they’re not going to give it away for free.”
Jetchick said that business owners also identified the need to purchase additional liability insurance and the quagmire of navigating extra business licenses as reasons for vetoing the pop-up proposition.
Any pop-up operators would require a general city business license, according to Trevor Vaughn, manager of the city’s tax and licensing division. He said a license currently runs for $39.25.
Red tape aside, some local creatives have taken the pop-up initiative and the prospect of temporarily filling vacancies within the ACAD itself into their own hands. Satya Wimbish, owner of The Collection gallery on East Colfax Avenue and ACAD vice president, recently announced that she aims to host a one-day, pop-up style event at the gallery later this month. The gathering, entitled “Pop-up Eats,” will feature several food trucks and artwork from a slew of local creatives, according to Wimbish.
“Hopefully it goes well and we can do it more frequently,” she said. “One of the things we don’t have in the district is restaurants, and this event is a way to address that issue and do something fun and different.”
Wimbish said that she is working with a Denver-based art vendor to navigate the necessary licenses for the show. Going forward, she said that she would be willing to expand her efforts and address the concerns of weary property managers in an attempt to persuade them to host art events in other areas of the city.
“If it’s something people like, I’d be more than willing to work with the business owners, address their concerns and try to do some shows and get other spaces activated,” Wimbish said.
The forthcoming event at The Collection is slated to run from 1 to 7 p.m. on March 19.