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All of the lights: The story behind the artsy projections illuminating the 16th Street Mall

Night Lights Denver projects art onto the Daniels and Fisher Tower on the 16th Street Mall.
Credit: DBJ

DENVER — Walking along Denver’s 16th Street Mall, nearing the Daniels and Fisher Tower — the historic landmark with a clock on top — you may sense movement where you wouldn't expect it: on the side of that very building.

Mixed with the movement is color: reds, blues, purples, greens, yellows — a giant woman with red glasses and purple hair. She fades and gives way to another woman riding a blue horse flying through fluffy clouds. The visuals are continual; they grab you by your collar. You must look. You’re transfixed.

The good news: You’re not hallucinating. The better news: Enjoying art in Denver just got easier.

You’re watching Night Lights Denver, a new exhibit from Denver Theatre District, a nonprofit that offers art and culture for a 16-block area of downtown, designed to take you by surprise. Mission accomplished.

“You don’t normally see artwork on a 10-story building while you’re walking around downtown,” David Ehrlich, DTD's executive director, told Denver Business Journal. “People love it. They like that it’s a little surprise.”

Little? Not really. In fact, it’s kind of a big deal. Denver is the second city in the U.S. to have permanent projection art — Chicago was first. And of course, the canvas is big, too: 40 feet by 140 feet.

That's a lot of room for local, national and international artists to project their work — free to the public every Thursday through Saturday from 6:15 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. New art is added monthly.

>Read more at the Denver Business Journal

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