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Year saw local creatives shine on canvas, on the stage \u2013 even on the screen<\/p>\n
From upper left going clockwise: Durangoan Jesse Ogle competed in season two of the Netflix reality show \u201cSquid Game: The Challenge”; \u201cVoices Inside My Head\u201d was an exhibit at Create Art & Tea that featured artwork and augmented reality by Tad Smith and poetry by mostly local poets headed up by Larry Bourland; Vadim Gluzman plays a solo at Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College during a past Music in the Mountains performance; and Local photographer Michael Lufty showed some of his best work during the inaugural Colorado Pro Photographer Showdown.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
As we wind down another trip around the sun, dear readers, let\u2019s take a look back at what the world of local Arts & Entertainment gave us in 2025. From cool art exhibits to a resident appearing in a Netflix series to saying goodbye, there was something new and exciting to report about every week.<\/p>\n
So, without further ado \u2013 and in no particular order \u2013 here are some of the stories that made 2025 a most artistic and entertaining year.<\/p>\n
Studio & Gallery on Main Avenue turned 15 this year. (Courtesy)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Studio & Gallery turns 15<\/p>\n
In March, Studio & Gallery celebrated its 15th birthday. The space at 1027 Main Ave. opened in March 2010, beginning as an artist studio, said Tim Kapustka, one of the four founders of the gallery (Carson Jones, Sarah Steppelman and Tirzah Camacho rounded out the group).<\/p>\n
\u201cStudio & pridefully is of the artist for the artist, and that\u2019s why I keep doing it, because I am a working artist and I benefit from being able to show my work in our gallery. But it\u2019s not the three owners and the 16 owners of the past. We do it for all of the artists, not just ourselves,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have this saying over our door, which I lifted from one of my heroes, Milton Glaser, it says, \u2018Art is work.\u2019 It\u2019s fun work a lot of times, but it\u2019s still work. But (it\u2019s) work that makes us feel like that\u2019s what we\u2019re here to do. I mean, you take art away from this town, it\u2019s a different town.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ava Allen, playing Persephone, Donovan Dolton, playing Hades, sing during rehearsal of the Durango High School Troupe 1096 production of Hadestown Teen Edition on Wednesday at the school. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/p>\n
\n Jerry McBride\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
DHS Troupe 1096 earns 12 Bobby G nominations<\/p>\n
When Durango High School Troupe 1096 staged \u201cHadestown: Teen Edition\u201d in April, everyone knew it was going to be a hit. And there was further validation: The Troupe was nominated for 12 Bobby G awards for the production.<\/p>\n
The annual Bobby G High School Theatre Awards \u2013 the Bobby Gs for those in the know \u2013 is put on through the Denver Center for Performing Arts and is focused on bringing schools across Colorado together to celebrate the amazing work educators and students are doing, Troupe 1096 Director Ben Mattson said. How it works, he said, is once a school registers with the organization, four adjudicators score the show on a variety of technical and performance categories, while providing in-depth feedback and giving workshops to students.<\/p>\n
And, according to the Bobby G awards list, DHS brought home the Outstanding Performance by a Chorus award.<\/p>\n
Durangoan Jesse Ogle competed in season two of the Netflix reality show \u201cSquid Game: The Challenge,\u201d which began streaming on Tuesday. (Courtesy of Netflix)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Musician, iAM MUSIC co-founder Jesse Ogle competes on \u2018Squid Game: The Challenge\u2019<\/p>\n
Nov. 7; If Player 058 looked familiar to you in Season Two of Netflix\u2019s \u201cSquid Game: The Challenge,\u201d it\u2019s because he was Durangoan Jesse Ogle, musician, co-founder and co-director of iAM Music. \u201cSquid Game: The Challenge,\u201d is a reality show based off the South Korean show \u201cSquid Game,\u201d which first aired on Netflix in 2021, and now has three seasons. It was created, written and directed by Hwang Donghyuk. In the show, contestants compete for a massive cash prize by playing children\u2019s games. The last contestant standing wins the purse.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would totally do it again. Absolutely,\u201d Ogle said of the grueling filming. \u201cYou know, it\u2019s not for everybody; you have to have a very strong constitution, and you cannot break under pressure. But the money is so good, right? It\u2019s like, Hey, would you want a chance to win $4.56 million and change your life forever, you know? Hell yeah, I\u2019m in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Costume Designer and Wardrobe Mistress for Merely Players JoAnn Nevils. Nevils, who was a longtime member of the company, died in March. (Courtesy of Merely Players)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Remembering those who left<\/p>\n
This year, we said goodbye to local creatives, including JoAnn Neviles and Kirk James.<\/p>\n
In April, Merely Players staged its production of \u201cGuys and Dolls\u201d in honor of company mainstay Nevils. On March 24, Nevils, 78, died after a short illness. As the highly creative costumer for Merely Players, she already had the look of the musical in hand, but didn\u2019t make it to opening night. The Players, under the leadership of its co-founders Mona Wood-Patterson and Charles Ford, plus Nevils\u2019 team rallied to finish what she couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoAnn\u2019s legacy is vast,\u201d Players co-founder Mona Wood-Patterson said. \u201cShe has left us with hundreds of costumes and many lessons, along with an example of a generous and kind spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Musician and artist Kirk James died Aug. 17 at age 61. (Facebook)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Local music legend, artist and pinstriper Kirk James died unexpectedly on Aug. 17 at age 61. His Kirk James Band was a mainstay, and his work as a pinstriper garnered him renown throughout the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cKirk touched the lives of so many people through his talents,\u201d his wife, Mary Jo James, said. \u201cHe was also very generous in donating his time and talent to many charities such as customizing items for raffles for the car clubs, donating panels for the toy run and a lot of other events needing a donation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVoices Inside My Head\u201d was an exhibit at Create Art & Tea that featured artwork and augmented reality by Tad Smith and poetry by mostly local poets headed up by Larry Bourland. (Courtesy)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u2018Voices Inside My Head\u2019 combines visual art, poetry, augmented reality<\/p>\n
Combining visual art, poetry and augmented reality, February saw a unique exhibit, \u201cVoices Inside My Head,\u201d open in the former Create Art & Tea space on Main Avenue. The exhibit featured paintings by artist Tad Smith (who is also manager of creative services for Ballantine Communications, which owns The Durango Herald)<\/em> and poems by mostly local poets, headed up by Larry Bourland.<\/p>\n The fun of the show wasn\u2019t just the cool paintings and the poetry next to each. Along with those is an augmented-reality component: A QR code accompanied each painting\/poem pair, and when scanned, viewers could hear the poem being read by its creator. Also, the image itself came to life, courtesy of an hourslong process Smith did for each with a handful of Adobe programs.<\/p>\n Vadim Gluzman plays a solo at Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College during a past Music in the Mountains performance. (Durango Herald file)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n Vadim Gluzman takes over as artistic director of Music in the Mountains<\/p>\n This summer, Vadim Gluzman took the helm as Music in the Mountains\u2019 fourth artistic director in the festival\u2019s 39 years. He follows in the footsteps of the late Mischa Semanitzky, who founded MitM in 1987 and retired in 2007. From 2008 to 2022, Greg Hustis acted as artistic director until Conductor Guillermo Figueroa filled both roles from 2022 to 2024, with Gluzman returning regularly as a soloist while his musical career skyrocketed.<\/p>\n \u201cI am deeply honored and excited to join Music in the Mountains as its artistic director,\u201d he said in an interview for violinist.com. \u201cFor me, this appointment is truly a full-circle moment.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFour Corners Voices,\u201d an anthology created by the Four Corners Writers, was awarded a Colorado Book Award at the 2025 Colorado Book Awards in Denver in July. (Courtesy)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u2018Four Corners Voices\u2019 anthology wins 2025 Colorado Book Award<\/p>\n \u201cFour Corners Voices,\u201d an anthology created by the Four Corners Writers, was awarded a Colorado Book Award at the 2025 Colorado Book Awards in Denver on July 26. The book was published in December 2024 by the Cortez-based nonprofit Four Corners Writers, and features more than 40 writers from the Four Corners in fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Local authors Chuck Greaves, Lisa C. Taylor and Mark Stevens edited the anthology. A second volume was recently released.<\/p>\n Kathryn Waggener, executive director of the Durango Creative District, stands inside the district\u2019s gallery at 1135 Main Ave. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/p>\n \n Jerry McBride\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n Durango Creative District opens new headquarters<\/p>\n This summer, the Durango Creative District found a new home at 1135 Main Ave. The space functions as headquarters for the organization and a new community art gallery. The Durango Creative District conducts a variety of public programs, which include informational sessions related to grant opportunities; professional development classes; and now a place for a community gallery that will showcase a mix of solo and group exhibitions by local and regional artists.<\/p>\n Local photographer Michael Lufty showed some of his best work during the inaugural Colorado Pro Photographer Showdown. (Courtesy)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n Local professional photographers go head-to-head at inaugural Colorado Pro Photographer Showdown<\/p>\n The inaugural Colorado Pro Photographer Showdown, held in November, pitted five professional photographers against each other at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College.<\/p>\n The event was the brainchild of Director Jack Turner, who founded a similar event in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, in 1997. Five photographers were invited to pull together work that filled 10 minutes. Their photographs are put together as slides that were set to music. Along with the five competitors, students photographers\u2019 work was also shown during the Showdown in the Youth Photography Showcase, sponsored by Alpine Bank. Area middle and high school students were selected to have their photos displayed at the event and exhibited at Durango Arts Center, where they could sell their pieces.<\/p>\n And with that, we wish you a safe and happy New Year.<\/p>\n katie@durangoherald.com<\/em><\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n <\/div>\n
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