Conversations Through Art

Photos and Story by Sarah Ford

Wonderbound Dance Company works regularly with the St. Francis Center to put on “Pari Passu,” a dance program for people experiencing homelessness. But after moving their studio to its new location off 40th Avenue, Wonderbound was looking for a way to bring in more foot traffic while continuing their work with St. Francis. In December 2018, they created an art exhibit in their entryway featuring the work of people experiencing homelessness. The VOICE visited the display, which will remain up through the end of February. 

The first section of the display is the “Paper Shoe Project,” featuring the artwork of clients from The St. Francis Center. Artists were asked what kind of shoe best represents them. “We wanted to give them an idea and see what came to mind in a fun way,” said Lauren Turner, marketing and communications coordinator for Wonderbound.

“I just think the description for this says it all,” Turner said of the piece titled “I Miss The Ocean,” created by Pat Powell. The description for her inspiration reads “Glamour, style, all good feelings … being at the ocean with wonderful blue water!”

“That’s exactly what you get from it,” said Turner. The shoes in the display were all created with cardboard and assorted raw materials.

On the walls of the hallway hang artwork and comics by well-known artist Larry Hubbell, also known as Harry Lyrico. An artist who experienced occasional homelessness, Hubbell passed away in December 2018 after a hit-and-run accident in New Mexico.

Turner considers Hubbell Denver’s “hidden gem,” an artist whose work has appeared in the LA Weekly, Westword, Acme Comics, and Denver literary magazine Birdy.

Hubbell participated in a “talkback” with fellow artist and partner Susan Vaho, who is employed by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and works with the St. Francis Center to put on Pari Passu and other writing workshops for their clients.

Vaho responded to works created by Hubbell, creating an intimate conversation of love that plays out between the two on the walls.

The final piece of the talkback series between Hubbell and Vaho. A nearby note describes the series portraying that “sometimes the lives that we often take for granted are the ones that get snatched away from us in the night.” ■