Two students in the College of Arts & Media (CAM) curated an exhibition in the CU Denver Experience Gallery which highlights the importance and beauty of platonic love and community. “No Puedo Imaginar Mi Vida Sin Ti” (“I can’t imagine my life without you”) opened on May 8, 2024 and features the work of six Xicanx artists from the southwest United States. The exhibition will be open to the public through June 30, 2024.

“I think our loneliness epidemic can be solved by community,” says Josephine Clark, co-curator of the exhibition and current CU Denver student.

Clark, who is working toward dual degrees in Art History and Art Practices, curated the exhibition alongside Adira Castillo, a fellow CU Denver student also studying Art History. Clark pursued a study of friendship and community building for her thesis work. Especially after reading bell hook’s All About Love: New Visions, Clark came to realize just how much emphasis American culture places on romantic love, oftentimes at the expense of platonic love. This was a concept she wanted to explore through art.

Castillo’s interest lies in Xicanx art, which, as she explains, comes from a culture that understands and celebrates the importance of community. Castillo, who identifies as Chicana, describes this as having “people power around you.”

The two students came together to curate the exhibition after realizing their research interests aligned in a cohesive way. Castillo and Clark collaborated by brainstorming the theme, the artists they would include, and the layout of the exhibition. They both agree the show is much stronger thanks to their partnership, along with the mentorship of Jeff Lambson, director of the CU Denver Experience Gallery and the Emmanuel Art Gallery.

“It’s so important to me to have spaces in the art world that represent the community that I know and love. And Chicano culture is so vibrant, artistic, and creative,” Castillo says.

Diverse and Equitable

One objective was clear from the beginning of Castillo’s and Clark’s collaboration: It was important that the exhibition be diverse in medium and represent artists from varying backgrounds. And that much is clear from the start of walking into the CU Denver Experience Gallery. There are photographs, installation pieces, and even an interactive motion graphic piece. The artists featured in the exhibition, Oswaldo Cepeda, Cal Duran, Armando Geneyro, Pico del Hierro-Villa, Arlette Lucero, and Cherish Marquez, were chosen for their unique perspectives within the Xicanx community. Some of the artists hail from Denver, while others are from different parts of the American southwest. Castillo and Clark found the artists by encountering their art on a first Friday art walk, from news articles, or through social media.

Another important objective was that the show be equitable. Clark explains much effort was put into figuring out how to pay the artists, despite the small budget they had to work with. Castillo is especially eager to have the community of downtown Denver encounter the artists featured in the show. “We want people to know about, support, and follow these artists,” Castillo says. Given the location of the CU Denver Experience Gallery within the Denver Performing Arts Complex (DPAC), the students are pleased concert and theater goers can pop into the gallery as they frequent the DPAC.

The significance of an opportunity to curate an exhibition while an undergraduate student is not lost on Clark and Castillo. “I thought curating a show was so far in my future,” says Castillo. Working with artists she has followed and whose work she admired gave Castillo a “less cynical view of the world,” she says. Clark agrees, saying the experience has emphasized that we are all just people—no matter how good one’s art is.

The Students Found Their Community at CU Denver

Both Clark and Castillo have found an encouraging community at CU Denver, something they were both pleasantly surprised by. Clark hit her stride at CU Denver after transferring from another school where she was studying Biology. “I thought I hated college, then started studying something I loved,” she explains. Clark not only feels supported by faculty members and staff at the university, but also by fellow students she’s met outside her classes. Clark served as the president of the CU Denver Art Practices student organization and found she got a lot of benefit from creating spaces for others to express themselves artistically—both art majors and non-art majors.

Castillo says the community she’s found at CU Denver makes her feel “like I have a place in the world that is not based on success or how much money I make. [Community] teaches you strength within yourself because you have people who care for you.” Castillo has found this community both in and out of the classroom as well. She is a part of a student organization on campus and has found people who agree with her worldview and people who challenge her to think outside of that view as well.

“Community gives you opportunity” as Clark articulates. That is exactly what the students hope people realize as they experience the art in “No Puedo Imaginar Mi Vida Sin Ti.”

Exhibition Details

On display May 8 – June 30, 2024

CU Denver Experience Gallery (located in the Denver Performing Arts Center)

CU Denver Experience Gallery’s summer hours of operation:

Thursday & Friday 4 - 7 p.m.

Saturday & Sunday 12 – 7 p.m.