DCI Conference and Grand Junction Art Walk
April 1-3, 2026
The Downtown Colorado, Inc conference was in Grand Junction this year. I was the driver of a large 12-passenger van available to City of Montrose employees, City Council, small business owners, and community leaders. We stayed in a hotel because the event started at 8 in the morning and continued until 4, with networking opportunities that carried on into the evening.
As the unofficial City of Montrose artist liaison, I signed up for programs that included public art projects, tours, and information.
During the first session, I met a woman who does work similar to mine, named Chelsea Gillmore. It was interesting to hear her story and learn that the work I do can be a career.
During her session, we created a collaborative piece using cut-up fabric. We each painted a piece and later strung them together like prayer flags, which were hung above a covered park bench in Downtown Grand Junction.
The experience was a simple example of how we can activate community in public art installations.
Later, I joined a tour with the GJ Creates (Grand Junction Creative District) group for the Art on the Corner program. The Art on the Corner program is one I have been studying as I work to bring the statue rotation back to downtown Montrose. It was wonderful to learn from the people who are actually running the program. I also learned more about the history of downtown Grand Junction and its public arts programs.
We also toured “The Artery,” which is still under construction. The Artery will be something like a makers space that is more focused on art- an idea which I love and have wanted to build in Montrose for some time. They had purchased a building that had been a dark, seedy dive bar and were renovating it into a bright space with potter’s wheels, kilns, printmaking equipment, and classroom space. It’s really dreamy- but with a 3 million dollar price tag, it’s also out of my budget.
We ended the second tour at the Colorado Mesa University gallery, where I met the gallery manager and spoke further with the GJ Creates team. We agreed that having a creative cooperative between our two towns makes a lot of sense. We exchanged information and decided to open those channels.
I stayed after the conference to check out more of the First Friday Art Walk and the galleries downtown. I learned that the “First Friday Art Walk” wasn’t as much of a concerted effort as our Montrose Art Crawl. Each gallery has its First Friday event, but they are all pretty well separated. I went in and spoke with many students at the Colorado Mesa gallery, inviting them to the Art Crawl. I also spoke with the gallery director more about bringing in more of their artists for our events. I took a look at the new downtown gallery that had opened in the last month. There were many beautiful pieces on display- but the business model itself was nothing out of the ordinary; in fact, the gallery was a lot like the Montrose Center for Art. The artists are vetted for wall space, but rent it just the same. The Uncanny Valley was celebrating its 10th year, so I stopped in to check them out. I also had some great interactions with the owner of the Confluence Studios. Her studio is similar to what I would like to do with a space for art sales and a classroom area. In the long run, while I would love the more intense artist coworking space, a shop with a classroom is the next best thing.
All in all, the DCI conference was a great experience that will help me grow as an artistic professional. I look forward to applying my knowledge and getting to know my new connections better.
