{"id":561,"date":"2026-06-15T12:03:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T12:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=561"},"modified":"2026-06-15T12:03:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T12:03:01","slug":"how-three-denver-artists-are-spending-50000-to-fund-their-passions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=561","title":{"rendered":"How three Denver artists are spending $50,000 to fund their passions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Photographer Armando Geneyro was on the way to his last performance review at Denver Public Schools, when he noticed a missed call on his cellphone.<\/p>\n

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Geneyro is a dogged documenter of Denver life, one who has turned his lens on the blocks that shaped him for over a decade. He also worked a day job in the Social Work and Psychological Services department at DPS until earlier this year, when the role he\u2019d served for 11 years was eliminated as part of a restructuring.<\/p>\n

The missed call was from Chrissy Deal, the director of leadership, arts and social change grants for the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation. Geneyro called back and learned he had been awarded a $50,000 grant. He will use the money to start a youth photography workshop and to float his creative practice for a while.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went into my end-of-year review in a totally different mindset,\u201d Geneyro said. \u201cThe universe really has a funny way of creating perfect timing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Geneyro is one of three Denver artists to win the second-ever Social Impact Artist Award, a biennial grant that includes $35,000 in unrestricted funds and $15,000 to pursue a specific project.<\/p>\n

The others are Flobots and Youth on Record co-founder Stephen Malloy Brackett, and Wheelchair Sports Camp frontwoman Kalyn Rose Heffernan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s vitally important for us, being the position that we\u2019re in, to look for individual artists and find ways to support those artists,\u201d said James-Allan Holmes, president and CEO of Bonfils-Stanton. \u201cSo many of the artists that are really deeply rooted in community work aren\u2019t necessarily tied to the entities that we might be funding other ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, Bonfils-Stanton spends a lot of money supporting nonprofit organizations that might or might not funnel money to individual artists, but this is a way to reach those artists directly.<\/p>\n

Of the 75 applications, the three artists the foundation chose stood out because they stand out. They are known quantities in their respective communities. They are the trusted voices and the clear eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel really honored to be celebrated and recognized by the city I love so much,\u201d Heffernan said. \u201cAnd also to get celebrated and recognized before I\u2019m dead. That\u2019s very sweet. It doesn\u2019t always happen like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new house party is the old house party<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The $35,000 is up to the artist\u2019s discretion to use. \u201cThey can invest in their practice. They can pay their rent. They can buy a car. They can do whatever. It\u2019s their money,\u201d said Deal of Bonfils-Stanton.<\/p>\n

The other $15,000 is administered by the Art Students League of Denver for a project each artist had to pitch when they applied.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife has shown me that you\u2019ll be caught on the back foot if you try to make something up for a situation as opposed to having things you\u2019re just working on,\u201d Brackett said. \u201cSo at this phase of my life, I try to make sure I\u2019m not starting from zero.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Brackett starts to talk about his project, it\u2019s clear this is something that\u2019s been percolating for a while.<\/p>\n

The long and short of it is that he wants to build a parallel music industry. One that creates the conditions for young musicians to work on politically charged music without \u201cthe fear of being critiqued by Ph.D.s at conservative think tanks,\u201d Brackett said, thanks to the immediate distribution of anything and everything on the internet.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPeople have forgotten what their scream sounds like,\u201d he said. \u201cSo how do we make it safe for people to scream?\u201d<\/p>\n

And what does a collective scream look like as a $15,000 pilot project? A house party.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re calling it,\u201d Brackett said. \u201cThe house party.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, Brackett wants to build a nationwide circuit of House Party bands and venues that can guarantee the kind of loud, political and intergenerational spaces he grew up with.<\/p>\n

It starts with a showcase at Blucifer\u2019s First Rodeo, an artist-run music festival that sprung up on South Broadway to fill the vacuum that the Underground Music Showcase left when it moved to RiNo. Then he\u2019ll host an all-ages hip-hop cypher with local Denver musicians.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s way too easy for us to get into generational arguments as opposed to being like, I want you to say whatever the hell you want, and I\u2019ll make sure you have a microphone,\u201d Brackett said. \u201cKids are making revolutionary music, but it\u2019s not being platformed, and we can\u2019t expect the Spotifys of the world to platform antiauthoritarian music. The system now, it\u2019s not there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t have to wait until you\u2019re rich and retired<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Heffernan is using the money to merge two of her passions \u2014 music and disability rights \u2014 into a lifelong dream project she\u2019s calling Wheelchair Band Camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will basically combine the real wheelchair sports camp that I grew up going to as a kid \u2014 that I stole the name from \u2014 with Girls Rock Denver, which I\u2019ve been a part of for a very long time as well,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Heffernan will pilot it as a one-day event and then \u201cwho knows what\u2019s next,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a project I\u2019ve always had in my mind but didn\u2019t think I\u2019d do until I\u2019m rich and retired. But now I get to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Geneyro, his project was a little more on-the-spot than the other two \u2014 he dreamed it up in a 36-hour push to meet the deadline. But once he got going, the wheels turned easily.<\/p>\n

Two years ago, Geneyro published his first photo book, \u201cGod Bless the Block,\u201d a collection of photos that pay tribute to the 2700 block of Larimer in Denver.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll use the money to get a group of four young photographers the gear they need to photograph their families, communities and cultures. He\u2019ll also work closely with them for five months to develop their photographic styles and photojournalism skills, and then he\u2019ll help them compile it into a book.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll have a book launch, with the photographers speaking on a panel. \u201cThe audience will be able to buy their book and get it signed, like a real book release, the whole thing,\u201d he said. The four photographers will split the book profits.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I would have had this (workshop) when I was like 18 to 20 years old, maybe I would have gotten into this way earlier, instead of in my mid-30s or early-40s,\u201d Geneyro said. \u201cI\u2019m so excited to get started. Because for me, it\u2019s an amazing opportunity. But for some of these participants it could be life changing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Roan Plateau parcels proposed for oil and gas lease sales, undoing protections for iconic western Colorado mesa<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bonfils-Stanton Social Impact Award was created in 2024 to provide artists with deep Denver roots a sudden cash injection<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts"],"yoast_head":"\nHow three Denver artists are spending $50,000 to fund their passions - Colorado Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=561\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How three Denver artists are spending $50,000 to fund their passions - Colorado Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Bonfils-Stanton Social Impact Award was created in 2024 to provide artists with deep Denver roots a sudden cash injection\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=561\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colorado Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-15T12:03:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=561#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=561\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/144e01590ba7a61cfe6fd08a0fa7a482\"},\"headline\":\"How three Denver artists are spending $50,000 to fund their passions\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-15T12:03:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=561\"},\"wordCount\":1178,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=561#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/319318f3f5c84ff95d66886988824a83.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Arts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=561#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=561\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=561\",\"name\":\"How three Denver artists are spending $50,000 to fund their passions - 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