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Jay Hernandez stands in front of a mural he is completing on the side of the Vintage Theatre for the fifth annual Colfax Canvas festival in the Aurora Cultural Arts District. Credit: Denver Gazette

For the fifth year, the Colfax Canvas Mural Fest looks to bring art and beauty to the Aurora Cultural Arts District on East Colfax Avenue with a collection of vivid murals on local businesses.

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The festival began with five, large-scale murals being spray painted on businesses throughout the East Colfax sector, with 11 artists — 10 local and one from Atlanta — leading the way.

The two-week effort then culminates in the festival on Saturday, bringing together the community for a free block party at Fletcher Plaza from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. The festival will include guided walking tours, a car show, a food court containing local chefs and breweries and other family activities.

Both the murals and festival are based around one sole focus: bringing together an often overseen community through art and kinship.

“It was created as a way to really bring the community together and to make sure we were showcasing this incredibly vibrant neighborhood,” Aaron Vega, executive producer for Colfax Canvas Mural Festival, said of the fest’s genesis in 2020.

Vega — who also works as the facilities coordinator for The People’s Building art and culture center in the Aurora Cultural Arts District — has been working and living in the neighborhood for nearly seven years.

He noted that he often heard the neighborhood was blighted, which, to him, was entirely untrue.

The neighborhood is rich with mom-and-pop businesses, often owned by immigrants or refugees, representing the over 160 languages spoken in Aurora public schools presently.

And the murals, now reaching over 30 in the area since the festival’s inception, showcase that diverse community, representing the cultures and stories untold in the region.

Each year’s artists are selected by a DEIA committee made up of local business owners, residents, sponsors and artists, often weighing Aurora locals heavily in their decision. There were over 130 applications for this year.

All artists are compensated equally, regardless of mural experience.

George F. Baker III loads spray paint canisters into a work belt while working on his piece, “Choose to be Curious,” with fellow artists Isaac Lucero and Sophia Ramirez as part of the fifth annual Colfax Canvas festival in the Aurora Cultural Arts District. Credit: Denver Gazzette

Once chosen, the artists are paired up with other artists and the building owners for planning.

“We’re making sure that the artists are working together on their designs, along with the building owners,” Vega said. “They end up coming up with a design that really melds the business, the neighborhood, the artist’s vision together. That’s a gorgeous thing because it represents the neighborhood. That’s what this neighborhood is like.”

The Vintage Theater, for example, will be receiving its first Colfax Canvas mural this year — despite being heavily involved in the festival since its start.

In a collaborative twist, the theater, which provides art to the community through plays and other performances, is now part of another artistic endeavor.

Five more murals will be completed before the festival begins at the following businesses:

•     Mango House
•     Scorpion Tax
•     DIA Market
•     Vintage Theater
•     Second Dawn Brewing