Group of young men and women smiling at an after hours event at the museum.

Untitled: Artist Takeover

Featuring Sofie Birkin & Melissa Ivey

Event Program

Performances & Experiences

Not-to-miss moments happening throughout the evening. *Indicates a performance that will occur twice.

6:45-7:45 pm, Bebe Machete Performance. Musical performance by Mobey Lola a genderqueer composer and multi-instrumentalist artist, as part of the Native Arts Artist in Residence with Chelsea Kaiah. Location: Indigenous Arts of North America Galleries, Martin Building Level 3

*7 pm & 7:30 pm, Offbeat Art Tour. Comedians Lee Robinson and Gabby Gutierrez-Reed will highlight stories from their lives that relate to the Her Brush: Japanese Women Artists from the Fong-Johnstone Collection exhibition. Location: Martin Building, Level 1

7:45-8:05 pm, Tribute to our Stolen Sister. A presentation of Indigenous fashion designs in honor of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR). Corn Maiden Designs is Colorado’s 1st and only Native American Indigenous fashion haus, bringing decolonial designs to the fashion world. From designers: Akalei Brown, Chyleen Julian, Sunshine Sweetwater. Location: Sturm Grand Pavilion, Martin Building Level 2

8:05-9:10 pm, Community Showcase. Variety-style performances brought to you by Melissa Ivey, the Musical Doula Taino Two Spirit. The showcase features Indigenous creators and entertainers from various disciplines. Transformative music and dance from Renée M. Chacon. Poetry from The Lovely Rebel and Lucky Garcia. Drag performance by Buffalo Barbie. Music from Melissa Ivey. Location: Sturm Grand Pavilion, Martin Building Level 2

9:15-9:45 pm, Ukulele Loki presents Sideshow Stunts by Lil Miss Firefly: The Midget of Mischief and Nixi Theodora Pixi: The Painted Person. The classic Sideshow features actual acts of danger and amazement guaranteed to awe and enliven. Historically, sideshows were places of radical inclusion that provided safety, acceptance, employment, autonomy, and community unheard of anywhere else for a hugely diverse array of marginalized people. In this century, there has been a resurgence and reclamation of the story of the Sideshow by people who belong to these same marginalized groups and who use the medium as a form of self-empowerment. Location: Sturm Grand Pavilion, Martin Building Level 2

Drop-In Activities

Artmaking, installed artworks, and other drop-in experiences available all night.

6-10 pm, Binding: My Mother's Wedding Dress Installation. Installed artwork by Sofie Birkin. The artist states, "This dress, a replica of my mother's wedding dress, is in tribute to the intergenerational bonding rite of sewing, the overshadowed importance of women’s domestic labor, and my own family, who never trivialized either." Location: Sturm Grand Pavilion, Martin Building Level 2

6-7:40 pm, Ukulele Loki’s Oddity Museum. Experience awe and amazement in Ukulele Loki’s traditional side show dime museum. Location: Sturm Grand Pavilion, Martin Building Level 2

6-9:30 pm, Recording Womb. Share your stories in Melissa Ivey’s Recording Womb installation and mobile sound studio, with sound engineer Celia Herrera. The Recording Womb project unites Ivey’s expertise as a doula with artistry as a musician, storyteller, educator, and future ancestor. Location: Creative Hub, Martin Building Level 1

6-9:30 pm, Quilt Together, Come Together. Take part in a collaborative non-sewn quilt with classic quilt blocks as inspiration, with fiber artist Allison Sheldon. Location: Creative Hub, Martin Building Level 1

6-9:30 pm, Corn Masa as an Art Form. Taste gordita samples from Maiz, a Denver-based food truck serving traditional Mexican dishes, and see how corn masa is made and formed. Location: Creative Hub, Martin Building Level 1

6-9:30 pm, First Impressions. Clay! Explore naturally drying clay, with artist Emily T. Nelson, and make your own creation. Location: Creative Hub, Martin Building Level 1

6-10 pm, Monstrous Femme. This dreamlike animation flickers between symbols of early womanhood to scenes of female rage and responsibility. Rotoscoping public domain footage from Joan Crawford’s Mildred Pierce to the first werewolf movie ever made (Wolf Blood, 1925), Monstrous Femme sympathizes with the journey from innocence to experience under patriarchy. Video by Sofie Birkin, set to music by Melissa Ivey. Location: Creative Hub, Martin Building Level 1

Black and white photograph of artist Sofie Birkin

Photo of Sofie Birkin by Julia Vandenoever

About the Artists

Sofie Birkin (she/they) is a queer British artist currently living in Denver. Her work, which spans digital illustration, mural painting and fabric art, vividly colors transhistorical narratives of femininity and queerness, focusing heavily on themes of fantasy, community, intimacy and empowerment. Her clients have included Apple, Google, Facebook, Planned Parenthood, Nike and The New York Times. She has published work available internationally and a permanent installation at Meow Wolf Denver.

Black and white photograph of artist Melissa Ivey

Photo of Melissa Ivey by Ambrose Cruz

Melissa Ivey (they/she) isa musical doula and activist who has performed all over the world. Their music has been featured on TV on the E! Entertainment netork as well as the two-time Emmy Award winning show, "The Stage-Colorado." In 2005 and 2006, Westword Denver honored them with the Best Singer-Songwriter Award. Their fully immersive Recording Womb pop-up art installation is open for visitors to document their story and record a message to future ancestors. In addition to music, they also advocate for Murdered Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW), LGBTQ+/QTPOC human rights, preserving the birth traditions, ceremonies, and wisdom of Mexican midwives and indigenous birthworkers, and serve as the Arts Education Director for the nonprofit Her Many Voices.

What is Untitled?

Untitled: Artist Takeover is a quarterly collaboration with local artists and creatives to create an evening full of events, performances, artmaking, and one-of-a-kind experiences. Throughout the night, artists showcase their work while providing a hands-on and engaging atmosphere.