Catalysts
Jann Haworth: Catalysts
Denver Theatre District Billboard
Installed on the Side of the Buell Theatre
Champa Street between 13th Street and 14th Street.
March 14, 2025–December 31, 2027
Review by Raymundo Muñoz
Behind the beautiful and storied Buell Theatre is a big, modest-looking brick wall where you’ll find an unassuming stage door. It’s easy to miss if you’re driving towards the Auraria Campus or downtown Denver, but it’s a vital portal through which all the theatre’s actors and crew enter, symbolic of the compelling behind-the-scenes efforts that make viewing theatrical performances there so magical. As such, it’s a fitting location for Catalysts, a recently installed community artwork by Jann Haworth that celebrates the individuals working behind the scenes in organizations that are so integral to Denver’s arts and culture.
A view from the street of Jann Haworth’s Catalysts, 2025, billboard in downtown Denver. Image by Raymundo Muñoz.
Jann Haworth, Catalysts, 2025, billboard in downtown Denver. Image courtesy of the Denver Theatre District.
Presented by the Denver Theatre District, the large triptych image on vinyl collects thirty-five stenciled portraits of people who work and volunteer at Denver metro-based arts organizations in a colorful and joyous collage that was arranged and adapted by Haworth.
The left panel of Jann Haworth’s Catalysts, 2025, billboard in downtown Denver. Image by Raymundo Muñoz.
The center panel of Jann Haworth’s Catalysts, 2025, billboard in downtown Denver. Image by Raymundo Muñoz.
The right panel of Jann Haworth’s Catalysts, 2025, billboard in downtown Denver. Image by Raymundo Muñoz.
Local artists and community members were invited to the Emmanuel Gallery in June 2024 for a workshop with the acclaimed British-American artist to create the stencils based on enlarged photos submitted by participating arts nonprofits and businesses. Each group also wrote an essay describing why they felt these individuals deserved recognition (available at catalystsproject.com).
A view of the Buell Theatre with Jann Haworth’s Catalysts, 2025, billboard, on the right. Image by Raymundo Muñoz.
While Haworth isn’t part of the Denver arts scene (she lives in Utah), it’s special that such a renowned artist connected with and celebrates the community in such a beautiful and meaningful way. Artists are so often seen as tortured geniuses, toiling away on their creative works, but so too are the dedicated administrative folks that support these artists and their respective communities. Whether that involves teaching and mentoring, grant writing and fundraising, organizing and facilitating, or being impassioned advocates for artists who aren’t always the best at advocating for themselves, these unsung heroes fuel creation and access in the arts in ways that are too often overlooked. So, when you walk by this public artwork, look up and recognize that without catalysts, many arts endeavors would take too long to manifest or just never happen.
Raymundo Muñoz (he/him) is a Denver-based printmaker and photographer. He is the director/co-curator of Alto Gallery and board president of 501(c)(3) non-profit Birdseed Collective. Ray is guided by the principle that art is a bridge, and it connects us to ourselves and each other across time and space.
