2024 Live Art Demos & NEW Artist Alley

Live Art Demonstrations put on by our LOCAL ARTISTS!

Make sure to visit their booths to watch these amazing artists create their masterpieces onsite at the festival!

NEW THIS YEAR: Artist Alley!

Check out all the amazing designs submitted for this year’s design contest!

Meet Our Artists!

Ratha Sok- Objective: As an artist my objective is to provide high quality public and commercial arts through creativity, teamwork and leadership.
Skills: Creative problem solver, leadership, entrepreneurship, time management, marketing, project management, organizational skills and creative art director.

Casey Kawaguchi is a Japanese American artist, based in Denver, Colorado. Born and raised in Utah, Kawaguchi’s practice began in graffiti, where his dedication to precision met the chaos of the spray-can. 

On a lifelong pursuit of mastery, Kawaguchi's artistic practice revolves around a recurring character that reflects his identity as an Asian American artist while representing the power of the creative that he feels resides within each of us. Drawing from his earliest inspirations of comic books, illustration, and his Japanese heritage, his work conveys a simplicity and balance, where the contemporary meets tradition in a powerful display.

Grace Gee- Sometimes words alone are inadequate. Creating art that is sourced from life has the power to heal. It is a physical manifestation of soul. While my experiences may be unique to me, the emotions that I experience and reveal through my work express a collective experience. This deeply intimate art is an invitation to find connection with yourself, your own healing and the truth I share through my art.

Bakemono0504

-I express my fight with mental health through Calligraphy
-Commissions open
-Looking for mural opportunities
+DENVER+

Sarah Fukami

I was born and raised in Colorado and received a BFA with honors from the University of Denver in 2014.  My work revolves around the formation of identity and perception of history, particularly in relation to the immigrant experience.  The internment of my Japanese-American family during World War II piqued my interest in the topics of ethnicity, nationality and the identity crises that occur when they conflict.  Beginning with the use of personal resources such as photographs, objects and documents, my work has extended to the larger context of Japanese-American history by delving through government photographic archives and investigating the stories of nameless Japanese-American citizens.  This has also led to an interest in the dissemination of history, and how it is manipulated and understood throughout time.  Much of my work is done on Plexiglas, a material that allows me to layer several aspects of a subject while simultaneously delineating them physically between surfaces.  This allows the viewer to focus on the individual facets, as well as step back and view the work as a whole.  As my work progresses, I hope to address issues of identity and history that continually reach outward in an attempt to grasp a better understanding of human perception and experience.  


Madalyn Drewno

Local illustrator and visual storyteller, Madalyn Drewno, will showcase her zine "Flying: A Dragon Boat Story," which tells the history of the Dragon Boat Festival and features stories from members of the Japan-America dragon boat team, Nichi-Bei-GO. Madalyn will also be offering live portrait drawing to festival attendees. Whether it's a copy of "Flying" or a portrait, festival-goers will be able to take home an original piece of artwork!


Gaby Oshiro

Gaby is a painter/musician was born in Buenos Aires Argentina to Edvige Bresolin, a photographer and pianist, and Oscar Takashi Oshiro, a political activist and lawyer, who was desaparecido (kidnapped and murdered) for opposing the military dictatorship in Argentina. When it became clear her father would not return alive, Gaby emigrated to Italy along with her mother and brother, where she studied for 5 years at the Liceo Artistico Statale di Treviso. After fine arts school in Italy, she attended Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes Ernesto de la Cárcova in Argentina where she studied with Guggenheim fellow Carlos Gorriarena.  In 2016 Gaby collaborated with writer/journalist Andrés Asato on his book about the 17 Desaparecidos of Japanese descent (Nikkei), helping him write the chapter about her father entitled "Con Alma Tanguera.”  Following the publication of the book, she was invited to do an art installation called Kintsugi about the 17 desaparecidos Nikkei at the Espacio Cultural of the National Library of Congress in Argentina.  Kintsugi, the Presence of your Absence-Part II, was presented at the Galleria dell'Artistico in Treviso Italy, and at the CMA Centro Municipal de Arte in Buenos Aires.  Gaby has received multiple awards and accolades for her work to include being a finalist for the prestigious Bienal Sur 2017 and the Artisan Series Bombay Sapphire Prize.  After working on portraiture for many years, Gaby’s current work is exploring the use of Oracle Bone script (Japanese/Chinese ancient characters) as modules inspired by the Art Informel and Abstract Expressionism guided by Robert Motherwell, Giuseppe Capogrossi and Carla Accardi.

Her latest art installations can be seen at the Denver Art Museum. 

https://goshiro.wixsite.com/goshiro

Kimchi Juice

🪷 dream weaver, spirit seer 🪷

Follow Kimchi Juice on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimchi.juice/

NEW THIS YEAR: ARTIST ALLEY!

Come see all the amazing Poster Designs that were submitted for this year’s CDBF! Start planning for YOUR design submission for next year’s CDBF celebrating our 25th Anniversary and the year of the FIRE SNAKE!