Creating art really can make a difference. Art 4 Aurora, a benefit event for those affected by the Aurora theater shooting, raised about $3,900, bringing together roughly 400 DU students and the Denver community on Saturday night in the Gates Field House.
Joie Ha, an undeclared second-year from Aurora, spearheaded the initiative to support the community of her hometown by organizing and promoting the event, even getting interviewed by TV news anchor Christine Chang on 7News about their efforts.
“I live in Aurora and have often frequented [the] Century 16 movie theater. I had friends in the theater and the shooting hit very close to home, literally,” said Ha, in explaining her motivation for organizing Art 4 Aurora. “We hope to provide for the community that has provided for us.”
Ha, who organized performers and logistics for the event, worked closely with Longmont artist Gamma Acosta and University of Colorado Denver recent graduate Sally Peang to plan Art 4 Aurora, a few months ago just after the shooting occurred.
Meeting almost weekly, the three discussed the preparations for the event, including creating a website, looking for artists and performers, securing a venue at DU, finding sponsors and more.
“We hope to bring together DU for a common cause. We hope that the Denver community can rise together with the Aurora community and stand together to prove that our resilience is more potent than the senseless acts of one individual,” said Ha.
Over 20 local artists donated superhero-themed artwork in Batman’s legacy, to Art 4 Aurora’s live auction, which raised about $1,000, and over 15 local performers, including well-known dance crews HYPE 303 and Machinez Remainz who donated their time and effort to the live performance stage with everything from live rapping to breakdancing choreography throughout the evening.
Antoinette Evered and her husband Chase, community members from Englewood, performed a freestyle dance, a mixture of contemporary dancing and breakdancing.
“Any way that we can raise money and awareness, we’re happy to help. By bringing out the student body and the community here in Denver, Art 4 Aurora is showing how much support we can give to other communities,” said Evered.
There were also family-friendly activities such a bounce house and a community mural, courtesy of Arts Street, a non-profit Denver-based organization that gives art-based opportunities to youth and donated four murals altogether to Art 4 Aurora.
“Our work is to unite people and to get the word out that there is support,” said Stella Yu, the Executive Director for Arts Street.
About 40 volunteers contributed their time to setting up, coordinating logistics and cleaning up afterwards.
Patrick Nguyen, a senior from CU Boulder majoring in psychology, heard about the volunteer opportunity through Ha.
“The Aurora tragedy affected all of us because the ‘Dark Knight Rises’ is a movie that we all wanted to see. It could’ve happened to any of us, but it drove me to help in any way I could,” said Nguyen.
Adrienne Kim, an undeclared second-year from Aurora, heard about the theater tragedy when out of state over the summer, which “broke [her] heart.”
“Because Colorado is so closely connected, we all know somebody who was personally affected. I feel like the more people are actively showing support, the more aware that others will be of the fact that these people still can use our help,” said Kim.
Sponsors from a wide range of DU student organizations, including USG, DUPB, several student alliances and AHSS’s Student Advisory Council, as well as small Denver businesses helped fund the logistics of the event.
“We have been really lucky to have found a lot of support from the DU community. Asian Student Alliance has been especially helpful. We held the event through ASA and they helped in finding funding and encouraging other organizations to get involved,” said Ha.
Booths sold art prints, superhero caps, t-shirts and other merchandise, with vendors pledging to donate anywhere up to 100 percent of the proceeds to Art 4 Aurora.
Art 4 Aurora will donate 100 percent of their profits, 65 percent directly to victims and 20 percent to victim assistance organizations while the remaining 15 percent will go to Spirit of Aurora, a non-profit dedicated to improving the quality of life in the city of Aurora.
Art 4 Aurora is still accepting donations online, visit art4aurora.org.
