Serving the community since 1926
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 30, 2023
VOLUME 96 | ISSUE 52
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What the Art Students League of Denver introduces new art market legislature
did during the special session
BY BRIAN EASON AND JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN
SAM. ASLD has been hosting SAM for 30 years, and got the idea for WHAM from faculty who wanted more opportunities to showcase their work and promote the organization, said Tessa Crisman, director of communications and development at ASLD. “For people who love to go to SAM and have artists they always stop to check out, this will be a great way to meet some new people in our community,” Crisman said.
In the special legislative session that concluded before Thanksgiving, the Colorado General Assembly cut property taxes by $434 million and increased taxpayer refunds for most Coloradans by redistributing money that otherwise would’ve gone to higher earners. They also redirected $185 million in surplus tax collections to expand a tax break for low-income workers, approved $30 million in rental assistance and authorized a summer meals program for low-income children that will bring in up to $42 million in federal funding. It all happened in a span of four tense days as lawmakers rushed to wrap up before Thanksgiving. Gov. Jared Polis called the special session earlier this month after voters overwhelmingly rejected Proposition HH, his sprawling tax plan that offered a complicated mix of property tax relief, school spending increases and an overhaul of the state revenue cap under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. In response, legislative Democrats went back to the drawing board on tax relief, directing more of it to lowincome workers over the lock-step opposition of Republicans, but stopping short of any long-term solutions to Colorado’s cost of living crisis. Six of the bills they sent to the governor’s desk make only temporary changes to the state tax code, while a seventh assigns a bipartisan committee to study a more lasting solution. All of the legislation was signed into law by Polis, whose office was intimately involved in the crafting of policy debated at the Capitol during the special lawmaking term.
SEE WHAM, P2
SEE SESSION, P4
Giuliana Maresca works with her screen printing press on Nov. 18. Maresca is one of 30 artists who will be part of the Winter HoliPHOTOS BY NATALIE KERR day Art Market put on by the Art Students League of Denver.
Winter Holiday Art Market will feature local artists who work and teach at ASLD BY NATALIE KERR SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Giuliana Maresca, a mixed media artist who teaches digital photography at the Art Students League of Denver, believes the work of local
artists make great gifts because they are often one-of-a-kind and have a unique personality from the artist. “As we navigate this world where small businesses are slowly falling and big corporations are taking over, I feel that as human beings in these wonderful communities, we should support these art makers … more than ever,” Maresca said. The community will have the opportunity to do just that with the ASLD’s inaugural Winter Holiday Art Market, WHAM, on Dec. 9 and 10. WHAM is a seasonal event modeled off ASLD’s Summer Art Market,
VOICES: 10 | LIFE: 12 | CALENDAR: 9
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WREATHS OF HONOR
Denver-area work honoring vets part of national effort
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