MCA Denver Announces Cowboy Exhibit Programming

The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver has officially announced their special programming to go along with the museum’s newest multi-artist exhibit, Cowboy. The programming features a conversation series and special events.

Cowboy is an exploration of masculinity, race, and sexuality through the oft-mythicized American West and the figure of the cowboy. “Cowboy explores the origins of the American cowboy and how the figure and its cultural significance persist today” MCA Denver says of the exhibit.

MCA Denver will be hosting The Cowboy Conversation series, which will be held at the Holiday Theater and includes Dearfield and Black Cowboys, We Are Coming, and Mythbusting. The cost is $15 for MCA members and $20 for non-members.

Dearfield and Black Cowboys: Founded in 1910, Dearfield was the most significant Black homesteading settlement in Colorado, with up to 300 residents. Alan Brooks will unpack the history of this community, which is on view in Cowboy. He will be joined by Amanda Hunt, former associate curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem, who’s 2017 exhibition Black Cowboy centered on specific African-American communities with long histories of keeping and training horses. Featuring Alan Brooks, Amanda Hunt & Surprise Guests. Thursday, November 2,  at 7:00 p.m.

We Are Coming: The golden age of staged outdoor horse and rider entertainment began in the 1880s–led by William F. Cody’s self-titled Buffalo Bill’’s Wild West show. This genre of show was elemental in the creation of the cowboy figure within American Western mythology. In 1899, Cody hired three Filipino individuals to join his “Congress of Rough Riders of the World.” Artists Yumi Roth and Emmanuel David discovered their names in an 1899 route book and have since been working with period-era theaters to correct the historical record by displaying the trio’s names–Ysidora Alcantara, Felix Alcantara and Geronimo Ynosincio—on vintage theater marquees. Featuring Emmanuel David and Yumi Roth. Thursday, December 7 at 7:00 p.m.

Mythbusting: Artists Gregg Deal and Mel Chin imagine a Western landscape scarred from its colonialist past. Deal creates artworks that honor the indigenous experience and critique the mechanics of American society. In his performance piece Teepugoobakwaetu Modu (Animals That Roam the Earth), which will be performed on December 9 at MCA Denver, Deal creates an imagined figure who occupies a future beyond the reach of settler colonialism. Mel Chin uses his artwork to connect to several chapters in Texas history, including the Catholic colonization of Texas in the 1500s and the closing of the Open Range in the late 1800s. Featuring Gregg Deal and Mel Chin. Thursday, January 11, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.

And in the month prior to his Cowboy Conversation, artist Gregg Deal will be performing a piece in his exhibit at the MCA. Cost is included with museum admission.

Artist Gregg Deal Performance: Teepugoobakwaetu Modu (Animals That Roam the Earth): Moving quietly and without speaking, artist Gregg Deal will move through the Cowboy exhibition with a sense of reverence, leaving “offerings” in a half circle, which will be left for the remainder of the exhibition. Saturday, December 9 at 1:00 p.m.

MCA Denver is also hosting Cinema Azteca every Tuesday at 7 p.m. from November 28 to February 12, 2024. The cost is $10 for members and $15 for non-members.

Cinema Azteca: A new film series co-curated by artist Ana Segovia and Mexican art historian Mariel Vele to compare and contrast the American Westerns with Mexican La Comedia Rancheras. This curated selection of films examines how each genre has functioned as “myth makers” surrounding national identities, gender roles, race relations and class distinctions, and invites the audience to critically examine the underlying ideals portrayed through narrative progression and character depictions within each respective genre.

Cinema Azteca Launch Party with Allá en el Rancho Grande: The film Allá en el Rancho Grande (1949) is a remake of a 1936 Mexican musical comedy of the same name, with updated elements that reflect the changing times. A young woman inherits a ranch after her father’s death and is faced with the challenges of managing the ranch and dealing with the romantic advances of two cowboys. Tuesday, November 28 at 7:00 p.m.

MCA Denver will also be hosting a queer country night for LGBTQ+ cowpokes at the Holiday Theater. The cost is $15 for members and $20 for non-members.

Queer Country Night: Join MCA Denver and MissFitts Entertainment for an evening of country line dancing, live music and lessons. Jordin Dearinger and their fantastic live band will perform two sets. Thursday, November 9 at 7:00 p.m.

Further information and links to purchase tickets can be found on the Museum of Contemporary Art’s website.