UNDERSTUDY
ART INCUBATOR 
SPACE

Understudy is a 700 square foot arts and culture incubator space dedicated to creative exploration. Understudy provides a free, central, and innovative platform to artists and creative groups for experimentation.Located in the Colorado Convention Center (CCC) at 890 C 14th St., Understudy is operated, curated, and funded by the Denver Theatre District.

Current Installation

returning
Opening Celebration Friday, June 2nd 6pm - 9pm
June 2 - 25, 2023
See event
See Event

returning

returning is an exhibition of memory, both hyper-personal and universal. A subtle topography of rolling synthetic grass covers the ground. Records turn in the grass, buzzing and sticking in repeated loops as they struggle to play from beginning to end. The scent of fresh cut grass from a park in Missouri wafts through the room while Midwestern clouds float by on the ceiling above. 

returning is an excavation and externalization of my processing of developmental trauma in EMDR therapy, a methodology in which patients revisit and rewire memories connected to formative traumatic experiences. My memories associated with this work take place in my hometown of Webster Groves, a suburb of St. Louis. The smell of the grass in St. Louis beckons me into clouds of nostalgia and recollection. A universally known smell becomes particular, unmistakable. Something not universally known about grass is that its scent is evidence of damage - an odor emitted to ward off further threat - a remnant of a traumatic experience. The records in this show are sourced from my parents' collection. They conjure a journey through my childhood home, filled with the lightness of music and the darkness of my upbringing. The act of reprocessing traumatic memories through EMDR brought me understanding of my history of dissociation from my body and emotions. Grass dissociated from grass. A sky dissociated from itself. An internal temporal loop without clear resolution. This show is a document of time passed and passing. It is a record, not skipping, but playing to completion.

Current and Upcoming Installations

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returning
June 2 - 25, 2023
Jordan Knecht
Opening Celebration Friday, June 2nd 6pm - 9pm
https://www.jordanknecht.com/View installation
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Past Installations

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Intake
May 5 - 28, 2023
Sam Grabowska
You know how sometimes when you are watching something on TV or at the movies and someone stands right in your line of sight? They are oblivious to your reality as well as theirs, and in the process create an entirely new one. Well, that is art.
http://www.manifolding.comView installation
Ground Cover
April 1 - 30, 2023
Alex Branch
Can Nature Be Simulated?
https://alexbranch.com/View installation
Echoes of Nowhere
March 3 - 26, 2023
Thnhdnh
Dissect the feeling of not fitting in where you are supposed to feel at home.
http://www.thnhdnh.comView installation
Dancing in the Diaspora
Feb 3 - Feb 26, 2023
Autumn T. Thomas
Connecting with her ancestral lineage, Autumn T. Thomas is able to open previously unexplored subconscious pathways leading to a deeper inspiration and understanding of her practice.
https://atthomas.com/View installation
The Drying West
Jan 6 - Jan 29, 2023
Alejandra Abad
What will we do when all the water dries up?
https://alejandraabad.com/View installation
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