Revitalizing Denver’s Historic Chinatown Together
Colorado Asian Pacific United (CAPU) has been on a mission to restore and revitalize Denver’s Chinatown– and they invited Asian Girls Ignite (AGI) students to join them in accomplishing this important project through a mix of art, storytelling, and poetry.
Art Workshop with Denver Artist
This past September, local artist and CAPU volunteer Jasmine Chu led a workshop where 23 AGI students reflected on important moments in Denver Chinatown’s past, wrote poems, and designed objects that represented those historic dates.
The group enjoyed bubble tea drinks from Tea Street while creating art and learning about Asian-American history in Colorado.
A Community Installation: Traffic Bollards Reimagined
The students’ designs were skillfully adapted by Jasmine into stencils, which were then applied to eight traffic bollards. These vibrant bollards, along with the murals and the newly reinstalled Denver Chinatown marker, now enhance the alleyway behind Denver’s SugarCube Building.
This public art installation celebrates the rich history of Denver’s Asian-American community while serving as a powerful reminder of our collective resilience. AGI is honored to have been a part of this major milestone in preserving our heritage.
We were featured on denver’s local news!
The story of Chinatown’s restoration is one that connects us.
Thanks to our local community partners for featuring us on Rocky Mountain PBS, Denver7, and Denverite!
About Asian Girls Ignite
Founded in October 2020, Asian Girls Ignite is a non-profit organization that provides educational programs for AANHPI girls and gender-expansive youth to celebrate their individual and collective power. We use storytelling to empower the next generation to write their futures in their own voice. Our programs and events nurture social-emotional learning to help our students grow in resilience, empathy, and self-awareness.
