We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kaylee Bender a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kaylee, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

As I grow as an artist and human, my priorities are shifting to more community focused work. Focusing mainly in Five Points and East Colfax, I work alongside organizations like Redline, Denver Art Museum and the Library to provide accessible art education and creative time that focuses on healing, liberating our minds and bodies, and building social equity, especially among youth.

On May 5th, I will have my first solo show, Catacomb Saints, at Odell Brewing in Five Points! This collection gives life to the dead, it celebrates how we use ornament, jewelry and more to express our most divine selves and honor our ancestors. This collection has brought me closer to my family, shadows and self. It will be up all month long and we are celebrating 7-11 pm on Friday, May 5th!

This summer, I am partnering with City Records to throw a monthly block party called Colfax Cares. This space will have free drop in painting and collage, a clothing swap, delicious food, and local artists and musicians! We’ll be hosting local small businesses and community resources, and encourage everybody on the block to come create a lil something, enjoy some live music and meet their neighbors! It’s a privilege to provide a space to explore the arts, take care of our necessities, and connect as a community! We’ll be kicking off on Saturday, April 22nd for Record Store Day, from 12-5pm. We will continue to celebrate on Sunday May 14th, June 11th, July 9th, and August 13th. I am thrilled to see how this project grows!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi friends! My name is Kaylee Bender, I am an artist, musician, educator, and organizer in Denver. My art practice is based in healing and processing trauma, celebrating the authentic self, and celebrating the stories of my community and those who came before us. I have described my art as “A surreal taste of the beautifully black,” a bold and colorful celebration of life.

Creation has always been a part of my life, though the role art plays is always shifting. It has always been a source of empowerment for me and, at this point in my journey, my priority is sharing that empowerment with others. When I first took to art as a career, I focused on live painting, commissions and portrait work, such as my Hank Aaron memorial portrait from the 2021 MLB Allstar Game. Now, three years deep in the game, I prioritize education and outreach, larger paintings and mural work, and constant interdisciplinary exploration, like collage and music! One of my favorite murals, “An Ode to Happiness,” decorates the entrance ramp at Green Spaces in Five Points.

To be able to show up authentically in my career is a gift. Working with younger kids requires you to show up as your true self, especially when the goal is social equity, self love and connection across cultures and communities.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Not that I think people misunderstand this, but It took me nearly 25 years to recognize the necessity of art in my daily life. Selfishly, I still think this undying urge lives in everybody. Creation is a majority of my well-being: poetry, song, collage, The deep exhale that comes from a room muddied in paint, telling me that I’ve done my job. It’s as if, if I did not create, if I did not share, then I did not do my job. There is a tangible and soul crushing weight to keeping it all inside. The words on my page beg to be heard, the paintings on my wall ask to be digested, discussed and reinterpreted. They ask for new life in someone else’s senses, they require that.

Ain’t no such thing as bad art, especially if it gets you thinking.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One thing I’m relearning is that injustice and inequalities thrive in silence. Speak up, ask for your worth, and ensure that you are being treated and revered as the person you are. I have had too many experiences, some of them long term, where I was being treated, viewed and paid as less than. I have found myself fighting for a living wage from people I believed held my best interest. While money talks, I am relearning to trust my gut when it comes to doing business. It’s important to have open conversation about rates, working conditions, contracts and expectations with other practicing artists from diverse backgrounds.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.Nokaylee.com
• Instagram: @nokaylee
• Other: Music and DJ Instagram: @djbugshoney

Image Credits
Gabby Poux, @pouxproductions Justin Gnazzo, @cityrecordscolfax Vine Ramazani, @vineramazani Julian Donaldson @juliandonaldson Teagan Kimbro, @dangitteagan Anthony, @arales_