Artists reflect on what the residency meant to them and their work.
On Friday, March 13, 2026 the RiNo Made Pop-Up artist residency wrapped up its first 2026 cohort with an intimate and candid artist talk led by Exhibitions & Programs Manager Kiah Butcher. Over the course of the hour, the conversation drifted well beyond the finished work to also discuss process, vulnerability, and what it actually looks like to make art in the middle of everyday life.
Butcher talked about the residency as something bigger than just a temporary studio. It came out of conversations with artists, developers, and community members across the RiNo Art District, she said, with the goal of putting unused commercial spaces to work while giving artists more access to time, space, and visibility. It also set out to bring together people who might not normally cross paths across different mediums, backgrounds, and experiences.
A Room Full of Difference… and Overlap
That mix was clear in the cohort itself. Multidisciplinary artist Yvens Alex Saintil, painter Miguel Aguilar, painter and woodworker Jenna Annunziato, fiber artist and filmmaker Erin McAllister, and painter and installation artist Justin DeCour (JUHB) all came in with very different practices. But as they talked, those differences started to blur in interesting ways.
Annunziato mentioned how quickly shared themes started showing up. Across painting, sculpture, and fiber, artists kept circling back to similar ideas (like bodies, portraits, and fragmented forms) just approached from different angles. “It was fun to have all the different similarities,” she said, pointing to how much artists pick up from each other just by being in the same space.
That influence wasn’t only about what they made, but how they made it. Aguilar talked about watching other artists work (e.g. what they listened to, how they moved, how they approached the canvas) and how valuable that was. The studio turned into a place for paying attention as much as producing.
The Transformative Power of Space
One idea kept coming up: space changes things.
For DeCour, who usually works out of a one-bedroom apartment, having room to spread out made a huge difference. He talked about blasting music, dancing while painting, and letting instinct lead. “I just want space… and then see what happens,” he said.
Aguilar felt that shift in a more technical way. He’s used to working small, so being able to step back six or ten feet gave him a new perspective on his work. It changed how he thought about composition and opened up new directions.
For McAllister, the impact was even more direct. A piece she had imagined at a small scale grew dramatically (“a hundred times the size,” she said) simply because she finally had the room for it. She compared it to a shark growing to fit its tank: take away the limits, and the work grows with it.
Separation, Focus, and Emotional Labor
The space also created a kind of mental separation that’s hard to come by.
Saintil spoke about how difficult it can be to balance life and creative work, especially when the work itself carries emotional weight. Having a place where he could focus only on making art helped him show up more fully, not just for himself, but for others too. “Being able to come here and work… just focusing on work only… was big,” he said.
That connection between personal work and community came up a lot in his reflections. As an immigrant, veteran, and storyteller, he sees his work as a way to hold and share collective narratives, especially ones that don’t often get attention. His focus stays on communities that are often overlooked, documenting stories that might otherwise go unseen.
His American flag piece reflects that approach. Built up with names from his Haitian community, it’s meant to keep changing and to become layered, obscured, and reworked over time until it carries the complexity and tension behind the idea of “America.”
Urgency as a Creative Engine
Unlike longer residencies, this one ran for just a month. That short timeline could have added pressure, but it ended up pushing things forward.
McAllister talked about finally finishing a piece she had been working on, off and on, for more than a decade. Breaking it into smaller steps made it feel doable. “Sometimes you just need small wins,” she said.
The tight timeline also brought people together. Artists shared space, adjusted to each other, and made it work without much friction. “None of us stepped on each other’s toes,” McAllister said. “It was just really supportive.”
More Than a Temporary Space
By the end of the night, it felt clear that what mattered most wasn’t only what got made during the month, but what the experience set in motion. The residency gave artists room to experiment, to be open about their process, and to build relationships that don’t end when the space does. That momentum will undoubtedly carry forward into new work, new collaborations, and stronger connections across the RiNo Art District.
In a neighborhood shaped as much by development as by creativity, programs like this offer a different kind of infrastructure… one rooted in people rather than property. By opening doors, redistributing resources, and creating space for artists to be seen and supported in real time, the residency leaves a mark that goes beyond a single cohort. It reinforces the idea that a local art community doesn’t grow by accident; it grows when artists are given the space to show up fully, and when that presence is met with attention, investment, and trust.
Watch the video below to meet & learn more about the residency artists.
Programs like this, and many other initiatives across the RiNo Art District, are made possible in part by support from individual donors and arts advocates like you. If you want to see more opportunities like this take shape in our community, consider becoming a RiNo Art District member today.
Become a RiNo Art District Member
A special thank you to the RiNo Business Improvement District (BID) for generously approving funding for the second year of RiNo Made Pop-Ups.