RiNo Art District Launches RiNo Made Pop-Up Program to Pair Local Artists with Vacant Retail and Offices Spaces
August 4, 2025
The program is designed to support the creative economy, strengthen community connections, and activate unoccupied retail and office spaces. By helping to subsidize short-term leases for local artists, the initiative provides space for public exhibitions, interactive installations, and on-site creation, while allowing property owners a low-risk way to bring energy and visibility into their spaces.
“This replicable, flexible model for activations came out of real conversations with artists and developers. They told us the same thing: retail and gallery spaces are too expensive and it’s hard to keep them full,” said Kiah Butcher, Programs Manager for RiNo Art District. “RiNo Made is our response. It connects people who have vacant square footage – often beautiful, brand-new space – with creatives who are looking for opportunities to create and market their work, and it does it in the most RiNo way possible: through creativity, collaboration and responsiveness.”
EDENS, a national real estate company with a large footprint in the RiNo Art District, was the first to participate in the program, opening its storefront at 2601 Walnut Street Unit 210 to showcase five local artists: Sam Grabowska, Matt McCall, Navya Mallepeddi, Shadae Hunt, and Chris Bristow. Additional activations are already in development, with more property owners currently working with RiNo to finalize future sites.
The RiNo Made Pop-Up Program came out of a Tools for the Creative Life series earlier this year that brought together creatives, developers and property owners to talk through solutions to some of the area’s most pressing challenges, including affordability, access to space, retail and ground-floor vacancies, and creative displacement. Installations may include temporary studios, public exhibitions, workshops, or on-site artmaking, inviting the community to experience art in unexpected and accessible ways.
“RiNo is one of the country’s most creatively driven neighborhoods; we see our role here as stewards of that energy,” said Thomas Picarsic, Managing Director-Western Region at EDENS. “From restoring historic buildings to creating space for public art, food, and culture, our focus has always been on supporting what makes this area of Denver so distinct. Partnering with RiNo on this program is one more way we’re supporting street-level vibrancy in the district.”
As part of the pilot activation, the RiNo Made Pop-Up located at 2601 Walnut Street Unit 210 will host Open Studio hours every Friday from 4–8 p.m. and Sundays from 12–3 p.m., inviting the public to engage directly with the artists and their evolving work. In addition, a special Artist Talk will take place on Friday, August 22 from 6–8 p.m., offering an informal, moderated discussion where participating artists will share more about their individual practices and creative goals for the residency.
RiNo Made is an ideal complement to the Art District’s NO VACANCY program. This acclaimed artist residency program gives artists access to older buildings typically slated for demolition or adaptive reuse. While NO VACANCY supports longer-term artistic experimentation, RiNo Made Pop-Ups address a different need—high-quality, affordable space for artists to show and sell work while activating retail corridors.
RiNo is home to one of Denver’s most exciting gallery communities, including RedLine, Visions West, William Matthews Studio, Plinth Gallery, RULE Gallery, Friend of a Friend Gallery, and Alto Gallery. The district also subsidizes more than a dozen affordable studios, including at ArtPark and RiNo Art District Studios at the Backyard on Blake, and recently completed its second round of Creative Grants to support neighborhood-based artistic and cultural initiatives.
“This is only the beginning,” added Butcher. “Through the generous support of the RiNo Business Improvement District, this pilot program is allowing us to directly address one of the key challenges our property owners and business owners are facing while simultaneously fueling the creative economy that is so essential to this area’s brand and vitality."
The RiNo Business Improvement District (BID) approved $25,000 in funding for the pilot year of RiNo Made Pop-Ups, supporting at least two iterations in 2025. If successful, the Art District hopes to expand the program to additional sites next year.