Beauty in photographs, Denver Powwow, and more arts happenings this weekend

Photo: Purple Mountain Majesty by Jason DeMarte
"Purple Mountain Majesty" by Jason DeMarte is part of RedLine's “Playing with Beauty” exhibition

“Playing with Beauty” and “Role Play”
March 14 - April 19
RedLine, Denver

“Playing with Beauty” is the signature exhibition of Month of Photography, Denver’s biennial celebration of the of fine art photography. The photos in this exhibition, curated by photographer Mark Sink, explore how artists working in the medium approach the subject of beauty today. Meanwhile, the sister exhibition, “Role Play,” emphasizes self-portraits by artists who, in diverse ways, embrace themes related to self-transformation.

Denver Powwow
March 20 - 22
Denver Coliseum, Denver

Now in its 41st year, the mission of this festival is to preserve and protect the performing arts of American Indian peoples. This year’s event includes an arts and crafts show, tribal storytelling, hip-hop presentations, a music festival featuring more than 40 drum groups, and a dance competition with around 1,000 dancers.

2015 Athena Project Arts Festival
March 20 – April 5
Various venues in Denver, Lakewood and Aurora

Celebrating women in the arts, this 17-day festival which takes place all over the Denver metro area features 40 performances and more than 200 artists. The lineup includes the world premiere of San Francisco playwright Marilyn Harris Kriegel’s “Harm's Way,” an evening of world dance featuring The Beat Nomads, Samba Colorado Dance Company and Danza Colorado, and a music festival at Cervantes' Other Side.

Photo: Mythic Creatures
A large-scale dragon model from 'Mythic Creatures'

“Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns, and Mermaids”
March 20 – Sept. 7
Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver

This exhibition celebrates mythic creatures that roam the land, sea and air through stories, songs and works of art. Among the exhibits are large-scale models of these fantastical beings, as well as the fossils of real animals.

“The Future Yesterday”
March 20 - 29
Aspen Art Museum, Aspen

Featuring film and video by ten artists from six countries, this multimedia exhibition examines the weight and role of language in defining and shaping our sense of place. These artists – including Cairo-based Malak Helmy – experiment with translation, the blurring of history and fiction and the simple act of telling a story backwards, to examine the power of narrative to shape collective thought and action.

Iron Art Festival
March 18 - 20
University of Colorado Denver, Auraria Campus, Denver

CU Denver hosts guest artist David Lobdell, a professor of Fine Arts at New Mexico Highlands University, for this annual festival. Over the course of three days, Lobdell teaches a master class on the subject of metal patination and lectures on iron pouring. The event culminates with a large scale public performance and iron pour centered on casting molten iron.

Ripple Effect Theatre Company presents “Two Rooms”
March 13 - April 11
The Bakery, Denver

This regional premiere from New York City playwright Lee Blessing depicts a long-term terrorist hostage situation from four points of view, including the relationship between an American hostage held in Beirut, and his wife, waiting for him back in the US.

Highlands Ranch Concert Band Spring Concert: "From Rags to Riches"
March 22
St. Andrews United Methodist Church, Highlands Ranch

The program for this wind music concert veers between the dance hall syncopation of ragtime as illustrated by George Botsford's "Black and White Rag," and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov's aristocratic "Procession of the Nobles."

The Evergreen Players present "Reality Check"
March 20 - April 12
Center Stage, Evergreen

This collection of four stories includes the world premiere of “Psalm of Purgation” from Colorado playwright Scott Gibson. Gibson’s one-act play tells the story of two women who deepen their understanding of themselves and each other through a strange meeting in a laundromat.

Veronika String Quartet
March 21
Ascension Episcopal Church, Pueblo
March 22
Colorado College, Packard Hall, Colorado Springs

Now in its 25th year, this Colorado-based, Russian-influenced chamber music group presents the music of Joseph Haydn, Alberto Ginastera and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The concert includes special guests -- violist Basil Vendryes and cellist Roza Borisova.