The California Zephyr is usually full of railroad fanatics and people who want to see the wonder of America by train.
But this week, the Amtrak cars will carry some unusual passengers.
“I'll be boarding with a backpack chock full of professional watercolor paints,” said watercolorist Nan Wright.
Wright lives in Fraser. She’s one of six artists who participate in the inaugural Westbound Art By Train residency. The experimental program invites artists from across the state to board the train at their local platform and practice their craft as they ride to Grand Junction.
Aboard the train will be multimedia artist Erin Butler from Ft. Morgan, painter Kaitlyn Tucek from Denver, watercolorist Nan Wright from Fraser, multimedia artist Gabriela Mejia from Glenwood Springs, and tattoo artist Cordero Marez from Grand Junction (who will board the train in Denver and design flash tattoos on the train).
Denver video artist Collin Sanders will also be aboard, documenting the voyage.
Each artist has the duration of their trip, which varies from more than 10 hours to under two hours, based on their hometown, to complete one or more works of art.
When the train reaches Grand Junction, the artists will disembark and show their work at a pop-up First Friday event at Grand Junction’s Union Depot on Oct. 3. Following the event, their works will travel to Denver to be displayed at the Denver Public Library’s Central Branch, along with archival materials related to the California Zephyr.
A packet of the archival materials was also provided to the artists ahead of their journey to serve as inspiration. The packet included photos, illustrations, essays and even old Zephyr menus.
Train and art enthusiasts, unite!
“The idea of Westbound was really to represent the spirit of each of these regions and connect these creative passageways through this train corridor,” said Emily Grace King, one of the residency’s co-creators. She’s also the art and exhibits curator for Denver Public Libraries.
King got the idea for the residency when she rode the Zephyr last year. Then, she picked up the phone and called her friend David Goe, the community engagement manager for Downtown Grand Junction.
When King pitched the idea, Goe said he was hooked.
“There's also a really active group in Grand Junction trying to restore our depot, which is a historic building,” Goe said. “It's on the National Registry of Historic Spaces. It's also one of the most endangered buildings in Colorado. So everything just came together really nicely.”
King and Goe met through Colorado Creative Industry's Change Leader Program in 2022. The Westbound residency is funded by a Colorado Creates Grant, given by Colorado Creative Industries.
But the marriage of trains and art doesn’t end with the residency.
There will also be local Grand Junction artists and musicians filling the train depot for the First Friday bash.
“They won't be riding the train, they're not making artwork that's on the train,” Goe said. “But they are doing some little activations.”
One of the participating artists is experimental filmmaker and animator Evan Curtis. He said when Goe reached out to him, he was eager to get involved.
“I responded back and was like, ‘This is perfect! I was just looking through my old hard drives at all this great train footage I had from 20 years ago.’”
Curtis said Goe responded, clarifying that the installation didn’t have to be train-themed.
“No,” Curtis said with a laugh, “It's train-themed now.”
“It's an ethereal experience, I'm expecting.”
On her journey, Wright said she’s excited to see what inspires her.
“I'm planning on painting the mountains and the canyons — and especially the Aspen.”
“I think I’ll know it when I see it,” she added. “It's not necessarily the canyons, but maybe the quiet spots in between that will attract my attention.”
She’s also eager to see what the other artists create.
“We're all gonna see something different, even while looking at the same view. And that's what's exciting about art.”
The pop-up event will take place on Oct. 3 at the Grand Junction Union Depot from 5 to 9 p.m. The event is part of the city’s larger, weekend-long Downtown Art Festival.
