New event takes visitors into the future through immersive art
DENVER— It’s hundreds of years in the future... the world has burned, and humans are learning to live in this new reality. It’s not a plot of the latest sci-fi movie, it’s a reality you can experience for yourself in Denver.
Over 25 local artists have come together to create ‘Novo Ita’ at Spectra Art Space on South Broadway in Denver.
“I’m so excited, we’ve been working it for months, since December,” says Sadie Young, Spectra’s owner and founder, and the creative director of ‘Novo Ita’. “It’s a narrative-driven art experience. [The story] is a city in the very distant future that has developed out of what we call in the story ‘The Event.’”
“The Event” was inspired by real-life climate change, and depicts a future where the world burned down, and was rebuilt.
Their inspiration is an art movement known as “Solar Punk”. It’s a stark contrast to the more popular genre of “Steam Punk”, which imagines a more dystopian post-apocalyptic version of Earth. In ‘Novo Ita’, earth’s residents learned from their mistakes “and have learned to work with the earth to create a thriving, sustainable society,” Sadie explains.
Along with the sustainability theme it was important for Sadie to use as much recycled material as possible. She estimates that 90% of the material used in the entire exhibition is recycled or reclaimed.
Another feature of the experience is the use of augmented reality to tell the story. Visitors can use their phones to scan codes around the exhibit. Animated characters will pop up and help tell the story.
‘Novo Ita’ is the biggest event for Spectra Art Space since COVID-19 shut them down in March 2020.
“COVID was crazy,” says Sadie, “There was a moment right at the beginning where I actually had a ‘for lease’ sign in front of the building. It was almost over.”
Spectra survived through help from PPE loans, live streams, private events, and “our amazing community and the support that we had,” says Sadie.
Sadie encourages people to check out ‘Novo Ita’ as a way to support local artists. “Every ticket helps that goal,” she says. “It’s an incredible story inside giant works of art. It’s fun, it’s safe and it’s good for all ages.”
Spectra is located at 1836 South Broadway in Denver. Novo Ita runs July 3rd through September and you can get tickets and find more information on their website.
Alexis Kikoen is a multimedia journalist at Rocky Mountain PBS, you can contact her at alexiskikoen@rmpbs.org.