The Acoma House offers a unique immersive art experience in Denver

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DENVER — When Michael Eisenstein drove past 1114 Acoma Street in 2020 and saw the sign for “The Acoma,” he was mesmerized.  

As local investors and renovators, Michael and Christina Eisenstein told Rocky Mountain PBS that their work stems from their love of “changing and influencing a space.”  

“I believe my husband and I are both closeted artists,” Christina explained.  

After talking with brokers and neighbors in the area, Michael discovered that the building once operated as a boarding house in the early 1900s. The couple purchased the building about two years ago with the idea to renovate the historic building into an Airbnb—with a twist.  

They decided to have local artists transform each room into an art piece.   

The bright, purple building is now known as The Acoma House. The space will functions as an Airbnb and an art piece—with each room offering a different, curated experience.  

The Eisensteins reached out to the artists and muralists from Babe Walls, a local mural festival that celebrates womxn and non-binary folks, to curate each room. 

Christina explained that they chose two curators: Alex Pangburn picked artists for the first floor and Joon chose the second-floor artists. And each room is an entirely unique experience.  

“There are 28 artists working on 25 different rooms. And we gave them no rules, no constructs for each room,” said Michael.  

The Eisensteins gave the artists almost full control of their room; they even chose many of the appliances and furnishings to complement their artwork. Joon, for example, chose a glass backsplash in the kitchen to reflect her abstract floral designs.  

“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for landlords to partner with local artists to provide both interesting spaces for people to experience—it’s like a walking exhibition—as well as support the local art community,” said Christina. 

Many artists found the experience much different than their typical outside wall projects.  

Danielle DeRoberts, known as Onerary, felt like her work was more of an installation. She incorporated fabric and lights into one of her wall pieces.  

“I like that idea that someone can actually have the act of turning the light on and off,” she explained. 

In both the main room and the bathroom, DeRoberts layered intricate aspen designs into her paintings. She described her line work as “a weaving of thread.” 

Lindee Zimmer, a multi-disciplinary artist, changed her entire process while creating her room.  She didn’t sketch the concept out beforehand and the piece evolved as she worked on it.  

“It’s kinda just like free flow…which is the most intuitive, raw way to work for me,” she explained.  

Zimmer’s detailed scenes portrayed the effects of settler colonialism on both people and the planet. While her use of coral pinks and muted mauves blend the details into the walls, the more time people spend in the room, the more they can discover. 

Each room in The Acoma House is uniquely different, from giant florals to geometric designs. Even the exterior is an art piece—the newly painted, purple brick is also covered in giant murals on the north and south walls from artists like Remington Robinson.  

“I just want this to be such a different experience both for guests and the art community,” said Christina.  

The Acoma House opens at the end of 2021. Here are the following artists featured: 

Inside

Outside