5280 Magazine – August 2019

102 |^5280 |^ AUGUST^2019

CRUSHING

IT

Growing up in Kansas City,

Laedan Galicia would follow old-

er friends around as they put up

illegal graffiti. The artistic young-

ster was intrigued, but it was

giant projects like the Children’s

Mercy Hospital murals painted by

Scribe (a Kansas City–based artist

who came to Denver for the first

CRUSH) that really inspired him—

and he hasn’t stopped thinking

big since. When he graduated

from the Kansas City Art Institute

in 2013, he began cultivating his

brand under the moniker DINKC

(Death Is Not Knowing Certainty,

pronounced “dink”). “A lot of

my stuff is based off of Día de

los Muertos, being Mexican,

and then I grew up on Mickey

Mouse,” he says. “I mixed a little

bit of my culture,

old-school car-

toons, and street

art graffiti.”

After a few

years in New

York City, DINKC moved to Den-

ver in spring 2017. He’d been

doing smaller work on the East

Coast, but DINKC quickly found

opportunities to paint bigger

walls within Denver’s community,

including spots at CRUSH in 2017

and 2018. “Here, it’s not neces-

sarily just about doing something

cool,” DINKC says. “It’s about

doing something meaningful and

giving back and collaborating.”

From the extensive line of

merchandise—sneakers, totes, T-

shirts—he mostly produces in his

studio to the backpack he hand-

painted for a Children’s Hospital

Colorado fundraiser, DINKC has

embedded himself in the local

scene while also garnering mural

commissions. Part of the 28-year-

old’s distinctive look comes from

the fact that he works freehand.

“Spray paint is a very unforgiv-

ing medium. When you do those

lines—very clean, crisp—you have

to really boldly, confidently go

in there and do it,” DINKC says.

“If you hesitate, you’ll see it on

the wall, and you’ll waste paint

and time.” And wasting anything

is the one thing not on DINKC’s

ambitious to-do list. @dinkc

DI NKCf

“If you hesitate, you’ll

see it on the wall.”

A

R

TI

S

T

S

P

O

TL

IG

H

T

PAINT BY NUMBERS

A numerical look at CRUSH Walls 2 019.

Watch A Paint-Off

Secret Walls, on Friday,

September 6, will pit artists

against one another—and

the clock—in a 90-minute live

painting battle. The location

will be disclosed via Insta-

gram the week of the festival;

spectators decide who wins.

Take A Tour

Erin Spradlin and James Carl-

son, proprietors of Denver

Graffiti Tour, host two-hour

guided walks through RiNo

CREATIVE PURSUITS

CRUSH Walls serves as fuel for year-round street-art-focused

ventures. Here, your to-do list for the fest and beyond.

all year, but be sure to book

early if you want a spot

during CRUSH Walls. (The

new Wine & Walls version

includes a stop at the Infinite

Monkey Theorem.)

Buy Some Merch

You can find CRUSH Walls

swag at RiNo Made inside

Zeppelin Station. For ev-

erything from canvas works

to stickers by local street

artists, check out festival

founder Robin Munro/

Dread’s new Headquarters

Gallery in the alley behind

Denver Central Market.

See A Show

Elyria-Swansea’s opening-

this-month Mission Ballroom

(see page 54) will host live

art installations followed by

a performance by Mexican

pop-rocker Natalia Lafour-

cade to close out the fest on

Sunday, September 8.

428

Artist applications

submitted, up

from 270 in 2018

80

Colorado artists

chosen by a panel

of eight judges

16

Invited national

and interna-

tional artists

80

Murals that will

be created over

the week of the

festival across

30 blocks

40

%

Estimated

percentage of

female artists

d Denver Graffiti

Tour stops by one

of Pat Milbery and

Pat McKinney’s

“Love This City”

murals, a series

facilitated by

Visit Denver.

~600

Cans of spray paint

provided to artists