CHAC Gallery Moving Back to Its Roots in the Santa Fe Arts District

By Chanel Ward

If the efforts of resilience and situational adaptability could formulate a blueprint on how to successfully maintain a non-profit for over four decades and through many trials and tribulations along the way, The Chicano Humanities and Arts Council (CHAC) gallery, could draft the outline.

The long-standing gallery was founded back in 1978 by a group of young, upcoming artists, all coming off of the heels of The Chicano Civil Rights Movement, or El Movimiento. Resurrecting out of the basement of St. Patrick’s Church on 33^rd and Pecos in North West Denver, CHAC would than touchdown in the Santa Fe District by 1986. A district that would later become nationally known as Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe (ADSF), located in the heart of the West Side of Denver.

*The Chicano Humanities and Arts Council (CHAC) has exhibited various mediums of art over the past forty years.* **(Photo: CHAC/fb)**

The old plot that CHAC first called home on Santa Fe for four years, is now just a parking lot next to the Su Teatro Theatre, but as did the Mayan’s with Slash-and-burn agriculture, or controlled burnings; practiced to enrich the soil for the next harvesting season, CHAC too continues to rise like a phoenix from the ashes, enhancing each space it occupies. Each time with the secret ingredient of wisdom and knowledge that much richer.

By 2003, serendipitously the same year ADSF was founded, CHAC had finally found a semi-permanent home on 772-774 Santa Fe, but not before moving to three different spaces over the span of 13-years and twice again during Covid, with their biggest blow yet to hit… or, at least seemingly, at first:

“For about 20 years before that, CHAC had kind of bounced around from churches and different locations throughout Denver,” Dr. Renee Fajardo, Board President of CHAC said in an interview with El Semanario adding, “but they had been at 772-774 [Santa Fe] for quite a long time and there came a time where the owner said he was going to sell the building. Well, we couldn’t afford to buy the building.”

That price tag was an astounding $1.5 million, with no room for negotiations for a community staple that had now had to uproot nearly 20-years of closely, manicured growth.

A close proximity move to 222 Santa Fe proved to be a great loss to the gallery, “we were paying a thousand dollars a month and there was no foot traffic down there,” Fajardo explained. “We were pretty much backed up into a corner and we signed a five-year lease, which was really terrible for us, because when COVID hit, what happened was basically it shut everything down,” she further explained. “But we were still tied into a lease.” Therefore, the inevitable happened, “they just were not going to negotiate with us. So, we had to buy our lease out,” said Fajardo.

CEO of CHAC, Brenda Gurule appreciatively expressed, “we were very fortunate, because several people reached out to us,” as she remembers the various people who offered them space until they found one of their own. Gurule explained, “we just started partnering with other galleries and they let us have live shows and that’s how we survived until we got our own stability and then we finally found a place that we felt we could afford in the 40 West Arts District.”

The ‘40 West Arts District’ is a nonprofit, state-certified arts district located along Lakewood’s historic W. Colfax Ave. “40 West Arts is extremely important [to us],” Fajardo said.

And then, something not even Gurule nor Fajardo could imagine to be true happened.

“Last fall, we got an amazing email,” said Gurule, “so I followed up on it and me and Dr. Renee went to meet this kind young man named Kyle Schneider and when we met, he offered us his space,” a still flabbergasted Gurule explained, while adding that even still she, “was very skeptical, like, who offers that right?” she asked, still in disbelief by the generosity of this kind stranger, or unsung hero, if you will.

Schneider offered CHAC the space at 834 Santa Fe, an offer that was awaited with terms and logistics, however, this wasn’t a proposition, it was a gift. A gift of ownership for a gallery, thoughtfully given to a community deserving of it. The property belonged to Schneider’s late mother, Katherine Payge, who bought the space in 2017 and used it as her own art gallery. Payge also owned the property at 900 Santa Fe.

CHAC is now in its forever location, back to their roots in a building that they now own and retain their headquarters at the ‘40 West Arts District’ for office space and keeping their presence in Lakewood.

“We are going to maintain our headquarters and our workshops,” explained Fajardo. “We are not going to abandon [40 West]; number one, our kids that need us there, and number two, we’re not going to abandon a district that really helped us out and really wants to address our program and represent the community. We’re not leaving 40 West. That is our headquarters.”

CHAC is on a powerful mission after nearly 45 years of uncertainty; thanks to the generosity of Kyle Schneider.

“We’re going to be having our opening show October 6,” said Gurule and hopes to dedicate a building in Kathryn Payge’s name, with the support and attendance of her son. The opening show is titled, “Return to Aztlán.” A title that speaks volumes to the current atmosphere.

CHAC plans on raising $1 million over the span of two years for endowment and has plans for future events as well as maintaining the events that they are known and loved for. Keep up with all the latest CHAC news by visiting their website at www.ChacGallery.org.

Chanel Ward is an Independent Reporter for The Weekly Issue/El Semanario.