The Emmanuel Art Gallery on Denver's Auraria Campus is celebrating its 150th anniversary with the exhibition “Come Together: 150 Years of the Emmanuel.” The gallery, originally built as an episcopal chapel in 1876, has served as a synagogue and an artist's studio before becoming a gallery in 1973. The article profiles three local artists featured in the show: Isabella Briganti, a former student worker at the gallery now showing her drawings; Carlos Frésquez, who had his first professional show there in 1976 and has since become an internationally exhibited artist; and Max Kauffman, a Denver-based painter whose work explores folk imagery and the history of the building.
The exhibition highlights the gallery's dual role as both a professional exhibition space and a student-centered institution on a college campus. The gallery's long history—from church to synagogue to artist studio to gallery—reflects the evolving cultural landscape of Denver. For the featured artists, the Emmanuel Art Gallery represents community, opportunity, and a connection to local history, underscoring the importance of such institutions in nurturing emerging talent and preserving cultural heritage.