Take a creative adventure this weekend when you sign up for The Sassport Project in order to collect a set of custom-made stamps made by 17 local artists in a souvenir passport notebook. The artists — all of which are womxn — represent Babe Walls, Colorado’s first all womxn and non-binary mural festival.
READ: The New Colorado Mural Festival Babe Walls Highlights Badass Womxn and Non-Binary Artists
Since Babe Walls is just around the corner — happening in Westminster August 13 through 16 — The Sassport Project is definitely a way to get the word out while giving fans a teaser of what to expect at the mural festival. There are stamps made by many well-known local artists such as Sandra Fettingis, Lindee Zimmer, Kaitlin Ziesmer, Sandi Calistro, Moe Gram, Ashley Joon, Alexandrea Pangburn and Olive Moya. Overall, the talent displayed in this ad-hoc art book is commendable and worthy of collecting, especially at such an affordable price and with a good mission behind it.
Each stamp was designed specifically for the Sassport by the artist and will be hand-inked before leaving its mark inside your notebook, should you choose to take the adventure (cost of the book is $25). The only day to participate in this artistic scavenger hunt is Saturday, August 8 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. starting at Design Wright Studios in RiNo. But it’s important to note that the Sassports must be purchased online prior to arrival on Saturday.
The Sassport Project is about more than the artists of Babe Walls, or collecting those artists’ stamps — although that is certainly enough of a reason to get involved. As a partnership with TARRA and Betterish, The Sassport Project will also direct people toward BIPOC and womxn-owned businesses, some of Denver’s “coolest independent retailers” as the event page boasts. The whole endeavor is meant to amp up support for womxn and BIPOC artists, business owners and badasses — which made Babe Walls an obvious collaborator.
“I was super excited to be able to connect the dots on supporting local businesses and artists in such a restrictive time,” Alexandrea Pangburn, founder of Babe Walls said. “We all three strive to connect locally and this is one event that could not be more thoughtful and well-executed.”
“Supporting the creative community has been at the core of TARRA since the beginning,” founder Kate Bailey said. “When I heard about Babe Walls, I immediately called Alex [Pangburn] to establish a partnership to help spread the word to the TARRA community and beyond.” Around the same time, Emily Hope Dobkin, of Betterish, wanted to do something unique and safe but still fun and artistic amidst all the cancellations from COVID-19 and brought up the concept to Bailey at TARRA. The two then approached Pangburn to enlist the help of the “babes” of Babe Walls.
“A silver lining of the pandemic is that we’re tapping into sources of creative resiliency,” commented Dobkin. “A big part of that is figuring out methods to support and connect in more interesting ways than before.”
Bailey said, “this event hits so many of the right notes—it’s supporting Babe Walls, creating some much-needed love for small retail shops hit hard in the pandemic shut down and offering our community an exciting (and socially distanced) adventure.”
Some of the businesses that Sassport adventurers will have to check out to get their stamp include Alchemy Ritual Goods, Modern Nomad, Wordshop, Hope Tank and Sacred Thistle. Offerings at the participating stores vary from herbs and tinctures to cards and stationary to flowers and gifts to clothes and jewelry. The locations span many different Denver neighborhoods, so make sure you’re equipped with a car, a bike or a scooter in order to cover the whole list.
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For more information about the event and to purchase a Sassport, go here.
The full list of participating Sassport artists is Alexandrea Pangburn, Ashley Joon, Becca Reitz, Danielle SeeWalker, Flow and Root, Gina Ilczyszyn, Grow Love, Kaitlin Ziesmer, Lindee Zimmer, Marissa Napoletano, Megan Walker, Moe Gram, Olive Moya, Sandi Calistro, Sandra Fettingis, Taylor Herzog and R0melle.
Photos courtesy of The Sassport Project unless otherwise noted.