23-05-2025
Old cookie factory is Denver's newest (and free!) art gallery
An abandoned 1940s fortune cookie factory in Denver's Baker neighborhood reopens Saturday as a contemporary art space that's free and open to the public.
Why it matters: Cookie Factory isn't just another private collection dressed up as a museum. It's a fresh model that's intimate, immersive and rooted in Colorado.
What they're saying: "We are commissioning artists and giving them the freedom to create new works inspired by their visits to Colorado and in response to the architecture of the space," owner and developer Amanda Precourt told 303 Magazine.
"All work on view is brand new, debuting just for our city."
The big picture: Precourt — a mental health advocate who's spoken openly about her struggles with anxiety and depression — sees art as a form of healing.
Collecting is one of "the myriad ways that art has saved me," she said in a New York Times interview.
Zoom in: Precourt's 5,000-square-foot gallery, which sits on the ground floor of her two-story home, took her almost a decade to secure and renovate, the Times reports.
The space will host two solo exhibitions each year — with the debut show, " Nothing Without Nature" by Los Angeles-based Sam Falls, opening Saturday.
The intrigue: Precourt has worked with more than 20 galleries, per the NYT. She's also funding one of this spring's biggest contemporary shows — " Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers" — at the Guggenheim in New York City.
