Dates & times
All times are local to the venue · America/Denver
- 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM
Earlier dates (1)
- 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM
DIVA: The Art of Music Turns Listening into Mixed Media at the Denver Art Museum
A song can suggest more than a sound: its words may conjure images, while its mood can prompt a visual response. At the Denver Art Museum, DIVA: The Art of Music uses those connections as a starting point for looking at selected artworks and making participants’ own music-inspired mixed-media pieces.
Many ways to connect sound and image
The class description points to several possible links between music and visual art: show posters and fashion, jazz and abstract expressionism, and the synesthesia associated with Wassily Kandinsky and Joan Mitchell. Imagery prompted by song lyrics offers another route into the subject. These are themes for looking and discussion, not a published list of works that the tour will visit.
Participants also consider music that matters to them, including the images its lyrics bring to mind and the feelings its sounds can communicate. They then use their own responses as material for a mixed-media artwork. The result is a class built around interpretation and guided making, rather than a single prescribed subject.
Further reading: DIVA: The Art of Music | Art Classes at the Denver Art Museum ↗
A continuing project, with materials provided
Across the two-week class, students explore selected works from the museum’s collection and the DIVA exhibition on a curated tour, reflect on personal musical connections, and receive guidance as they create their own music-related mixed-media art. The museum does not specify a particular medium, sequence of techniques, or required finished format.
The class fee includes a $30 studio fee covering all materials. That makes the stated commitment clear: participants bring their own musical associations to the work, while the studio materials are provided.
Further reading: DIVA: The Art of Music | Art Classes at the Denver Art Museum ↗
An instructor with a cross-media practice
Charis Lillene Fleshner leads the class. She earned an MFA in studio art from the University of New Mexico, teaches art at Aims Community College, and exhibits nationally. Before graduate study, she taught elementary and junior high art for seven years after earning a BFA in art education from the University of North Texas.
Her studio practice includes painting, soft sculpture, and Craftivism, and engages with the intersections of feminism and art. The museum describes the class as mixed-media but does not link any one of those studio practices to a specific exercise.
Further reading: DIVA: The Art of Music | Art Classes at the Denver Art Museum ↗
The exhibition behind the class
DIVA, organized by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, runs at the Denver Art Museum from October 4, 2026, through January 31, 2027. The exhibition considers how performers have used costume and dress across time, including to claim visibility and affect culture; it also invites visitors to think about who counts as a diva.
The exhibition includes about 250 objects and spans nearly 100 performers, from Josephine Baker, Sarah Bernhardt, and Maria Callas to Cher, Aretha Franklin, Lady Gaga, Dolly Parton, Prince, Rihanna, and Taylor Swift. Those names describe DIVA as a whole, not the class tour’s confirmed selection. The class meets in the Martin Building; DIVA is in the separate Hamilton Building on Level 2.
Further reading: DIVA | Denver Art Museum ↗ · DIVA: The Art of Music | Art Classes at the Denver Art Museum ↗
Looking, reflecting, making
The museum describes the course as a connected process: a curated tour of selected collection and DIVA works, personal reflection on music, and guided creation of mixed-media art. The listing does not assign particular activities to either Saturday.
Saturday, November 7, 2026 · Creative Hub—Martin Building, Level 1
- First meeting of the two-week class. The listing describes a curated tour of selected collection and DIVA works, personal reflection on music, and guided creation of mixed-media artwork as the class’s overall activities; it does not assign them to this date.
Saturday, November 14, 2026 · Creative Hub—Martin Building, Level 1
- Second meeting of the two-week class. The listing describes a curated tour of selected collection and DIVA works, personal reflection on music, and guided creation of mixed-media artwork as the class’s overall activities; it does not assign them to this date.
Dates, fees and registration
Two Saturday meetings
The class meets Saturday, November 7, and Saturday, November 14, 2026, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. each day. Both meetings are in the Creative Hub, Martin Building, Level 1, at the Denver Art Museum, 100 W 14th Ave. Pkwy., Denver, CO 80204.
DIVA: The Art of Music | Art Classes at the Denver Art Museum ↗ · Plan Your Visit | Denver Art Museum ↗
The class fee includes materials and museum entry
A ticket is required. The two-session class costs $160 for Museum Friends and CultureHaus, $170 for members and students, and $205 for nonmembers. Each price includes a $30 studio fee for all materials and ticketed entry to DIVA. The museum states that DIVA tickets also include general admission to the museum.
DIVA: The Art of Music | Art Classes at the Denver Art Museum ↗ · DIVA | Denver Art Museum ↗ · Plan Your Visit | Denver Art Museum ↗
Check the terms before purchasing
The museum’s policy is no refunds or exchanges. If you cannot attend, it asks you to consider your payment a tax-deductible donation. If weather or teacher illness cancels a class or workshop, the museum will schedule a make-up day as the educator’s schedule allows.
DIVA: The Art of Music | Art Classes at the Denver Art Museum ↗
Confirm any eligibility questions
The class listing does not state an age minimum or a prior-skill requirement. Contact the museum if either question affects your decision to register.
DIVA: The Art of Music | Art Classes at the Denver Art Museum ↗
Getting to the Martin Building
Class location
The class meets in the Creative Hub, Martin Building, Level 1, at 100 W 14th Ave. Pkwy., Denver, CO 80204. The museum lists entrances at both the Martin and Hamilton buildings; DIVA is in the separate Hamilton Building on Level 2.
DIVA: The Art of Music | Art Classes at the Denver Art Museum ↗ · Plan Your Visit | Denver Art Museum ↗ · DIVA | Denver Art Museum ↗ · Directions and Parking | Denver Art Museum ↗
Transit, parking and cycling
The museum says RTD and light rail serve the area. The Free MallRide stops at Cleveland Place; from there, walk south through Civic Center Park. Bike racks are on the museum plaza.
Street and metered parking are available within walking distance, as are nearby lots including the Cultural Center Complex Garage at 12th Avenue and Broadway. The garage is operated by Denver Public Works, and its advertised event rates may vary. Accessible parking spaces are on the garage’s second level and on 13th Avenue south of Broadway.
Plan Your Visit | Denver Art Museum ↗ · Directions and Parking | Denver Art Museum ↗ · Accessibility at Denver Art Museum | Parking, Mobility & More ↗
Accessibility
The museum says its public areas are wheelchair accessible, with power-assist doors at the main entrances and elevators throughout. Free standard manual wheelchairs are available first-come, first-served at both building welcome centers; portable stools are available in the museum.
Free ASL interpretation and CART captioning are available for museum programs with five business days’ notice. To request either service, email [email protected]. These are museum-wide services, not class-specific arrangements.
Before you make a plan
Does the class fee cover both DIVA and general museum admission?
The class fee includes ticketed entry to DIVA. The museum says DIVA tickets include general admission to the museum as well.
DIVA: The Art of Music | Art Classes at the Denver Art Museum ↗ · DIVA | Denver Art Museum ↗
Can I attend only one of the two dates?
The museum lists this as a two-week class with meetings on both dates. It does not say whether single-session registration or partial attendance is possible, so check with the museum before booking.
DIVA: The Art of Music | Art Classes at the Denver Art Museum ↗
Are materials provided?
Yes. The class price includes a $30 studio fee covering all materials.
DIVA: The Art of Music | Art Classes at the Denver Art Museum ↗
Location & Google Maps
Creative Hub—Martin Building, Level 1, Denver Art Museum
100 W 14th Ave. Pkwy., Denver, CO 80204
Map search by venue and address. Check the organiser’s entrance details before travelling.