RiNo ArtPark at Arkins Park Walking Tour
July 11, 2026
DAF Member tickets go on sale on June 20 at 4PM MST. Pending availability, tickets are available to the public on sale June 27 at 4PM MST. DAF Membership will be verified upon ticket purchase. Click here to become a DAF member.
About the tour: Join the Denver Architecture Foundation and RiNo Art District as we explore RiNo ArtPark at Arkins Park and the surrounding studio spaces through the lenses of adaptive reuse, public space design, creative placemaking, and cultural infrastructure.
Participants will tour the ArtPark campus, learn about the rehabilitation of former industrial and municipal buildings into an interdisciplinary arts and cultural hub, and explore how architecture, landscape, and community partnerships have shaped this evolving public space along the South Platte River. Tour highlights include the adaptive reuse of historic industrial and service buildings, the Arkins Promenade designed by Tres Birds and Michael Moore, public art and reclaimed industrial materials integrated throughout the campus, artist studio visits with participants in RiNo Art District’s subsidized studio program, and discussions surrounding affordable creative space, community activation, and the future of cultural districts in Denver.
About RiNo ArtPark at Arkins Park: RiNo ArtPark at Arkins Park is a partnership between the City and County of Denver and RiNo Art District located along the South Platte River in the Five Points neighborhood. Designed by Denver-based architecture firm Tres Birds in collaboration with Wenk Associates, the $4.1 million project transformed former industrial buildings and service structures into a multidisciplinary arts and cultural campus through an adaptive reuse approach. Today, the campus includes affordable artist studios, gallery and cultural programming space, a Denver Public Library branch, a commissary kitchen and food incubator, flexible event space within the Truss House, and public green space connected to the South Platte River trail system.
The ArtPark also features the Arkins Promenade, a 400-foot elevated public walkway designed by Michael Moore and Tres Birds that includes overlooks, seating areas, porch swings, suspended gathering nets, and social gathering spaces overlooking the river corridor. Public art throughout the campus incorporates reclaimed industrial materials and includes installations by Colorado artists Jaime Molina, Pedro Barrios of The Worst Crew, and Pard Morrison.
About the tour guide: Daisy Fodness-McGowan is Executive Director of RiNo Art District, where she leads cultural programming, artist initiatives, public art projects, exhibitions, and district-wide creative strategy. An artist, curator, and arts administrator, Daisy previously spent more than a decade at the Galleries of Contemporary Art at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Her work focuses on the intersection of art, public space, advocacy, cultural infrastructure, and community-strengthening through shared experiences with the arts.
Accessibility: The tour is a one-mile walk through the RiNo ArtPark at Arkins Park that includes sidewalks, paved paths, the elevated Arkins Promenade, and a pedestrian bridge crossing with an elevator that has intermittent challenges. Portions of the route may include uneven urban surfaces. Studio spaces are ADA accessible, though there will be limited opportunity for seated rest.
Refund policy: The Denver Architecture Foundation is a nonprofit educational organization. Ticket sales support the Foundation in continuing to provide quality events to the public. We are unable to provide refunds or credits for any reason less than 48 hours prior to the event.
Please note that DAF tours take place rain, snow or shine. If your tour includes an outdoor portion, please dress for the weather. DAF staff will contact all attendees directly should a tour be cancelled for any reason.