Pines stands in front of the spot where a mural for Brea, aka “Sovereign Status,” was recently visible, before it was painted over. July 26, 2024.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Street art is often covered up by other street art. Those are the rules.
But for a memorial mural painted on May 25, on a wall between 27th and 28th streets on Larimer and defaced two months later, the case is different.
That’s according to a man who identifies as “Pines,” who facilitated the creation of a mural in memory of his friend Brea, also known as “Sovereign Status.”
Its disappearance wasn’t a symptom of new art replacing old. It was a symptom of gentrification.
This city block Brea’s mural called home is in the area some might call RiNo, or the River North Arts District. Others refer to it as Five Points.
The distinction carries historical and political baggage.
Technically, RiNo is part of the historic and historically Black Five Points neighborhood. It got its name and designation as an arts district in 2005.
But for much of Denver’s Black community, and others who occupied the area prior to RiNo’s founding, the neighborhood has been — and will continue to be — Five Points.
Community members are mad about more than the irony of an art bar defacing art
The wall that the mural was painted on belongs to an upcoming “immersive art lounge” called Mockingbird. According to Pines, the business painted a large, black stripe through Brea’s memorial mural and added three of the bar’s logos.
“It was done with such disdain and lack of consideration,” Pines said.
His community feels similarly. Over the past few days, social media users have put Mockingbird on blast, calling the move “ignorant” and “disrespectful,” along with harsher names.
Pines says one striking part of the incident is that the streets respected the mural, created by local artist Lesho.
“The streets knew what was up. That mural has not been touched. Every other mural that you might see on this block, it might get tagged over, it might get touched,” he said. “[But] that mural has gone untouched.”
Pines is angered that his work wasn’t replaced by something that made sense, something with artistic value.
“If it was done tastefully with just whatever mural or whatever they need to do on that wall, you probably wouldn’t have heard a peep from a lot of us,” he said, “because we do know that that can sometimes be a revolving wall.”
But to have this art — honoring his late friend — covered up in such a haphazard way unleashed tension lurking just below the surface in one of the city’s most gentrified areas.
As Brea’s community turned up the heat, Mockingbird co-owner Robert Champion faced the blaze.
In a publicly-streamed conversation, he met with Pines to discuss the harm done, and reconciliation.
In the discussion, Pines thanked Champion for initiating a conversation with him and seeking resolve.
“I don’t believe you to be ill-intended,” Pines said, but added, “I hold intention and impact in a high regard.”
In a video posted on the Mockingbird account shortly after that discussion, Champion stated: “I don’t know how I could possibly say sorry enough for the impact we’ve had in painting our logo over Brea’s memorial mural.”
“I claim full ignorance, but I also claim full responsibility,” Champion said.
Pines later told Denverite that Champion kept reiterating that “he felt like this was him getting a crash course on Denver politics” and the community surrounding his new business.
“I don’t believe it to be my job to educate people who are unwilling to do the research,” Pines said. “[But in this case,] as it pertains to my sister, my dear, dear, dear friend, and the gravity of how this came about, I do feel this [incident] inclined me to pipe up a little bit more.”
Pines says Brea was, “incredibly community-oriented, forward, and very outspoken.”
Her memorial mural will be repainted on Saturday, July 27.
Lauren Antonoff Hart
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