International Artist Kyle Holbrook Unveils Street Art Project Promoting Voter Awareness in Denver’s RiNo Arts District

Denver, CO — This past weekend, internationally renowned artist Kyle Holbrook brought his vibrant style and message of peace and civic responsibility to Denver’s RiNo Arts District through a powerful street art project aimed at raising voter awareness. The series, inspired by Holbrook’s recent work in Paris and funded by a grant from the Moving Lives of Kids (MLK) Mural Project, encourages nonviolence and togetherness as Americans prepare for the upcoming elections.

Holbrook, who has worked in 43 countries and 49 states, draws inspiration from Parisian street art, known for its delicate mosaics and paper-based works, to create a series of ten original ink-and-marker street art pieces on sticker paper. These art installations, spread across the RiNo district, feature caricatures of political figures like Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. The playful yet thought-provoking designs, strategically placed in one of Denver’s most vibrant and highly trafficked areas, remind viewers of the importance of voting while promoting peace amidst political division.

Holbrook’s caricatures make light of the recent presidential debates, sparking both smiles and serious reflection. As political tensions rise, these artworks encourage voters to stay calm and peaceful regardless of the election's outcome. Each piece includes a peace symbol, reinforcing the message that no matter who wins, Americans must stand united in their shared identity and commitment to democracy.

Kyle Holbrook stated, "This project is about more than just voting; it’s about coming together as a community. Voting is a way for us to speak our minds peacefully, and my goal with these installations is to remind everyone that we can engage in the process without turning to violence or division. No matter who wins, we are still Americans, and we should aim for peace and unity."

Holbrook’s extensive résumé includes large-scale public art pieces across the world, including four murals in Paris for the Olympics, street art, sculptures, and lighting art. The influence of his Parisian experience is evident in this Denver series, where each installation blends the precision of European street art with the energy of American political discourse.

RiNo Arts District—a renowned hub for tourism, local businesses, and art—was the perfect canvas for Holbrook’s voter awareness project. The pieces were placed in close proximity to some of the district’s most iconic murals, further amplifying their visibility and the importance of their message. The installations highlight the district’s role as a gathering place for people from all walks of life, ensuring that thousands of residents and visitors alike could view the art during one of Denver’s busiest weekends.

The project, set against the backdrop of RiNo's vibrant cultural landscape, sends a clear message: voting is crucial, but equally important is how we respond to the results—with peace, respect, and unity.

Westword: Tell me about yourself and how you got started painting murals.

Kyle Holbrook: All my life, I wanted to be an artist. My mom and dad were both teachers who gave me encouragement from a young age. I had my daughter in college, so from nineteen years old on, making a living from being an artist was my only job. I would do murals and signs for small businesses, restaurants, corner stores and daycares, and caricatures at special events like bat mitzvahs, birthday parties and weddings. Then I was invited to do my first public mural twenty years ago, and just like a lot of things in life, it happened organically from there. The more public and highly visible the murals I did, the more opportunities they led to. Now I’ve done murals in 43 countries and 27 states.

What's Moving Lives of Kids, and how does it relate to this project? 

Moving Lives of Kids is an organization I founded in 2002 that focuses on public art and three main objectives: education, youth art programs, and doing public art that brings awareness to social issues. 

MLK Mural was able to provide a grant to sponsor a tour of murals through eighteen cities to promote the continued use of masks during the vaccine rollout to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

What inspired this piece?

As a society, we’ve seen one year ago a sports icon that superseded sports in Kobe Bryant dying prematurely in a helicopter crash. President Biden just made a speech addressing the country after we unfortunately reached over half a million deaths from coronavirus. The recent car crash of Tiger Woods, also a sports icon whose popularity supersedes sports — the crash shows how fragile life is. All these reasons inspired the piece. 

The mural is meant to send a get-well to Tiger Woods. I put a mask on his image to further promote and remind people to continue to wear masks.

How do you feel we're doing on the mask issue as a city and state? 

I think in Denver we are doing a good job, although sometimes I see groups of people — especially after drinks  — they don’t have masks on and seem to have no concern. We've just got to come together in solidarity to overcome this pandemic.

Why Tiger Woods? Does he have a special connection to masks?

Well, he would visit Breckenridge Ski Resort and the International at Castle Pines. Tiger Woods played twice here in Colorado. 

But this mural was more about this moment in time. In this moment, right now, using public art to spread the message of the need to continue to wear masks, and in this exact moment, Tiger Woods had just been through the accident. His image will hopefully maximize visibility to the mural, thus drawing attention to the message.

Anything else you want to speak to? 

I want to encourage people to go on to the website mlkmural.com. Any youth, professional artists, teachers or volunteers can sign up utilizing the online forms, as we plan to do a lot more work. I’m here in Denver from 2021 to ’22.

For more information about Holbrook and his work, go to the Moving the Lives of Kids Community Mural Project website.