“Untitled: Artist Takeover” at Denver Art Museum Welcomes Melissa Ivey and Sofie Birkin

“It feels like I’ve been preparing for this show my whole life,” says Melissa Ivey (they/she/her) when discussing their upcoming show, “Untitled: Artist Takeover,” coming to the Denver Art Museum for one night only on January 27, 2023.

Ivey’s professional career and personal life journey provide fuel for much of the creativity that has inspired several cultural and creative initiatives across the world, all facilitated by this diminutive 5’ 2” Taino Two Spirit queer creator. With a presence that is much larger than life, Ivey continuously engages in the community with an open-hearted eagerness to share the stories that connect us all.

Marching forward with Melissa and their Future Ancestors for “Untitled: Artist Takeover” at the Denver Art Museum is queer artist and digital illustrator Sofie Birkin (she/they), as well as an impressive lineup of local queer and queer adjacent artists, performers, and activists. This is an evening of interactive storytelling and artmaking meant to spark creative conversations about the relevance and importance of marginalized identities and their significant contributions to society as a whole.

Ivey’s career took root over 20 years ago when they started exploring punk sounds with their band Manic Notion in the late 90s. Driven by the impulse to share their (he)art with others, Melissa sold 5,000 copies of their self-released album From The Inside Out from the back of their VW bus back in the early 2000s. This was the beginning of a lifelong dedication to creating art for this multidimensional creator, with a career that has unfolded in some remarkable and sometimes surprising ways.

Yet, even though Ivey, (who is sometimes affectionately referred to as “Uncle Mel” by those closest to them), has graced stages all over this country, oftentimes performing with national acts, and has been the driving force behind Ivey Productions, their self-founded entertainment and production company, they’ve felt there was still a missing piece yet to be discovered.

In 2006 the quest for reclaiming their culture revealed a piece of the puzzle when a co-worker requested that Ivey play guitar in the delivery room while she was in active labor. After several hours, Ivey found that they were called to assist their co-worker’s doula and experienced a live birth for the first time. This ignited a new passion in Ivey, which led to training and a scholarship through Denver Health where they spent eight months volunteering next to midwives, nurses, and doctors to become “The Musical Doula.” Since the culmination of their training, Ivey has assisted with 30 births to date.

But through all this, Ivey still felt an ancestral calling pulling them toward what has become a central theme to everything they now create. Much of Ivey’s young adulthood was plagued with addiction and alcoholism as they traversed life in search of true meaning, a true north. Ultimately, this resulted in Uncle Mel working toward and realizing the benefits of sobriety, which opened their eyes to how much addiction plays into, and is a byproduct of, a colonization mentality.

With this newfound sense of self and purpose, Ivey’s awareness of the reality of the oppression, exploitation, and murder of indigenous relatives throughout the course of history expanded, leading Ivey into a whole new world of activism to spread the awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR).

“We will find justice for their souls and spirits. We stand in solidarity for the pain of the families,” says Ivey regarding their MMIR activism, an issue that is far too prevalent amongst Native communities.

Often looked to as a bridge builder by those who look up to them, Ivey seeks to amplify the voices of those who have had their voices taken from them. To help heal and break generational curses that leave us all entrenched in harmful ideals and rhetoric. Ivey’s activism gave them an audience with local city council and politicians over the subjects of housing inequity and human rights activism, all this for the purpose of creating a more promising story for Future Ancestors in the coming generations.

As a practicing musical doula who incorporates sacred teachings from Mexican midwives, techniques of the rebozo and guided meditation, breath work, and native and indigenous herbs into their practice, Ivey began to hunger for a deeper understanding of, and connection, to their ancestry. Intent on preserving their cultural traditions further, Ivey began “claying.” Throughout history, The Taino peoples created a wealth of various pottery styles, and Ivey’s continued curiosity into this piece of their ancestry led to yet another creative outlet: molding ceramic sculptures of the Taino deity Atabey.

“During the pandemic, I had a dream about a Taino deity. Upon waking and searching Google, I found Atabey: part frog, part woman, a goddess of the earth, waters, and the sustainable living of the Taino peoples,” Ivey remarks about finding their inspiration and cultural connection through Atabey. Visitors to “Untitled: Artist Takeover” will get a chance to see Ivey’s Atabey sculptures up close and personal during the event.

“I’ll also be bringing my love of the recording arts and futuristic spaces to the Denver Art Museum with an interactive art installation piece called The Recording Womb,” Ivey says.

The Recording Womb project unites Ivey’s service as a doula with their artistry as a musician, storyteller, educator, and Future Ancestor. The nine-foot, womb-like dome is an aesthetically soothing mobile structure that offers access to private and communal audio recording. Participants in the Recording Womb experience can expect a multimedia and multi-sensory, interactive art piece with the intent purpose of cultivating authentic connections within the LGBTQ+/QTPOC community.

The Recording Womb project is an inclusive space for siblings to gather and where Indigenous oral tradition is preserved and celebrated. During the “Untitled: Artist Takeover” show, visitors to the exhibition can record their own messages for future generations at The Recording Womb multimedia installation with audio engineering by DJ Selecta C.

“Mostly this show is all about sharing my love of lifting up my community and highlighting my multi talented siblings. This event will feature a variety show and an MMIR Indigenous fashion show with styles provided by Denver’s first Native Fashion Haus, Corn Maiden Designs, founded by Akalei Brown,” Melissa says. “I found it only fitting to invite Buffalo Barbie, a Two Spirit Drag Queen from the Haus of Barbie, to join us for this show as well so that we can all celebrate our cultures together and support and uplift one another.”

This night will also feature powerful poetry and spoken word from The Lovely Rebel followed by Lucky Garcia and ancestral food carefully curated by Maiz Denver food truck.

Tickets are now available for the Denver Art Museum “Untitled: Artist Takeover” featuring Melissa Ivey and Sofie Birkin with special guests but you can enter for a chance to win a four-pack through OFM. Stay tuned for details! The show is January 27, 2023, from 6-10 p.m. at the Denver Art Museum.

Featured image courtesy of Ambrose Cruz