DIVA After Hours

DIVA After Hours is coming to the Denver Art Museum on Monday, November 9, from 6 PM to 8 PM. It's an after-hours reception and viewing of the DIVA exhibition, and it's open only to CultureHaus members—the museum's membership package for people 45 and under. The evening is led by Jill D'Alessandro, Director and Curator of the Avenir Institute of Textile Art and Fashion, who'll be there to walk through the show.

DIVA itself was organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and is touring the world, bringing about 250 objects and costumes worn by legends like Josephine Baker, Sarah Bernhardt, and Maria Callas, alongside Cher, Aretha Franklin, Lady Gaga, Dolly Parton, Prince, Rihanna, and Taylor Swift. One of Rihanna's Met Gala looks is among them. The Denver Art Museum evolved the exhibition for an American audience, framing it not as a definition of what a diva is, but as a demonstration of how costume and dress have been a tool across time for performers to demand visibility and ignite social change.

It's a big, wide-ranging collection that puts the early stage stars and the modern pop icons in the same room, and having the curator there to lead the presentation gives you a chance to hear the thinking behind it rather than just walking through on your own. The show is made possible by sponsors Joy and Chris Dinsdale with funding from the Avenir Foundation Endowment.

If you're a CultureHaus member, the evening is $10. It runs from 6 PM to 8 PM on November 9 in the Hamilton Building, Level 2, at the Denver Art Museum.