Kaylee Bender is a Pittsburgh-born, Denver-based painter, educator, community outreach coordinator, and life-long artist inspired by her journey of healing, feeling and growing. She explores beauty and authenticity through surreal imaginations of human nature and our diverse stories. Her sense of color launches us into her world where we find stories like ours as she challenges us to reflect on the world around us. Inspired by jazz, her art shares a surreal taste of the beautifully black, acting as a catalyst for liberation.” Kaylee shares her craft and creative process in the community and empowers those around her. Her community engagement is focused on sharing “art as liberation” with black and brown youth and improving arts access for people experiencing social inequity. She mentors with RedLine’s EPIC and ArtCorps programs and launched the “Art in Public Places” Project with Lake Middle School in 2021. Kaylee not only participates in community but actively celebrates it and in doing so dances in the face of familial, cultural, and communal gentrification pressures. Her public artwork, workshops, storytelling, and portraiture, including work for Major League Baseball’s 2021 All Star Game and mural installation in the Denver Art Museum, is an invitation for you to dance with her.