In a new exhibit, Boulder artist instills hope after Pearl Street fire
BOULDER, Colo. — Though it was tough, Danielle DeRoberts never gave up hope.
DeRoberts, who paints under the pseudonym “Oneray,” remembers Oct. 19, 2021 well. She woke up at 3 a.m. to her cats in a panic and a neighbor screaming “fire” outside Whittier Place Condo Complex on Boulder’s Pearl Street. After grabbing her cats and her most-cherished belongings, DeRoberts ran outside and watched more than 80 units in her condo building crumble, swallowed up by a smoky sea of orange.
“It was just a really surreal time,” DeRoberts said. “It’s kind of a process talking about it.”
Still, DeRoberts knew a day would come when she could be reconnected with her valuables and precious memories. The remaining units, including DeRoberts' condo, were deemed salvageable, but she said the area’s homeowners associations blocked residents from taking their partially burned belongings.
After months of back-and-forth, SERVPRO of Greater Boulder helped DeRoberts and other residents obtain their remaining possessions. For DeRoberts, that included photos of her late mother, art supplies and other treasured belongings.
Though it took two-and-a-half weeks to scrape mold off her supplies and repair broken items, DeRoberts has now been able to turn a dark, traumatic memory into a healing art exhibit at The Gallery @ The Bus Stop Apartments. Her exhibit is on display in the gallery until Sept. 30.
“I don’t want any of us to give up hope, and that’s what this story is about,” DeRoberts said. “For me, art is a vessel of love. It’s a story. It’s here to heal or inform or navigate, for not only the artist but the viewer through something.”
Because her cat saved her life as the fire burned, a photo of the cat sits at the front of the gallery.
DeRoberts said the exhibit is meant to spark discussion about what makes home and community — both literally and metaphorically. After being forced to leave her condo due to the fire and being relocated to Denver for several months, DeRoberts said she came to a new understanding that most people are much closer to homelessness than they realize, and the privilege to be relocated into a new home is not one everyone shares.
“It’s harder than ever to find housing. Any of us can be unhoused at any moment, and having compassion for people that are unhoused and having compassion for each other is important,” DeRoberts said. “I wanted this to feel like a sheltering environment that anyone can walk into and feel held and be held and supported emotionally, by the community, each other and also in a physical sense.”
Ultimately, DeRoberts wants her experience to instill a little more empathy among all who walk into the gallery and see her work.
“Even our hurtful and hard experiences can mold us into being better," DeRoberts said. “As much as it feels dark, it feels light to me because it’s who I am."
Julio Sandoval is a multimedia journalist with Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach him at juliosandoval@rmpbs.org.
Alison Berg is a multimedia journalist who can be reached at alisonberg@rmpbs.org. Her Twitter is @alison__berg.