On Thursday, Aug. 16, the Chicano Humanities and Arts Council (CHAC) will present its Lifetime Achievement Awards and name a gallery after its original founders as part of the Agosto Fiesta. The public is invited to the fundraiser featuring appetizers, drinks, door prizes and live music starting at 5 p.m. at CHAC, 772 Santa Fe Drive.

This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award winners are NEWSED President/CEO Veronica Barela and past CU-Boulder Law School Dean and folk violinist Lorenzo Trujillo. The gallery space will be dedicated to the original founding artists who established CHAC in the basement of a building space donated by the Denver Catholic Archdiocese back in 1978. The founders — Stevon Lucero, Lalo Delgado, Lorenzo Trujillo, Al Sanchez, Fred Sanchez, Juan and Danny Salazar, Enrique Montoya, Dan Cardenas and Carlos Santistevan — met every month for a year building CHAC’s guiding principles. The organization was established as a place where Chicano/Latino artists were provided with a venue to explore visual and performance art and promote and preserve the Chicano/Latino culture through the expression of the arts.

“As CHAC Gallery prepares to celebrate 35 years of artist and community service next year, we begin by honoring individuals who have shared their vision and support to help our organization thrive over three decades,” explained CHAC Education Coordinator Julie Marino.

CHAC’s annual Chile Harvest Festival will be on hiatus this year and most likely in 2013, according to CHAC Executive Director Crystal O’Brien. “It is to be seen,” she said. “We are hoping for a come back in 2013, but it may take an additional year of planning.”

In its more than three decades of existence CHAC has endured many internal and external changes and evolved much like Denver’s eclectic art scene. Veteran local artists, students and up-and-coming talent from throughout the Denver metro area continue to display their artworks in the small but dynamic space while new exhibits and recurring displays remain popular.

“We expect good community presence and encourage everyone to join us for this momentous event,” says CHAC Board President Tony Vecchio. For more information visit www.chacweb.org or call 303-571-0440.