Folk art exhibit at Colorado Capitol celebrates state’s 150th anniversary

As long as people have existed in the land that we now call Colorado, they’ve been making art.

Down in the San Luis Valley, 40 artists have been working their needles and thread into intricate embroidery creations that call back some of that history. Many of the artists are 80 or older, and the end result isn’t just a 9-foot by 7-foot quilt of 46 squares featuring important people, places and things, but a lasting visual of a southern Colorado tradition.

Colcha embroidery is a textile art that came into the San Luis Valley from New Mexico in the 19th century, historically used to make bedspreads but eventually shaped into pictorial art depicting local architecture, landscapes, traditions, personal narratives and folklore.

Trent Segura, coordinator of the San Luis Valley Colcha Embroidery Project, says the artists chose to depict places from across the Valley for their personal significance. “There are churches and schools alongside homes, stores and landscapes,” he says. “Some structures like the old Blanca gym built of adobe through the Work Progress Administration and the old Mountain Valley School in Saguache are no longer standing. Sites like the Saint Agnes Chicago Cemetery are timeless, and places like Ramblin’ Roy Smith’s artist environment in Saguache is shown as it is today. The iconic Sangre de Cristo mountain range appears throughout the panels.”

The colcha quilt is just one of around 30 pieces that will be on display in the Colorado Capitol building from Aug. 1 to Feb. 28 for a Creative Capitol exhibition called “Past. Present. Future.” that marks Colorado’s 150th anniversary with artwork highlighting the state’s rich history of folk and traditional arts — from handmade cowboy boots to folklórico regalia. Artwork will be displayed in the basement level of the Capitol’s rotunda, governor’s office lobby and lieutenant governor’s office. A “Past. Present. Future.” opening reception from noon to 2 p.m. on Aug. 1 is just one highlight of the Colorado Day festivities at the Capitol that day.

Creative Capitol exhibitions date back nearly 20 years and are organized by Colorado Creative Industries to bring art into the Capitol building.

“The Capitol is so central to how our state operates in civic life. There’s a lot of historic art, murals and portraits of politicians in the Capitol,” says CCI Administration and Partnerships Director Ruth Wilson. “I think it’s important that we bring in some more contemporary perspectives. We put a lot of energy into programming art that demonstrates our values that art is for everyone.”

While anyone is welcome to submit art for Creative Capitol exhibitions, the art shows are mostly collaborations with groups and organizations. “The parameters of the Capitol are really specific, so a lot of times what somebody wants to do isn’t appropriate for the site. It has to be hung on the wall, and we don’t have space for sculptures,” Wilson says. “It’s a matter of will it fit in the space, and then we review it thematically.” (Content rules include “no nudity, no overtly political statements and no offensive material,” according to the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade’s website.)

Past Creative Capitol exhibitions have included a partnership with the Cottonwood Institute that displayed a collection of artworks featuring all of Colorado’s fourteeners, a show by the Women’s Caucus for Art Colorado Chapter showcasing murals of women artists and a collaboration with Danielle SeeWalker to create an exhibition featuring Indigenous artists around Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

“Past. Present. Future.” is unique in that CCI curated the show specifically for Colorado’s 150th birthday, inviting past grantees of CCI’s Folk and Traditional Arts Project Grant to submit work.

“We just completed our fourth cycle of that grant,” says CCI Senior Program Manager Libby Barbee. “It’s a flat $3,000 for projects that are presenting traditional arts through exhibitions or workshops or documenting and archiving traditional arts.” She adds that the grant is intended to support arts that are passed down outside of academic training, often through generations, and selected projects have to have community impact.

“San Luis Valley colcha embroidery is a storytelling medium that celebrates cultural heritage and preserves history through art,” Segura says. “The project coordinates intergenerational and intercommunity exhibitions and workshops that bring together diverse groups of artists. ‘Past. Present. Future.’ is a unique opportunity to see colcha embroidery in conversation and a variety of folk art traditions.”

Colorado’s diversity, history, and traditions are a big part of the state’s identity, Barbee says. “[‘Past. Present. Future.’] isn’t a single view of Colorado’s history, but a diverse view of the history and culture of Colorado. I think one of the things that’s cool about it is that it encompasses practices and artworks that are very traditional on one hand, and on the other hand, artworks that are very contemporary but rooted in very specific traditions.”

It’s one way to look at where Colorado’s been, where it is now and where it’s headed.

Besides the opening of “Past. Present. Future.,” Colorado Day at the Capitol will include hours of presentations, proclamations, performances, dedications, tours and exhibits. Colorado Poet Laureate Crisosto Apache will speak at the opening ceremony. 

“I’d encourage people to come,” Wilson says. “It’s a really beautiful building, and I think it’s a place that every Coloradan should visit and poke around.”

An opening reception for “Past. Present. Future.” is scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 1, at the Colorado State Capitol building, 200 E. Colfax Ave., as part of Colorado Day festivities, which run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Learn more at content.leg.colorado.gov/content/colorado-day.