Colin Ward Memorial Tribute at Meow Wolf on February 22

Four years after his death, Meow Wolf will honor the memory of Denver artist Colin Ward on Tuesday, February 22, with a tribute held by his mother and friends at the installation he designed for Convergence Station. The event on 2/22/22 will not only celebrate Ward's love of the numeral 2, but will showcase his music and art. And with the publication of this article, Meow Wolf is also publicly premiering a mini-documentary, "Aquakota," titled after the installation that Ward co-designed with Pepe Apantenco.
"Aquakota" delves into how Apantenco and other friends of Ward completed his vision after the 27-year-old artist died on February 1, 2018. "Unfortunately, before we found out about our Meow Wolf acceptance, Colin did take his own life very tragically," Apantenco says in the documentary.

The "Aquakota" installation — located on C Street in Convergence Station — was envisioned as a psychedelic, futuristic club run by alien lemurs. The mini-doc showcases the installation process as Ward's friends work to bring murals of lemurs to life.

"This room was originally conceived by my good friend Colin Ward and Pepe," says Stephan Herrera in the documentary. "Colin passed away three years ago, so myself and some other close friends of his are trying to fulfill his vision. This room is kind of like a tribute to him."

The documentary also features recollections about Ward, his work and his personality.

"He was like the funniest person I've ever known," Herrera reflects. "He was really loving; he just had a larger-than-life personality. He had this infectious creative energy; he tattooed himself a lot; he didn't sleep very much."

"He had such a deep sense of love for humanity and the community," says Ward's mother, Jane Anne Ferguson. "He didn't want to see people homeless, he didn't want to see trees cut down to make way for parking lots. And that came out in his artwork, in his music, and definitely in his relationships."
The tribute will include performances in the "Aquakota" space by producers David Castillo and Ben Donehower, both friends of Ward's. The Convergence Station gift shop will be selling a download for an album of Ward's music, Neotropical, which was produced posthumously by Noumenal Loom. "Fans can either purchase a special-edition lemur statue — a miniaturized version of the alien lemurs in "Aquakota," which will include a digital download to Neotropical — or they can purchase a straight download of the album," Meow Wolf notes. All proceeds from these sales will go to the Colin Richard Ferguson Ward Fund, which helps to fund DIY artists in the Denver area.

Ward was an incredible talent: an immersive and visual artist, musician, poet, street performer, videographer. He called the now-defunct DIY venue Rhinoceropolis home and had been throwing his own DIY events for years.

In an obituary after his death, Westword wrote: "His friends remember him as a 'super-special glittery hyperactive angel from space,' someone with 'incomprehensible output and a fantastical imagination' who practiced 'radical inclusivity and generosity.' He was seen as a 'magical and powerful' presence with the ability to 'transform lives and spaces.'"

"He felt and sensed way too much," Ferguson says in the documentary, "and that came with all the blessings — and the not-blessings — of feeling everything, and knowing that change had to happen and he couldn't do it all.

"So that’s part of what the legacy is that we see with Meow Wolf," she continues. "It’s being able to celebrate his art and celebrate the fact that so many of his beloveds are there making his art. I know he’s cheering them on — maybe right there correcting a brushstroke every now and then.”

"I think we can keep the spirit of Colin and honor the vision of what Colin had made," Apantenco adds. "I just wish he was here to see all of this, and I really miss him."

"Aquakota" premieres on YouTube on Monday, February 21. The memorial tribute to Colin Ward starts at 6 p.m. February 22 at the "Aquakota" installation, C Street, Convergence Station, 1338 First Street. Tickets to Meow Wolf are required for admission; purchase them here.