About
Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Collin Parson currently serves as the Director of Galleries and Curator for the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities in Arvada, Colorado. Parson seeks to amplify the voices of contemporary Colorado artists. He is a former member at the historic Pirate: Contemporary Art cooperative and past artist-in-residence at RedLine Denver. An arts administrator, artist, curator, and designer, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Design and Technology with emphasis in Lighting and Scene Design from the University of Colorado at Boulder and his Master's in Arts in Visual Culture and Arts Administration from Regis University in Denver. His creative work involves the control of light and color to create vivid geometric light and space works. He has had the privilege of jurying many arts festivals and exhibitions and has received many awards and recognition for his curatorial projects. He was awarded 100 Colorado Creatives by Westword magazine in 2013 and featured in many television and print productions. Parson is the son of Colorado sculptor Charles Parson, whose experience with the region’s arts community helped Collin long before his professional career began. Growing up in a family of artists, Collin is proud to be continuing the educational and creative traditions.
Current:
Parson's current curatorial projects at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities are COllage, Deborah Jang, and Jeremy Grant from September 11 to November 9, 2025. Artistically, he recently completed an installation for Meow Wolf’s Convergence Station in Denver. He opened a series of installations at the University of Wyoming Art Museum in Laramie, WY, and is in production on a large public art piece for the City of Wheat Ridge as part of Cor4 Studios.
The intention of a phenomenal art is simply the gift of seeing a little more today than you did yesterday -Robert Irwin.
CV
Collin Parson
collin@collinparson.com
Education
2011 M.A. Visual Culture
Regis University, Denver, Colorado
2011 Graduate Level Certificate-Arts Administration
Regis University, Denver, Colorado
2004 B.F.A. Tech/Design in Theatre
Scene and Lighting Design
University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
Gallery Affiliation
Michael Warren Contemporary
760 Santa Fe Dr. Denver, CO 80204
(303) 635-6255
www.michaelwarrencontemporary.com
Collections (selected)
Halcyon Hotel, Cherry Creek, Denver, CO
The Link, Denver, CO
Kirkland Institute at the Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
Ramble Hotel, RINO, Denver, CO
Pikes Peak Center, Colorado Springs, CO
Dairy Block, LoDo, Denver, CO
City of Lakewood, Lakewood, CO
City of Denver, Denver, CO
Block 162, Denver, CO
City of Arvada, Arvada, CO
Public Art Projects
Cairn, in collaboration with Jodie Roth Cooper-Flatirons, Boulder, CO, in production
City of Wheat Ridge Wadsworth Corridor Project-Wheat Ridge, CO, in Collaboration with Cor4 Studios
Light Portal Hallway, Meow Wolf-Convergence Station, Denver, CO
HERE-Dairy Block-LoDo, Denver, CO
Cascading Light-Pikes Peak Center-Colorado Springs, CO
Tuono, in collaboration with Jodie Roth Cooper-Lone Tree Arts Center, Lone Tree, CO
Echoes and Reflections-Addenbrooke Park-Lakewood, CO
Meow Wolf-Dark Palace, Denver, CO
Art on the Streets-Colorado Springs, CO
Stele and Ostium at Greenwood Village, CO
Ellipse-Skyhouse-Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
Honors/Awards/Lectures
2025 Speaker at Colorado Creative Industries Summit session I Regret to Inform You
History Colorado’s Josephine H. Miles Award for Colcha: Embroidery of the San Luis Valley.
2024 Artworks Loveland Curatorial-Panelist
So You Want to be a Public Artist: Navigating Rejection in Art, Arvada Center, CO-Panelist
Artist x Fabricator Panel Discussion, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, CO
2023 Lone Tree Arts Center-Juror
2021 Curating, Creating, and Continuing the Creative Arts, University of Wyoming, WY-Lecturer
City of Lakewood Community Art Show-Juror
2020 303 Magazine Artist to Watch
2016 Regis University Lecture
2015 Springs Surreal: Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center-Juror
2014 Artist in Residence-RedLine Denver
Intersections: RedLine Juried Exhibition-Juror
Curating, Creating, and Continuing-Grand Junction Art Center-Lecture
Colorado Mesa University Student Show-Grand Junction Art Center-Juror
2013 100 Colorado Creatives-Westword Magazine
Best of Westword-Light Art Show at Z Art Dept.
Denver Post Best Bets-DIVIDED an installation
Best of Westword-Big Show about Colorado Art (curator)
2012 Best of Westword-Retrospective-Robert Mangold (curator)
The initial artist to launch the McNichols Civic Center Building
2010 Crested Butte Arts Festival Juror
Telluride Arts Festival Juror
Vail Arts Festival Juror
Denver Post Best Bet-Square Variations
2009 City of Arvada Employee of the Month-March
Cherry Creek Arts Festival Juror
Denver Post Best Bet-Light Scapes
Golden Fine Arts Festival Juror
2004 KCACTF-Meritorious Award
2002 Loveland Museum Juror’s Award
Professional
Collin Parson Studios LTD, Artist/Owner
2005-Present
Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, Director of Galleries, Curator
2016-Present
Clyfford Still Museum, ArtHandler/Installer
2020-2023
Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, Gallery Exhibition Manager and Curator
2010-2015
Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities-Museum/Galleries Exhibition Designer
2005-2010 Arvada, Colorado
Staab Studios-Studio Associate for the fabrication of dinosaurs for a museum exhibition
2003-2009 Kansas City, Missouri
Foothills Art Center-Gallery Preparator
2003-2005 Golden, Colorado
Arvada Center Arts and Humanities-Museum/Gallery Preparator
2004-2005 Arvada, Colorado
Denver Center Theatre Company-Theatre Carpenter/Technician
2004-2005 Denver, Colorado
Curious Theatre Company-Electrician/Carpenter
2004-2005 Denver, Colorado
Chautauqua Amphitheater-Technical Manager for music and lecture series
2004-2005 Boulder, Colorado
Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Theatre Technician
Summer 2003 and 2004, Boulder, Colorado
Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art-Visitor Liaison
Summer 2003 Boulder, Colorado
Art Yard Gallery-Gallery Assistant/Preparator
2000-2010 Denver, Colorado
Charles Parson Studio-Studio Manager/Preparator for Charles Parson
1996-Present Lakewood, Colorado
Art Exhibitions (selected)
2025 Reflectivity-Michael Warren Contemporary
The Art of Printmaking: Process and Passion-Steamboat Art Center
2024 Derealization-Parker Arts Center
Smoke and Mirrors- Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, CO
2023 Mergers-Michael Warren Contemporary
2021 University of Wyoming Art Museum
LandMark-Lakewood/Arvada
Arapahoe Community College-Time-based Exhibition
Spaces Between: University of Colorado Colorado Springs/University of Denver
Art Drop Arvada-Arvada, CO
2019 Interference: Michael Warren Contemporary
Interference: Buell Theater, Denver
2017 Counterpoints: Charles and Collin Parson-Museum of Outdoor Arts, Englewood, CO
2016 Regis University-O'Sullivan Gallery-HALOS
Three Views: Charles, Colliin, and Devon Parson-Center for the Arts Evergreen
LightScapes-Breckenridge Creates-Breckenridge, CO
AURUM-Michael Warren Contemporary, Denver, CO
2014 Colorado Springs Fine Art Center-Continuance Solo Exhibition
Introductions-Michael Warren Contemporary
Reflections-Pirate Contemporary Art-Solo
DIVIDED: Pt. II-Museum of Outdoor Arts
2013 ReWorked-Z Art Department-Solo Exhibition
DIVIDED: an installation-Pirate Contemporary Art-Solo
Scapes-Studio 12 Gallery-Denver, CO-Group
2012 LightScapes-MiNichols Civic Center, City of Denver-Solo
Light + Space-Pirate: Contemporary Art-Solo
2011 Light Constructs-Pirate: Contemporary Art-Solo
31st Anniversary Membership Show-Pirate: Contemporary Art
Light Supply-Museum of Outdoor Art-Group
Contemporary Exhibition-Grand Junction Art Center-Group
Art of the Real-Space Gallery-Group
Light Constructs: continued-D-Note Gallery-Solo
2010 Insiders/Outsiders-Pirate: Contemporary Art
30th Anniversary Membership Show-Pirate: Contemporary Art
Square Variations-Pirate: Contemporary Art-Solo
2008 LightScapes-Pirate: Contemporary Art-Solo
Wine and Arts Classic-Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
2006 Benefit Auction-Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design
2003 Solitude-Loveland Museum and Gallery
2002 Untitled-Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design
Curatorial
2025 Art of the State: 2025
Tracy Weil: Unabashed
Thomas Scharfenberg: Organic Geometry
Melissa Furness: Embedded A Mid-Career Survey
Haley Hasler: Origin Stories
Past is Present is Past is Present
2024 528.0 Regional Juried Printmaking Exhibition
Artist Proof: Print Process at Oehme Graphics
Sue Oehme: Inclusions
Matt Christie: Between Then and Now
Robin Cole: Genesis
inFORMed spaces: sculpture
I Regret to Inform You: Rejected Public Art
Mugshot: Artistic Drinking Vessels
Bebe Alexander: Impact & Influence
2023 Art + Science
Gary Staab: Second Nature
Wendy Kowynia: Following the Thread
Bueno! Mark Bueno
BIG DRAW COLORADO
Drawn From the Source
Ramon Bonilla
Emilio Lobato: A 40-Year Survey
Latitude 37: Artists of Southern Colorado
2022 Art of the State: 2022
Pamela Webb: Hand + Hammer
Lauri Lynxxe Murphy: Seeing the Trees for the Forest
Floyd Tunson: Ascent in collaboration with Daisy McGowan and Louise Martarono
Anthony Garcia Sr. Pigment
Lola Montejo: After Another After
2021 Roland Bernier: In Other Words
WordPlay
Viral Influence: Art in the Time of the Coronavirus
Brady Smith: (don’t be embarrassed by your trouble with living)
Melody Epperson: 100+1 Women and the Vote
Wood.Works
Carley Warren: Three Pieces
2020 Black in Denver: Narkita Gold
Pink Progression: Collaborations
528.0 Regional Printmaking Exhibition
Print Art Educators of Colorado
2019 Colorado Abstract +10
Blurring the Lines: Form, Function, and Design
Austin Parkhill: Jeffco Alumni Exhibition
Art of the State: 2019
2018 in SITu: From the Artist’s Perspective
in SITu: Art Chair Auction
in SITu: Chairs from the Kirkland Museum Collection
Christopher Owen Nelson: Jeffco Alumni Exhibition
IN SIGHT/On SITE: Murals
Virginia Maitland: Retrospective
Connected by Color
Laura Merage: Nausy Nausy
7000 Reasons Portrait Pop-Up
2017 Paper.Works
Stan Meyer: Poetic Presence
Paper on Paper: The Art of Chine-Colle
Double Exposure: An Exhibition of Photography and Video
Stop/Look/See: Photography by James Milmoe
Naomi Scheck: Jeffco Alumni Exhibition
Linda Scholes: Jeffco Teacher Solo Exhibition
2016 Art of the State: 2016
Jaime Molina: Superstitio
Looking Back: 40 Years/40 Artists
2015 rePOPulated: contemporary perspectives on pop art
Phil Bender: Phil Bender: Phil Bender
Sean O’Meallie: Free Play
2014 Unbound Art Series-Four Exhibitions
COLLECT: The Art of Colorado Corporations, Institutions, and Individuals
2013 Earth Moves: Shifts in Ceramic Art and Design (co-curator)
PERCEPTION: Color | Line | Pattern |
Victor Vasarely: Works on Paper
Yaacov Agam: Works on Paper
Art of the State: A Juried Exhibition of Colorado
2012 Women of Influence: Colorado Artists and Curators
Intimate Dialogue: 7 Women/7 Voices
Faces, Places, and Spaces
Robert Mangold Retrospective: 1955 to Present
Homare Ikeda/Monroe Hodder
Carl Reed: Lost and Found
2011 Uncommon Ground: Impact and Influence
Edition to Clay: Ceramic Artists as Printmakers
Visions West: 19th Century Expedition Artists
ARVADA/ARTvada: 35 Years of Art
2010 Two-Fisted Art Attack: A Denny Dent Retrospective
Continental Divide partnership with NCECA
Calaveras: Skulls, Skeletons, and Demons
2009 Patrick Marold: Sculptures in Locally Reclaimed Wood
Pressing the Limits: 4 Contemporary New Mexico Printers
Paul Yalowitz: Just So Illustrations
2008 Dave Yust: Looking Back/Looking Forward
Mai Wyn Schantz: Paddling Upstream
Spokes: art made by bicycles or about bicycles
Summer of Cycles: Motorcycle from the Harry Mathews Collections
Takashi Nakazato: Tradition and Innovation
Reviews, Press, and Media (selected)
Artists Play with ideas of concept of time. Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, July 7, 2025.
Succumb to Defeat or Persevere: Lessons from Rejected Public Art Proposals at the Arvada Center, Joshua Ware, Southwest Contemporary, July 23, 2024
Colorful Colorado art is on full display in the surprise exhibition of the summer, Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, July 21, 2024
The Romance of Rejection, Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, June 23, 2024
In the San Luis Valley, artisans paint pictures of everyday life using colcha embroidery, Shannah Lewis, Colorado Public Radio, September 27, 2023
Lost Art Returns to the Arvada Center, Kate Perdoni, Rocky Mountain PBS, September 14, 2023
Draw! A trio of summer exhibitions will change how you think about the world’s oldest form of visual art, Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, August 14, 2023
Pride of Place: Latest Art of the State Showcases Strength of Colorado Artists, Michael Paglia, Westword, January 20, 2022
If you haven’t seen an exhibition since before the pandemic, Arvada Center’s “Wood.Works” is the perfect re-entry, Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 2021
Pink Progression is keeping the spirit of the Women’s March alive, hats and all, Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, August 30, 2020
Theatre
2009 Love and Potatoes-Lighting Consultant, Buntport Theater, Denver
2004 To Kill A Mockingbird-Scene Designer, University of Colorado
Tron: The Musical-Lighting and Scene Designer, University of Colorado at Boulder
Passion of Dracula-Lighting Designer, University of Colorado
Fuddy Meers, Lighting Designer, University of Colorado
2003 Talk Radio-Scene Designer, University of Colorado at Boulder
Collin Parson