Colleen L. Coleman

Biography

Colleen L. Coleman is a interdisciplinary artist, who utilizes her creativity as a vehicle for the healing of personal and historical wounds inflected because of race, class and gender.

Coleman grew up in a small New England industrial town.  Her family was one of a few Cape Verdeans in a predominantly Irish Catholic Church.  As a student at Central Connecticut State University, Coleman's studies in painting and art history stimulated her interest in Surrealism and Fluxus movements.  This brought about the use of found objects, symbolism and the ready-made in her work.  Over the years she has shared her unique creative processes of self-examination and discovery in schools, community organizations, and jails.

In 1994, Coleman was presented with the Greater New Haven Arts Councils Award for her work in community arts.  In 1997, she represented the New Haven arts community as a Sister Cities delegate to Freetown, Sierra Leone, Africa.

In 2001 Coleman received the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, Distinguished Advocate for the Arts Award; and in 2002, she was awarded a Connecticut Commission on the Arts Fellowship for Sculpture.

In 1998, Coleman began working full time as Program Coordinator for the Urban Artists Initiative, a NEA funded program of the Connecticut Commission on the Arts in partnership with the Institute for Community Research (ICR).  In 2005 she became the Artistic Director for the ICR where she bridged arts and research, continuing to work with UAI artists and organizations along with many other community partners and organizations. Her endeavors to nurture ethnically and cultural diverse artist and organizations throughout the state; over seeing exhibitions and public events continuing to expand upon ICR community partnerships.

In 2011 Coleman completed her Masters of Fine Arts at the School of the Institute of Chicago.
She currently resides in Brooklyn, New York where she continues to work while believing that collectively we can bring positive changes to our communities, Coleman's process as an artist, educator and administrator reflects her zealous commitment to giving others the opportunity to claim their voice.