Creative Capitol

Colorado has an interesting arts program called “Creative Capitol,” where artworks reflecting Colorado life, environment, and heritage are displayed in the State Capitol Building. According to the program’s website, “Staff and visitors are welcomed into the Lt. Governor’s office to view the rotating exhibitions and to the Governor’s office to view the permanent collection. This new program of Colorado Creative Industries celebrates Colorado’s rich creative economy and shares this abundant resource with the citizens of Colorado.” The current exhibit, which runs through December 8, 2011, features two separate exhibits on the American West. In the Lt. Governor’s Office you can find Painting the West, featuring historic landscape paintings of the unsettled West by such famous artists as George Catlin and Karl Bodmer. In the Capitol’s basement rotunda, you can find Tribal Pathways, an exhibit on the traditions of Colorado’s American Indians. Online, you can also visit a site listing all of the past exhibitions, going back to 2008. These exhibits add new and interesting things to see along with the Capitol’s already large collection of Colorado art.