Artnauts Collective | Uncanny Times: Looking Back, Looking Forward
Group Exhibition

September 25 - November 13, 2021

Opening Reception: September 25, 4-7pm
Artist Talks: September 26, 11am-1pm | October 2, 2-5pm | November 6, 2-5pm
Virtual Artist Talk: October 20, 6:30-8:30pm via Zoom
Closing Reception: November 13, 2-4pm

Uncanny Times: Looking Back, Looking Forward features new work by artists in the Artnauts Collective, along with special guests. Artists ponder these uncanny times we are in and consider, though our current times seem unrecognizable, whether there are recognizable patterns from the past. What has remained the same or cycled back? What new paradigms will we forge? These reflections span global history and the past 25 years of the Artnauts’ mission of social change, lessons learned, and dreams for the future.

“This exhibition focuses on how our present time in the history of the United States has become a crisis of contention dividing our country. The familiar has become unfamiliar. Hate dominates life as we are inundated with media reports that bring this into consciousness on a daily basis. The Artnauts seek to create images that counter the present zeitgeist in hopes of healing our society with alternative visions. The Artnauts Collective has had exhibitions in places of contention throughout the world. We are exhibiting in our home country because the United States has become a place of contention. The coronavirus and the present situation in race relations make it imperative for the Artnauts to exhibit work that helps us address these issues.”
- Dr. George Rivera, Artnauts founder and chief curator

Uncanny Times is curated by Cecily Cullen, director and curator of the Center for Visual Art, Metropolitan State University of Denver. The exhibition is organized by the Center for Visual Art in cooperation with the Artnauts Collective.
View press release.

Special thanks to RedLine Contemporary Art Center for providing non-profit fiscal support.

THE ARTNAUTS COLLECTIVE is an artist collective that uses the visual arts as a tool for addressing global issues while connecting with artists from around the world. In 1996, Dr. George Rivera, professor in the Art and Art History Department at the University of Colorado Boulder, founded the Artnauts with Dennis Dalton, (University of Colorado Pueblo), Dr. Beth Krensky, (University of Utah), Garrison Roots, and Luis Valdovino, (University of Colorado Boulder). Dr. Rivera has been the lead curator since the inception of the collective.

The name derives from combining the words “art” and “astronaut” as a way to describe the process of exploring uncharted territory in the world at large. The name also denotes the practice that is “not” art as usual, going beyond the confines of the traditional or conventional art world and blurring the boundaries between art, activism, and social practice. The Artnauts have worked at the intersection of critical consciousness and contemporary artistic practice to impact change for 25 years. More than 350 artists have been in the collective, participating in over 270 exhibitions on 5 continents.

THE CENTER FOR VISUAL ART is the off-campus contemporary art center for Metropolitan State University of Denver. CVA provides a year-round schedule of bold, contemporary exhibitions of both local significance and international reach, educational programming open to the community and immersive workforce development for students in creative fields. CVA’s mission is to provide access to diverse, high-quality art experiences that advance the global urban dialogue. CVA is free and open to all.