MSU Denver Department of Art

Department of Art staff hop across Speer for a break downtown.

What are you up to so far this summer!?!?
☀️😎🏖️🍉🍦

[Image description: Group photo of the Art Department staff (minus Wendy) posing on Historic Larimer with the Colorado state flags and pride flags overhead on a beautiful sunny Colorado day.]

No, aliens didn’t build Machu Picchu—but you can learn all about the incredible people who actually did! Skip the sci-fi theories and get the real history of ancient Andean arts culture. Registration is open for Fall 2026!

Notes from Dr. Weiss: In terms of content, goldwork and weaving are central to the artistic practices of these cultures. So, this class may be especially relevant for students interested in metalwork/jewelry and/or fibers/textiles. Also, this is a course that centers Nonwestern cultures.

📚 Art of the Inca and their Ancestors
🗓️ When: Fall 2026 | Tuesdays & Thursdays
⏰ Time: 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM

Art at MSU Denver

Image Description: A promotional flyer for a MSU Denver art history course titled "Art of the Inca and their Ancestors." The top features a bright yellow banner with the title in bold black text. Below, a large photograph shows the lush, green ancient ruins of Machu Picchu nestled in the steep, misty Andes mountains under a cloudy sky. At the bottom of the photo, a humorous cartoon panel features six stylized, colorful indigenous Andean figures holding hands. Three comic speech bubbles rise from them. The first says, "Look over there, it’s the ancient alien city of Machu Picchu!" The second says, "I thought aliens made the Nazca lines... or was that the crop circles...???" The third responds, "You guys really need to take Dr. Mollenhauer’s class on the ancient Andes." In the bottom right corner is a logo that reads "ART AT MSU DENVER" in pink, blue, and teal. The bottom black text reads: "Fall 2026 Tues/Thurs 9:30-10:45 AM".

A glimpse into the CDES Communication Design Senior Portfolio Presentations during finals week within the MSU Denver Center for Advanced Visualization and Experiential Analysis (CAVEA).

More about the CDES Program: https://www.msudenver.edu/art/programs/bfa-in-communication-design/
More about the Theater: https://www.msudenver.edu/university-events/cavea-theater/

Celebrating our outstanding group of 39 Art Department graduates across all five degree programs! Pictured here, our Communication Design (BFA) – Bachelor of Fine Arts graduates.

[Images description: a group of 11 MSU Denver Art graduates and their professor in caps and gowns pose for one serious and one relaxed group photo.]

Collective Nouns: MSU Denver Faculty and Staff Exhibition
May 15 – July 18, 2026, at CVA
Opening reception Friday May 15, 6-8pm.

Featuring the art of 23 MSU Denver staff and faculty whose multi-disciplinary work explores diverse topics related to the environment, culture, memory, and loss. Free and open to everyone at the CVA.

Learn more about the Collective Nouns exhibition: https://www.msudenver.edu/art/faculty-stories/

Photo is a detail of Rachael Delaney's "Echoes of Emergent Form."

[Photo description: Abstract felt artwork with dark swirling browns, blue waves, and geometric gray shapes.]

Chicana/o/e/x Studies Block Party
Celebrate Students, Faculty, Staff, and Our New Sign!
Everybody is Welcome!

-Seed Exchange
-Meet and Greet
-Paletas
-Piñatas
-Food

When: Monday 11th, 2:00 - 5:00

Where: The Rectory, next to St. Cajetan's

[Image description: text as in caption, clipart of a pinata, a popsicle and papeles picado banner, as well as logos for the Latine & Chigane Student Alliance and the Department of Chicano/a Studies.]

A Place Between
Eun Mi Lam’s Second Mini Solo Show

Explore a Lot of Small Artworks Expressing Light
+ New Colorful Artist’s Books

Opening reception: May 8, 2026 | 5–7 PM
The exhibition will be on for the entire month of May.

Town Hall Arts Center
2450 Main St, Littleton, CO 80120

Eun Mi Lam is a MSU Denver BFA student in painting who is planning on graduating in the spring of 2027.

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This announcement on behalf of an MSU Denver Art community member is for a personal project not directed by the Department of Art. Submit your own art stories and events so MSU Denver Art can help spread the word: qrco.de/submitstory

[Image description: Text as in captions and a colorful graphic flyer featuring a stylized eye icon, geometric sunbursts, and minimalist art tiles against a vibrant red and pink background.]

Final night of BFA Thesis Exhibition at CVA!
First Friday on Santa Fe!

The Spring 2026 BFA Thesis Exhibition showcases the critical research and responsive work of 27 inventive artists and designers as they conclude their undergraduate studies in the Department of Art at MSU Denver. The Thesis Exhibition is the pinnacle of the education of MSU Denver’s Studio Art and Communication Design students.

On view through May 1, 2026. Join us at the Center for Visual Art (CVA ).Admission to CVA is free and open to everyone.

https://www.msudenver.edu/cva/exhibitions/current-exhibitions

[Image description: text as in caption and wordmark for this exhibition which is sentences in the shape of a human profile.]

BA THESIS ART EXHIBITION:
THRESHOLDS
Now showing through May 10th, 2026

This exhibition showcases the in-depth study and creative work of 15 talented artists completing their Bachelor of Arts in Art degree in the Department of Art at MSU Denver.

THE THREE LEACHES GALLERY
1560 TELLER ST
LAKEWOOD, COLORADO
Open to all, all ages, free.

METROPOLITAN STATE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER
ART AT MSU DENVER

[Images description: Event flyer with text as in caption and five candid photos of attendees in the gallery during the event opening.]

You are invited to a recreation of the 1889 Universal Exposition!

A "REACTING TO THE PAST HISTORICAL ROLE PLAYING GAME EVENT" starring 19th–century artists and their paintings.

May 5th, 2026 3-4 pm | Arts 186 | Snacks provided.

Professor Weiss' 19th Century Art class is engaging in a multi-week role playing game to reenact period debates around art and aesthetics. The final project is to recreate Universal Exposition. The students, acting as artists, dealers, and critics from the period, will show works in the hopes of making "sales" in order to "win" the game. For this to work, we need a crowd of attendees... and some secret buyers planted in the crowd, to walk around and ask the students about the paintings on display.

Interested in participating in our role playing game as an art buyer? Email Dr. Weiss.

[Image description: text as in caption with two vintage, colorized illustrations: the first is of the domed Beaux-Arts building with ornate archways and French flags, the second is an aerial view of the 1889 Paris World's Fair grounds, featuring the Eiffel Tower and a hot air balloon in the sky.]