Blog

Public Art You Just Can’t Miss in NoCo

April 13, 2022

When people hear about bronze art in Northern Colorado, they likely think about Loveland. But if you’re out and about Fort Collins or Estes Park this spring, you can learn more about the history of these communities through a variety of bronze sculptures.

Donated by Mujeres de Colores, “The Hand That Feeds” celebrates the Hispanic and Mexican people who played a critical role in the history of the sugar beet industry in Fort Collins and Larimer County. Located in the northeast corner of Sugar Beet Park at Lemay Avenue and East Vine Drive in Fort Collins, the work from artist Frank Garza depicts the story of the sugar beet worker who used the short-handled hoe to cultivate crops. 

From legendary adventurer Isabella Bird to Olympic runner Wendy Koenig, the Estes Park Women’s Monument pays tribute to the valley’s notable women. The collection of 12 bronze sculptures is one of the first of its kind in the nation and was created by Loveland artist Jane DeDecker, who is commissioned to create a similar work of art on the National Mall in Washington D.C. The installation, which includes stories that earned each woman a spot in Estes Park’s monument, located near the playground at the intersection of Riverside Drive and E. Elkhorn Avenue.

Loveland is home to dozens of nationally acclaimed sculptors. To view some of their renowned works, walk along a path featuring 172 sculptures in the Benson Sculpture Garden and North Lake Park, located at the corner of W. 29th Street and Beech Drive. It’s a great place to take children or visitors. These bronzes were donated to the City by the Loveland High Plains Arts Council.

In contrast to the bronze at Benson, Chapungu Sculpture Park features 82 monumental stone sculptures from Zimbabwean artisans. Traversing 26-acres on the northeast corner of I-25 and U.S. Hwy 34, Chapungu sits immediately east of The Promenade Shops at Centerra.

For the past 25 years, Fort Collins has celebrated Art in Public Places with the addition of pianos throughout town, transformer cabinet murals and seven separate free self-guided public art tours:

  1. City Parks
  2. Downtown
  3. Downtown River
  4. Northeast Fort Collins
  5. Fossil Creek
  6. Poudre River Trail
  7. Spring Creek Trail

Last August, Trees, Water & People unveiled Colores de la Comunidad in Fort Collins’ Tenney Alley (on the north side of Mountain Ave., between College Ave. and Mason St.) on August 1. The mural by Armando Silva – narrates stories of resilience and climate migration.

We’re lucky to live and work in Northern Colorado, and when you’re out and about, we encourage you to look around and see the abundance of compelling art, free of charge.

Contact Us

Want more information about living and working in Northern Colorado? Get in touch.