About the Colleen Abbott Gallery 

The Colleen Abbott Gallery was established in 2008 in recognition of the visionary leadership of Abbott during her time as CEO of the Aurora Public Library. It is located on the second floor of the Aurora Public Library (APL). 

The Colleen Abbott Gallery uses a wire and clip hanging mechanism. The gallery wall is approximately 42 feet long and contains 20 wires with 3 clips per wire. 14 of those wires have a height clearance of approximately 5 feet, 3 wires span a taller portion of the gallery wall that is approximately 6’7” feet. The gallery can hold about 20 very small-small pieces of art, 15 small-medium ones or 10 large ones.   

Mandate 

The Colleen Abbott Gallery enables artists to share their work with the Aurora community through an Artist Give Back Talk and/or Hands-On Program and free exhibiting space. The exhibiting space is for emerging and established local artists with an existing body of work and is subject to the approval of Aurora Public Library's Colleen Abbott Art Gallery Committee. The gallery is dedicated to exhibiting and promoting excellent hung/framed work that is relevant, original, and inspires creativity, communication, and joy. The Colleen Abbott Gallery does not do high school shows or hold opening receptions for art exhibits. 

The artist(s) may arrange opening events in consultation with library staff if desired, but the library provides only the space for these, and only by arrangement in advance. 

Approval Timeline 

Submissions are accepted through APL’s website on an ongoing basis and reviewed 2-4 times a year by the Colleen Abbott Art Gallery Committee (CAAG). A majority vote of CAAG members is required for a submission to be considered approved. The exhibition period is a maximum of 6 weeks. 

Eligibility 

The exhibit space is open to established artists or arts groups, emerging artists, historical and cultural groups and guilds. Priority will be given to: 

• Local Aurora Artists 

• A balance of exhibitions of emerging and established artists 

• Artists who have not shown in The Colleen Abbott Gallery within the previous year (excluding group shows and shows connected with APL Programming) 

• Artists who can demonstrate a connection between their exhibit and the Aurora community 

Artist Give Back Talk and Hands-On Program 

As part of using the Colleen Abbott Gallery space, APL requires the artist(s) to give a talk to the Aurora community about the exhibit and their journey as an artist/group. This can cover the process to create the specific exhibit, or the artist(s)'s work and career in general. The talk will take place in the Library Living Room and the artist(s) will be partnered with an APL staff member to organize it. 

In addition to, or instead of the Artist Give Back Talk, the artist(s) can facilitate a hands-on program at the Library. This can be inspired by or related to the exhibition or generally make use of the skills/talents of the artist(s). 

The artist(s) also have the option to write a Blog Post for the Library website or post their Artist Statement as a Blog Post. 

Exhibition Promotion  

The Library may arrange for promotion of the Give Back Talk and the exhibit through various media, including print, web, social media, and video. However, the artist(s) must advertise their exhibit in their own name, not implying Library sponsorship. The artist(s) must provide a brochure, copy of the artist’s statement, or similar promotional material providing contact information to be put with the exhibit. The artist(s) may also be asked to provide additional promotional materials such as a short bio, headshots, images of work, and other materials as requested. Publicity does not imply endorsement by the Library. See APL's Public Art Policy for more information on this.