Colette Copeland is a multi-media visual artist, arts educator, social activist and cultural critic/writer whose work examines issues surrounding gender, death and contemporary culture. Sourcing personal narratives and popular media, she utilizes video, photography, performance and sculptural installation to question societal roles and the pervasive influence of media, and technology on our communal enculturation.
For the past 10 years, she has lived in Dallas, Texas where she teaches art appreciation, contemporary studio practices, foundations of art and digital photography at Collin College, and University of Texas at Dallas. From 2002-2011, she taught photography, visual studies and critical writing at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her BFA from Pratt Institute in New York and her MFA from Syracuse University. She is the recipient of a Leeway Foundation Award for Art & Change and 2020 Kevin Mullins Memorial Award.
Over the past 27 years, her work has been exhibited in 25 solo exhibitions and 143 group exhibitions/festivals spanning 35 countries. Highlights include the Arad Biennale in Romania, the Museum of Fine Arts in Venado Tuerto, Argentina, the National Center for Contemporary Art in Moscow, Novosibirsk State Art Museum in Russia, City Nord in Hamburg, Germany, Ars Latina in Macerata, Italy, Mexicali, Baja and Castellon, Spain, Cultural Communication Center in Klapeda, Lithuania, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Scope Hamptons in New York, Kratkofil Film Festival in Bosnia/Herzgovina, and a traveling exhibition throughout India and Bangladesh, including Calcutta, Bombay and Dhaka.
For the past 9 years, Copeland has volunteered with Traffick911, an organization helping sex trafficked youth. She has served in the capacity of volunteer coordinator and currently is engaged with advocacy, community awareness and education. She also volunteers in juvenile detention facilities teaching Nia dance therapy to incarcerated teen girls.
Copeland writes cultural and arts criticism for Glasstire, Arteidolia, and Eutopia Contemporary Art Reviews. She has also written for The Photo Review, Afterimage Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism, Ceramics: Art and Perception, and Exposure Journal. She is a member of AICA--International Association of Art Critics.
Who’s Who of American Women, 1992
Finalist, Photographer’s Forum Contest, 1992
Finalist, Photographer’s Forum Contest, 1993
Best of Show, New Jersey Printmaking Council’s “Dimension Dementia”, 1995
Michele Edelson Award in Photography, University of Miami, 1998
Three Year Fellowship Award, Syracuse University
Special Prize for Artistic Excellence and Commitment to Teaching, Arad Biennale, Romania, 2005
Leeway Art and Change Grant Recipient, 2005
Distinguished Teaching Award, Critical Writing Department, University of Pennsylvania, 2006
Finalist, Associate Faculty of the Year Award, Collin College, Texas, 2017
Kevin Mullin Memorial Award for Achievement in Visual Art and Community Activism, Salina Art Center, Salina, Kansas, 2020
“Copeland — Photographs”, Pratt Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, November, 1987
“Copeland — Recent Photographs”, Building & Design Center, Yorktown Heights, New York, May-June, 1992
“Copeland — Venezuela”, Crystal Gallery, Mahopac, New York, August 1992
“Travelscapes”, Mahopac Library, Mahopac, New York, September, 1992
"Up Close", Belle Levine Art Center, Mahopac, New York, August, 1993
"Very Small Works", Le Petit Musee, Housatonic, Massachusetts , November, 1993
"Color Now", Main Line Art Center, Haverford, Pennsylvania, March, 1995
"Media Mania”, New Jersey Printmakers Council, Traveling Exhibit, Princeton, Raritan, Somerset, Paramus, June 1995
"Dimension Dementia", New Jersey Printmaking Council, Somerville, New Jersey, August 1995
"Soho Biennial", 450 Broadway Gallery, New York, New York, September, 1995
"Worth a Thousand Words", Benham Gallery, Seattle, Washington, September, 1995
"Are We Killing Our Children?", Kingsley Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November, 1995
"CEPA Member's Show", CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, New York, December, 1995
"70th International Competition”, Print Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, traveled to Woodstock Center of Photography, Woodstock, New York, January, 1996
"Women in the Visual Arts", Erector Square Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut, March, 1996
"Women and Violence", Women's Studio Gallery, Rosendale, New York, March, 1996
"Art on Paper '96", MFA Gallery, Anapolis, Maryland, April, 1996
"100 Women, 100 Works", Center at High Falls, Rochester, New York, April, 1996
"Endangered", Oregon Book Arts Guild, Valley Art Association, Forest Grove, Oregon, traveled to Seattle, Washington for Bumbershoot Festival, May, 1996
"Three Rivers Art Festival”, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June, 1996
"3 in 3D", Printmaking Council of New Jersey, Somerville, New Jersey, July, 1996
"Pulp Fictions", Austin Museum of Art, Austin, TX, traveled to six museums, August, 1996
"Juried Member's Show", Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August, 1996
"Voices and Visions", Center for Emerging Art, Melbourne, Florida, February, 1997
"Photowork '97", Barry University, Miami, Florida, February, 1997
“Light and Image”, CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, New York, March, 1997
“Spring Exhibition”, Schacknow Museum, Coral Springs, Florida, April, 1997
"Are We Killing Our Children?", University of Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia, traveled to Cali and Bucaramanga, May-October, 1997
"Book Arts", Left Bank Gallery, Bennington, Vermont, November, 1997
"Texture Series", The Capitol, Tallahassee, Florida, November, 1997
“Imaging Florida”, New Gallery, University of Miami, traveled to Tampa, Tallahassee and Gainesville, Florida, January, 1998
“Fresh Work 2”, Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, Florida, June, 1998
“Are We Killing Our Children?”, Virginia Intermont Gallery, Bristol, Virginia, September, 1998
“Hand/Spirit/Invention”, Harper Collins Gallery, New York, New York, September, 1998
“Image & Text II”, SFA Gallery, Nacogdoches, Texas, November, 1998
“Winter Exhibition”, Gallery 210, Syracuse, New York, February, 1999
“Five Perspectives of the Global Child”, Center for Visual Arts, Oakland, California, March, 1999
“Members’ Exhibit”, Light Work Gallery, Syracuse, New York, April, 1999
“Copeland/Thompson — Recent Work”, Spark Gallery, Syracuse, New York, June, 1999
“Member’s Exhibit”, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, Texas, July, 1999
“Dinner with Dali”, Clement Gallery, University of Toledo, Ohio, October, 1999
“Teras”, Metaphorestry Gallery, Syracuse, New York, January, 2000
“Abortion Stories”, Spaces, Cleveland, Ohio, February, 2000
“Everson Biennial”, Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York, April, 2000
“Evolutions”, Clement Gallery, University of Toledo, Ohio, October, 2000
“Serious Play”, Adabomb Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, November, 2000
“Abortion Stories”, Acme Art Gallery, Columbus, Ohio, January, 2001
“Expose Yourself”, CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, New York, January, 2001
“MFA Exhibit”, Lowe Gallery, Syracuse, New York, March, 2001
“Abortion Stories”, WomanMade Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, May, 2001
“Artist Invitational”, Tyler Art Gallery, Oswego, New York, September, 2001
“Disparate Views”, Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, New York, January, 2002
“Photography 2002”, Nexus Gallery, New York, New York, April, 2002
“Autobiographies”, WomanMade Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, May, 2002
“National Photography 2002”, Soho Photo Gallery, New York, New York, June, 2002
“Nature’s Fingerprint—Fringe Festival”, TLA Video, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August, 2002
“9/11”, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September, 2002
“Evidencing: Drawing with Light and Pixels”, College of New Jersey, Ewing, New Jersey, October, 2002
“New Media & Video”, Community College of Rhode Island, Lincoln, Rhode Island, October, 2002
“New American Talent”, Jones Center for Contemporary Art, Austin, TX, traveled to Texas A&M Commerce Galleries and Stark Galleries, Texas A&M University, 2002-2003
“Nature’s Fingerprint”, Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Wilmington, Delaware, February, 2003
“New Normal”, Borowsky Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February, 2003
“Utopian World State: Fact or Fiction?”, Loyola College Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland, February, 2003
“Ties That Bind: Women and Collaboration”, Smithtown Arts Council, St.James, New York, March, 2003
“Skin 2003”, Icebox Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April, 2003
“Multisensory: Visual Responses to Memory and Synesthesia”, Hera Gallery, Wakefield, Rhode Island, April, 2003
“First Tuesday Film Festival — Featured Artist”, Western Illinois University Art Gallery, Illinois, May, 2003
”Underwater Series”, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, June, 2003
“Fringe Festival”, Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August, 2003
“Viewpoints”, Arthur Ross Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August, 2003
“Body Politic”, University of Eafit, Medellin, Colombia, September, 2003
“Re:Context”, SPEMA Video Festival, Ewing, New Jersey, October, 2003
“Untitled”, Nexus Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March, 2004
“Girl Art Now” Hera Gallery, Wakefield, Rhode Island, June, 2004
“Media Arts Faculty Exhibit”, Rosenwald Wolf Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September, 2004
“Death Bizarre”, Almanac Gallery, Hoboken, New Jersey, September, 2004
“Dialogue: art. technology. imagery”, Montpelier Cultural Arts Center, Laurel, Maryland, September, 2004
“Rendering Gender”, Truman State Gallery, Kirkville, Missouri, October, 2004
“Abortion Dialogues”, Carbon14 Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April, 2005
“Media Lounge”, York Arts Gallery, York, Pennsylvania, April, 2005
“Arad Biennale”, American Pavilion, Arad, Romania, May, 2005
“Sculpture Faculty Exhibit” Addams Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September, 2005
“Heartfelt”, FSU Museum of Fine Arts, Tallahassee, Florida, October, 2005
“Art AIUD 2005 Film Festival”, Interart Foundation, Alba, Romania, October, 2005
“Abortion Dialogues”, Indian Museum, Kolkata, India, November, 2005
“Temporary Identities”, Novosibirsk State Art Museum, Russia, March, 2006
“Do Not Fold, Bend, Spindle or Mutilate: Computer Punch Card Art”, Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, July, 2006
“MIAD Venado Tuerto 2006”, Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, Argentina, September, 2006
“Temporary Cities”, Cultural Communication Center, Klalpeda, Lithuania, September, 2006
“Temporary Cities”, National Center for Contemporary Arts, Moscow, Russia, September, 2006
“Sculpture at City Nord”, Hamburg, Germany, September, 2006
“Ars Latina 2006”, Macerta, Italy, September, 2006
“Snap to Grid”, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, California, September, 2006
“Abortion Dialogues”, Goethe Institute Gallery, Dhaka, Bangladesh in conjunction with Chobi Mela International Photo Festival, November, 2006
“Ritual and Reputation”, Richmond Center for Visual Arts, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, March, 2007
“Look Out — Photography & the Worlds of Contemporary Art”, SPE conference video screening, Miami, Florida, March, 2007
“Kratkofil International Short Film Festival”, Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina, June, 2007
“Ars Latina 2007”, Mexicali, Baja, California, traveled to Castellon, Spain, June, 2007
“Scope Hamptons”, Scope Cinema, East Hampton Studios, New York, August, 2007
“Raw Tactics of the Subversive Body Video Screening”, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, traveled to Hallwalls, Buffalo, New York and Washington, D.C., September, 2007
“The New Millennium Isn’t Space-Age, It’s Raw”, Scope Art Fair, Lincoln Center, New York, March, 2008
“Agents of Change: Art & Advocacy”, SPE conference video screening, Denver, Colorado, March, 2008
“Standing Video Screening”, Teatro dell’Accento, Rome Italy, March, 2008
“Filmideo Series”, Red Saw Gallery, Newark, New Jersey, April, 2008
“18th Internationales Video Festival” Bochum, Germany, May, 2008
“Artsfest 2008”, Whitaker Center for Science and Arts, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, May, 2008
“2nd Kratkofil International Short Film Festival”, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, June, 2008
“DigiFestival”, Florence, Italy, August, 2008
“Moving Image Film Festival”, Toronto, Canada, November, 2008
“Betting on Shorts — More than a Eurovision of Short Film”, simultaneous screenings in Athens, Barcelona, Bucharest, Istanbul, London, Maribor, Novi Sad, Paris, Poznan, Stockholm, Naples, Thessaloniki and Weisbaden, November, 2008
“Women’s Caucus for Art 5th International Video Festival, Korean Cultural Center Theater, Los Angeles, California, February, 2009
“Sprawl — SPE Conference Video Program”, Dallas, Texas, March, 2009
“Visions in the Nunnery 2009”, Bow Arts Gallery, London, United Kingdom, May, 2009
“Money, Money, Money”, Kurye International Film Festival, Istanbul, June, 2009
“09 Oh Cow!”, Crossing Art Gallery, Flushing, New York, July, 2009
“A Book About Death”, Emily Harvey Gallery, New York, New York, September, 2009
“Paper Works!”, Art in City Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October, 2009
“The Museum”, Arthur Ross Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March, 2010
“6th ISFF International Short Film Festival”, Detmold, Germany, June, 2010
“Line Up Action — festival internacional de arte da performance”, Coimbra, Portugal, October, 2010
“Copeland — Retrospective”, Weeks Gallery, Jamestown, New York, February, 2010
“The Carnival of Death”, University of London, London, United Kingdom, February, 2011
“Just Add Maggots”, International House Video Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March, 2011
“Dallas Stories”, Dallas Video Festival, Dallas, Texas, September, 2011
“Watered Down”, K Space Contemporary, Corpus Christi, Texas, July, 2012
“Members’ Exhibition”, 500x Gallery, Dallas, Texas, September, 2012
“Swarm”, Dallas Video Festival, Dallas, Texas, September, 2012
“Reflections on the Way to the Gallows”, 500x Gallery, Dallas, Texas, January, 2013
“SPE Video Festival”, Chicago, Illinois, March, 2013
“Magmart International Video Festival”, Casoria Contemporary Art Museum Italy, traveled to United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Hungary, Albania, Bulgaria, Armenia, Iran, Romania, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, China, India, Greece, Philippines, Ukraine, Russian Federation and United States, April-December, 2013
“Cologne International Video Festival”, Cologne, Germany, traveled to Greece, Poland, Italy, Romania, Peru and Morocco, July, 2013
“The Sweetest Taboo”, Red Arrow Contemporary Gallery, Dallas, Texas, September, 2013
“Dallas Video Festival”, Dallas, Texas, October, 2013
“Return to Narrative”, 500x Gallery, Dallas, Texas, November, 2013
“SPE Video Festival”, Baltimore, Maryland, March, 2014
“100 x 100 = 900 International Video Festival”, featured at Video in Progress 5: Reflections of the Past, Ljubljana, Slovenia, One Shot International Film Festival, Yerevan, Armenia, Oran Biennial, Oran, Algeria, Demolden Video Project, Santander, Spain, Room, Kent, United Kingdom, Elgalpon Espacio, Lima, Peru, June-August, 2014
“The Motherload — Collaborative Exhibition”, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, September, 2014
“Table Manners”, Womanorial Online Exhibition, October, 2014
“Medianale — Experimental Video Festival”, McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, Texas, January, 2015
“Studio Visit 1.2”, Cris Worley Gallery, Dallas, Texas, January, 2015
“SPE Video Festival”, New Orleans, Louisiana, March, 2015
“6th International Video Art Festival of Camagüey”, Camaguey, Cuba, March, 2015
“Irrational City,” Bath House Cultural Center, Dallas, Texas, July, 2015
“28th Festival Les Instants Video”, Marseilles, France, November, 2015
“Utopian Fantasies”, The Wild Detectives, Dallas, Texas, September, 2016
“Paradise: No Time Zone”, Centraltrak Gallery, Dallas, Texas, November, 2016
“Paradise vs. Utopia: Disputed Ideals”, Ro2 Art, Dallas, Texas, November, 2016
“AVI 2016 — Art Video International”, Jerusalem, Israel, December, 2016
“Becoming Colette”, The Reading Room, Dallas, Texas, January, 2016
“Duchamp No Aquario”, Videolab, Casa de Esquina, Coimbra, Portugal, March, 2017
“Royal Trash”, Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, London, United Kingdom, April, 2017
“Punctuations in a Sentence of Eternity”, Alfred Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel, September, 2017
“Downtown Tyler Film Festival”, Tyler, Texas, September, 2017
“3 Days in Limbo at 4th Wimberley Film Festival”, Wimberley, Texas, January, 2018
“COG World Premiere at DT”, Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, London, United Kingdom, February, 2018
“Women’s Work”, Spin Gallery, Dallas, Texas, April, 2018
“Concept 2018”, CICA Museum, Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea, July, 2018
“COG — Official Selection at Oregon Cinema Arts Festival,” Portland, Oregon, August, 2018
“COG — Official Selection at Cefalu Film Festival”, Cefalu, Italy, September, 2018
“OGA Video Art Exhibition”, Rome, Italy, September, 2018
“Official Selection at 40 North Dance Film Festival”, San Diego, California, September, 2018
“Official Selection at Oregon Cinema Arts Festival”, Portland, Oregon, January, 2019
“The Ghost of Jane Elkins at 5th Wimberley Film Festival”, Wimberley, Texas, January, 2019
“Kolkata International Photography Festival”, Kolkata, India, February, 2019
“Official Selection in Madatac Film Festival”, Madrid, Spain, February, 2019
“Official Selection at SPE Video Festival”, Cleveland, Ohio, March, 2019
“Official Selection at Medianale Video Festival,” Dallas, Texas, July, 2019
“Official Selection at WHAT THE FEST”, Dallas, Texas, October, 2019
“Official Selection at Mostra Internacional de Danca Imagens em Movimento”, San Paulo, Brazil, November, 2019
“Official Selection in NewMediaFest2020”, curated by Wilfried Agricola de Cologne, traveled globally for the year with physical and virtual exhibitions, 2020
“Official Selection in Rome Prisma Independent Film Awards”, Rome, Italy, March, 2020
“United Video Artists #videovirus — a videoart marathon”, Magmart Videoart Network, Rome, Italy, March, 2020
“Salina Biennial — Contemporary Art from the Mountain-Plains Region”, Salina Art Center, Salina, Kansas, April, 2020
“How Does Freedom Taste?”, Swifts & Slows — a quarterly of crisscrossings, Arteidolia online publication, May, 2020
“I Am Women”, Dragonfly Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, June, 2020
“My Jesse James Adventure”, SPIN Gallery, Dallas, Texas, August, 2020
“Sonic Murals”, Center for Experimental Music & Intermedia, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, November, 2020
“Official Selection in Reel East Texas Film Festival”, Kilgore, Texas, November, 2020
“$5 Video Exhibition”, Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, Lubbock, Texas, July, 2021
“My Jesse James Adventure”, Tarleton University, Stephenville, Texas, August, 2021
“My Jesse James Adventure”, Old Jail Art Center, Albany, Texas, May, 2022
“My Jesse James Adventure”, Jody Klotz Fine Art, Abilene, Texas, May, 2022
Monday - Friday
9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Evenings & weekends
by appointment
Monday - Friday: 9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Evenings & Weekends
by appointment
