The paintings that hang in the Old Town Art Gallery this September and October were made in a place most people never see. They were drawn and painted at the Larimer County Jail, by people in custody, in a program that began with a modest hope and grew far past what anyone expected. On the evening of Oct. 15, the man who started that program will stand in a meeting room at the Old Town Library and tell the stories behind the work.
Clint Burkholder is a Programs Specialist for Larimer County, and he is the driving force behind the Larimer County Jail Art Project. The event, "Artist Stories: Clint Burkholder Presents Stories Behind Art Created During Incarceration at the Larimer County Jail," runs from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Old Town Library, 201 Peterson St. in Fort Collins. It is a free library program, open to anyone who walks in.
The story of the art project starts in early 2024, and it starts small. Burkholder's original goal was to recruit three to five inmates interested in painting, enough to create some artwork to display in the jail's program room. That was the whole plan. As word spread through the facility, though, the number of participants climbed past anything he had imagined. By September 2024, more than 60 inmates had contributed one or more pieces to the project.
"The Art Project at the Larimer County Jail is a group of inmates who come together to draw, paint, and create artwork," Burkholder has said. "Art offers significant benefits to our inmates by providing a constructive outlet for self-expression and emotional release, which promotes mental well-being. I've witnessed these transformations firsthand in those who have participated, both past and present."
The program soon reached beyond the jail's walls. In October 2024, the Global Village Museum of Arts and Cultures in Fort Collins opened an exhibit titled "Inmate Art from Larimer County Jail" in its Hall Gallery. Visitors walking into the museum's back hallway found vibrant colors erupting from the walls, the Collegian reported at the time. The paintings featured landscapes, football helmets, quotes, and whatever else the artists most wanted to express. The exhibit ran into early 2025, and pieces were rotated during its run so that as many artists as possible could be shown.
Burkholder described that exhibit as the community outreach extension of the project he had started inside the jail. "It provides inmates with an opportunity to showcase their work, express their dreams and share their creations," he said.
What made the exhibit remarkable was not only the volume of work but the reluctance it overcame. Many of the artists were hesitant to share what they had made. "Many artists, especially those in custody, are hesitant to share their work for fear of rejection," Burkholder said. "Inmates, having experienced rejection from family, friends, and society, often carry that reluctance. Providing them with the opportunity to showcase their art publicly is a significant step in their personal growth."
That theme carried into the public talks Burkholder gave alongside the museum exhibit. A January 2025 program called "Behind the Bars: The Stories of Inmate Artists" drew enough interest that the Global Village Museum hosted an encore presentation later that month, on Jan. 25. North Forty News described the encore as a chance to shed light on the artistic journeys of local inmates, with Burkholder sharing the stories of people who had discovered creative expression through drawing, painting, and other artistic endeavors. "The Art Project at the Larimer County Jail offers more than just a creative outlet," he said at the time. "It fosters emotional release and self-expression, promoting mental well-being. I've witnessed incredible personal transformations in the inmates who participate."
Now the work has moved to a new venue. The September-October exhibit at the Old Town Art Gallery carries the project into a different kind of space, and the Oct. 15 library talk is built around it. Burkholder will speak about the art program he leads, the artists who take part, and the stories behind the specific pieces on view.
The setting for the talk is fitting in its own way. The Old Town Library sits on the east side of Library Park in Fort Collins, a two-story building three blocks east of College Avenue and two blocks north of Mulberry Street. It is a public building in the middle of a public park, a short walk from the gallery where the artwork hangs. The library has been a fixture of the neighborhood for decades and is marking its 50th birthday this year, which makes it an apt host for a conversation about who gets to be seen in a community and who usually is not.
The library's own framing of the event is straightforward and warm. The program, it says, is a chance "to experience and support the expression and creativity of our community members and artists who currently are or have been incarcerated and learn about the amazing work of Clint and others that makes our community enriching for everyone."
That is the quiet argument the evening makes. The people whose paintings hang in the gallery are, for the most part, not visible in Fort Collins. They are behind walls, or they have been and carry the record of it. The art project gives them a way to be seen on their own terms, and the exhibit and the talk extend that visibility into the ordinary rooms of civic life, a gallery and a library, where anyone can walk in and look.
Burkholder has been careful not to overstate what a painting can do. He talks about emotional release, about mental well-being, about a more positive and rehabilitative atmosphere inside the facility, and about the personal growth that comes from letting work be seen. He has also been clear that the transformations he describes are ones he has watched happen, not ones he predicted.
The Oct. 15 event is free and runs one hour. There is no ticket link and no capacity barrier mentioned in the listing, which is typical for library programming. Anyone curious about the exhibit, the program, or the people behind the paintings can simply show up at the Old Town Library at 6 p.m. and listen.