Special Offer: Get 50% off your first 2 months when you do one of the following
Personalized offer codes will be given in each session
Name
Colleen Houston
Title
Chief Executive Officer & Artistic Director, ArtWorks
Bio
Colleen is a passionate nonprofit arts leader with more than 20 years of experience leading community-based public arts. She has served as CEO & Artistic Director at ArtWorks, in Cincinnati, Ohio, since 2020. ArtWorks creates community-based public art that provides career opportunities for artists of all ages.
Colleen is deeply committed to advancing arts accessibility, equity, and inclusion. At ArtWorks, she is a driving force on initiatives that generate employment opportunities for more than 300 artists each year, with a focus on empowering young artists aged 14–24 from under-resourced communities. Colleen ensures that emerging talent thrives creatively and also earns sustainable wages.
Colleen launched ArtWorks’ groundbreaking mural program in 2007, one of the first of its kind in the nation that prioritized youth employment and community involvement. Under her leadership, this program propelled Cincinnati to win the prestigious 2010 City Livability Award at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, solidifying its reputation as a cultural destination. While at ArtWorks, she helped found BLINK, the nation’s largest light, art and projecting mapping event which generates $1.26 Million in direct economic impact. Subsequently, Cincinnati earned recognition as one of the top 20 most vibrant art and cultural cities in the SMU DataArts Arts Vibrancy Index both in 2020 and 2022. ArtWorks also helped Cincinnati garner acclaim from USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice poll – placing the Queen City in the top 10 best cities for street art in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Colleen has a degree in Public and Social Art from Warren Wilson College and was recognized as one of their 2020 Distinguished Alumni honorees. She is currently completing a certificate in Nonprofit Leadership from Harvard Kennedy School. Colleen received a Legacy Next Generation Leader Award and is a Cincinnati Business Courier C-Suite honoree. She is a graduate of Leadership Cincinnati, Strong Cincinnati, the Nonprofit Leadership Institute of Greater Cincinnati’s EXCEL, and Leadership Council for Nonprofits’ BOLD (Board Orientation + Leadership Development). Colleen currently serves on the boards of Creative Ohio, dedicated to advocacy for arts support of Ohio creatives and the creative economy, and the Leadership Council for Nonprofits, maximizing the impact of nonprofit organizations and developing their leaders to strengthen community. She has also served on the boards of WavePool, Mini Microcinema, and the Artery.
As an artist, Colleen’s practice is interdisciplinary, primarily in the areas of photography and writing. She has studied with internationally renowned photographers Rebecca Norris Webb, Alex Webb, and Sohrab Hura, and has attended international art residencies at Art Ichol in Maihar, India, Mildred’s Lane in Pennsylvania, and the International Center for the Arts in Monte Castello di Vibio, Italy. Colleen lives with her husband, an art teacher, and their two creative children, along with their dog and cat. She enjoys travel, cooking, being outdoors, spending time with friends, and playing her button accordion.
Email: Colleen@artworkscincinnati.org
Colleen is deeply committed to advancing arts accessibility, equity, and inclusion. At ArtWorks, she is a driving force on initiatives that generate employment opportunities for more than 300 artists each year, with a focus on empowering young artists aged 14–24 from under-resourced communities. Colleen ensures that emerging talent thrives creatively and also earns sustainable wages.
Colleen launched ArtWorks’ groundbreaking mural program in 2007, one of the first of its kind in the nation that prioritized youth employment and community involvement. Under her leadership, this program propelled Cincinnati to win the prestigious 2010 City Livability Award at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, solidifying its reputation as a cultural destination. While at ArtWorks, she helped found BLINK, the nation’s largest light, art and projecting mapping event which generates $1.26 Million in direct economic impact. Subsequently, Cincinnati earned recognition as one of the top 20 most vibrant art and cultural cities in the SMU DataArts Arts Vibrancy Index both in 2020 and 2022. ArtWorks also helped Cincinnati garner acclaim from USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice poll – placing the Queen City in the top 10 best cities for street art in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Colleen has a degree in Public and Social Art from Warren Wilson College and was recognized as one of their 2020 Distinguished Alumni honorees. She is currently completing a certificate in Nonprofit Leadership from Harvard Kennedy School. Colleen received a Legacy Next Generation Leader Award and is a Cincinnati Business Courier C-Suite honoree. She is a graduate of Leadership Cincinnati, Strong Cincinnati, the Nonprofit Leadership Institute of Greater Cincinnati’s EXCEL, and Leadership Council for Nonprofits’ BOLD (Board Orientation + Leadership Development). Colleen currently serves on the boards of Creative Ohio, dedicated to advocacy for arts support of Ohio creatives and the creative economy, and the Leadership Council for Nonprofits, maximizing the impact of nonprofit organizations and developing their leaders to strengthen community. She has also served on the boards of WavePool, Mini Microcinema, and the Artery.
As an artist, Colleen’s practice is interdisciplinary, primarily in the areas of photography and writing. She has studied with internationally renowned photographers Rebecca Norris Webb, Alex Webb, and Sohrab Hura, and has attended international art residencies at Art Ichol in Maihar, India, Mildred’s Lane in Pennsylvania, and the International Center for the Arts in Monte Castello di Vibio, Italy. Colleen lives with her husband, an art teacher, and their two creative children, along with their dog and cat. She enjoys travel, cooking, being outdoors, spending time with friends, and playing her button accordion.
Email: Colleen@artworkscincinnati.org
