The Sharon Prize, a prestigious $5,000 annual grant celebrating and supporting women and non-binary artists in Colorado, has been awarded to Kristen Abbott for her innovative project, Tending | Belonging. Her project explores the cyclical nature of life—how we are connected and shaped by our encounters with beauty, loss, and longing. This immersive exhibition considers the garden as both metaphor and material: a site of care, change, and shared experience.
Kristen is a mixed media painter, drawing inspiration from the scenic landscapes of Boulder, Colorado where she resides. Guided by introspection and propelled by a sense of joyful experimentation, Abbott’s creative process spans a diverse array of mediums and materials. Her collaboration with nature rejuvenates her sense of wonder, continually drawing her back to the canvas in pursuit of capturing the enigmatic essence of Colorado’s landscape and the internal stillness it shares with us.
Kristen’s work is represented by Liz Lidgett Gallery and Midnight Gallery and is included in private, corporate, and hospital collections nationwide. Beyond her studio practice, she is passionate about fostering a creative community, hosting workshops, retreats, and gatherings at Schoolhouse Studios, a 1950’s schoolhouse she personally renovated in Boulder, Colorado.
“When I first read about the Sharon Prize, it felt too aligned not to apply. Receiving it has been both an honor and a catalyst—giving me greater freedom to create art that builds connection and community, and to hold spaces where artists of all backgrounds can gather and grow. I am grateful for the Sharon Prize jury’s belief in the power of art to connect us,” said Kristen Abbott.
Through large-scale cyanotypes, paintings, installations, photography, poetry, and interactive elements, Tending | Belonging invites viewers into a sensory journey through the seasons—winter, spring, summer, fall—each unfolding within its own room at Schoolhouse Studios. These distinct spaces mirror the inner landscapes we move through and will immerse attendees in themes of loss, dormancy, renewal, and abundance.
Tending | Belonging is a call to disarm through beauty—to break down barriers and create space for reflection and conversation. Together, these artists offer a space where art and nature converge to remind us that we are more connected than separate in our experience of what it means to be human.
The show features the work of Kristen Abbott as well as Colorado-based artists, Sara Sanderson, Natalie Pigliacampo, Cady Faus, and Lindsey Mazzaferro.
The Sharon Prize, established in honor of the late Sharon Riordan McAvoy, is an annual grant recognizing women and non-binary artists in Colorado who create work evoking the power of community and collective change. Over the past four years, they have received grant proposals from over 200 visual artists, singers, dancers, writers and filmmakers living and working in Colorado.
The opening reception for Tending | Belonging is Saturday, October 4th, from 5-8pm, at Schoolhouse Studios located at 4705 Baseline Road in Boulder, Colorado. Light refreshments will be served in the studio garden.
