Rainbows & Revolutions

Traveling Exhibition

Rainbows & Revolutions explores how LGBTQ+ people’s very existence in Colorado has been a rebellious act: from quiet assertions of identity to loud and proud demonstrations for civil rights, equality, and liberation. The exhibition features stories of LGBTQ+ Coloradans and their allies who changed the cultural, business, and political landscape of our state over generations. The exhibition begins with Early Advocates, looking at the 1950s and '60s when some of the first gay rights groups were emerging nationally and in Colorado.

Defining acts of rebellion, self-expression, and solidarity are highlighted in this exhibition. Visitors will witness expressions of defiance, from demonstrations for civil rights and equality in the 1950s, to the high-profile revolt against Denver’s City Council in 1973. Rainbows & Revolutions  dives deep into how Colorado dealt with the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and teaches about the devastating passage of Amendment 2 in the 1990s. In a nod to modern times and extraordinary progress, the journey continues with Colorado electing the nation’s first openly gay governor in 2018.

A timeline installed on the gallery’s walls dives deeper into the national LGBTQ+ history. The timeline highlights moments in Colorado's LGBTQ+ history that visitors will have encountered elsewhere in the exhibition and puts them in context related to national events impacting the LGBTQ+ community. Altogether, 82 historical moments are represented, stretching from 1883 to 2022.

What’s Included?

5 chronological sections
10 colorful cases
You-print timeline, sizeable to fit your wall space
Template for press release and artwork for poster or website
Artifact lists and prep materials
Opportunity to add your community's artifacts and stories to one case

Space Recommendations

A minimum gallery of about 900 square feet or one that is approximately 20 feet by 45 feet. Timeline included in exhibition adjusts to available venue walls; it can be up to 80 linear feet long.

Environmental Requirements

There are many artifacts in this exhibition, so direct sunlight needs to be avoided. Hosting organizations will need to complete an abbreviated AAM Facility Report and complete artifact loan paperwork. History Colorado will provide staff assistance in completing these documents.

Installation Requirements

With rental fee, History Colorado will send two people for two days to install and again to de-install the exhibition. The hosting venue needs to store crates and pallet storage during the exhibition rental.

Lease Terms

Base rental fee is $16,000. Affiliate members get a 15% discount. Click here to join the Affiliates Network. In-bound shipping is paid by the hosting venue. Lease term is 12 weeks, including one week for installation and one week for de-installation.

Transportation Fee

Host venues will pay inbound transportation.

Check Exhibition Availability→

Want to rent this exhibition?

Contact Shannon Voirol at Shannon.Voirol@state.co.us
for more information.

Browse More Traveling Exhibitions→

Seven individuals in 1970s clothing and fashion stand in front of a doorway, huddled close together and smiling. A man in the front row wears a shirt reading "I am 'One'. Are You?" — The opening of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Colorado, 1977. This would later become The Center on Colfax.

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A woman looks at the multi-colored glass information and artifact cases making up Rainbows & Revolutions

2 older gentlemen look at a purple and pink wall timeline detailing LGBT history with photos and text.

A man with a mustache wearing 1980s/90s leather scene fashion, including a leather shirt, hat, and gloves. — Orie Thompson, from Denver, won the Mr. Drummer competition in 1997.

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Rows of multicolored glass cases filled with artifacts and information panels, making up the Rainbows & Revolutions exhibit. There's a purple and blue timeline of LGBT history across the wall.

A collection of colorful political buttons on a white surface. They read: "Women Against Violence Against Women (Disarm Rapists)" ; "Happy 5th Birthday Woman to Woman Sept. 1980" ; "How dare you presume me to be heterosexual" ; "Woman to Woman" ; "Come Out" ; "Stars & Dykes Forever" ; "Sexism is a Social Disease"; "An Army of Lovers Cannot Lose" ; and "Dyke" — Vicki Piotter, who operated Woman to Woman Feminist Bookcenter and was involved with Big Mama Rag, a feminist newspaper, donated these buttons to History Colorado.

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Venues that have hosted Rainbows & Revolutions

History Colorado Center in Denver
El Pueblo History Museum
Colorado Mesa University 437CO Gallery
Adams State of Colorado - Fall 2025

Project History

Curator Aaron Marcus’s post as History Colorado’s Gill Foundation Associate Curator of LGBTQ+ History began in 2020 and is made possible by one of the nation’s largest funders of the effort to secure full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people.

Since 2015, Marcus has researched LGBTQ+ history with an eye toward an exhibition at the state’s flagship history museum. Over the past four years, he and his team of interns and volunteers—who all identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community—have worked with the community to bring in more than 500 artifacts and photos and record more than 20 hours of oral histories.