Long COVID continues to affect hundreds of thousands of Coloradans, though the pandemic is no longer in an emergency state and most people consider it “over.” The artwork and stories in this exhibition share a range of Coloradan’s experiences of this illness, from chronic migraines and fatigue to debilitating symptoms that render sufferers bed ridden for days, weeks, sometimes months. Some have recovered, others have not yet found lasting relief. While Colorado institutions like the Anschutz School of Medicine and Jewish National Health’s Long COVID clinics are at the forefront of providing care and conducting crucial research, knowledge about post-COVID conditions and access to care is limited. This exhibition aims to bring both the lived experiences of Long COVID and the resources available locally to the public’s attention.
It Comes in Waves is supported by an INSITE Fund grant through the RedLine Contemporary Art Center, a Regional Regranting institution for the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Artist Heather Schulte received this award to further her project, Stitching the Situation, a community led non-profit documenting and memorializing experiences of COVID-19 through collective embroidery. This funding facilitated expanded accessibility by commissioning interviews and writing submissions by folks living with Long COVID, and hired incarcerated artists to illustrate them.
Click image to download
exhibition program.
A full exhibition catalog is
available for purchase below.
Exhibition Reception Recording
Gallery images
All photos by Wes Magyar.
Scroll through to view.
Artwork Gallery
Click through each image below to view the pieces in the exhibition, learn more about each artist, and read the full text of each contributor’s experience with Long COVID. Stories were shared in various formats, from interviews to poems to personal essays. These were then reflected in artwork, or illustrated through collaborations with incarcerated artists.
Karen Breunig
Hector Castillo
Lucy Chester
Karin Dove
Barbara Gould
Sally Hartshorn
Riccardo Kirven
Sonny Lee
Douglas 'DC' Lehman
Michaela Martinez
Teague McDaniel
Beth Meier
Venture Merz
Emerson Morris
Carol Rathe
Frances Rossi
Nalani Saeks
Dani Sellmer
AnaKacia Shifflet
Sophia
Exhibition Catalog
We printed a softcover exhibition catalog, available to order via Blurb Books.
Softcover books are $15, or you can download a pdf eBook for $6.
If you want to order 10 or more copies, email me as I can get a discounted rate on bulk orders.
Press
With all the political controversies, conspiracy theories, and heated disagreements about safe and effective treatments surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s easy to forget it all happened. For some, though, forgetting is not so easy; many are still living with the after-effects of the COVID infection. These Long COVID sufferers have and continue to endure a slew of maladies related to the illness, upending and interrupting their lives in myriad ways.
— Raymundo Muñoz, Daria Art Magazine, “It Comes in Waves,” Dec 2, 2025
“It Comes in Waves” is a collection of paintings, poetry, sculpture and drawings curated by Heather Schulte, a textile artist who has spent the past five years bringing people together to sit with the enormous toll the pandemic took — and is still taking — on daily lives..
— Parker Yamasaki, The Colorado Sun, “One Woman’s method for coping with COVID turned into a 5-year art project, now on display in Aurora,” Nov 13, 2025
Running through December 30, It Comes in Waves invites viewers to consider what happens when a crisis slips from public view but its consequences remain.
— Toni Tresca, Westword, “Art Show It Comes in Waves Brings Long COVID Stories to Light,” Nov 5, 2025
CDPHE
Colorado’s Department of Public Health & Environment have an extensive resource list on their Long COVID page.
RECOVER
The RECOVER Initiative is a national effort “to understand, diagnose, prevent, and treat Long COVID and help people who are suffering.” CU Anschutz and Nat’l Jewish hospital in Denver are some of their research sites.
CO-MTN (CU Anschutz)
CO-MTN is part of the Agency for HealthCare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Long COVID Network which is a network of 12 total sites who strive to improve Long COVID Care for patients.
Mask Block Denver
Mask Bloc Denver is a small mutual aid group that provides masks, tests, and loan items to individuals and organizations throughout the Denver Metro area. Our goal is to help everyone protect themselves from the airborne spread of viruses and wildfire smoke.
COVID Safe Colorado
CSC is a queer and trans-led mutual aid group on occupied Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute territory that distributes free masks, information, and other tools for keeping the Colorado community safe from COVID-19, other airborne viruses, and airborne pollutants such as wildfire smoke.
Impact Arts
Impact Arts is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to generating arts classes, programs, and exhibitions in and around the criminal-legal system in Colorado. We bring visibility to the work and stories of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated artists, foster artistic community, and advocate for the importance of the arts as a healing and transformative tool in carceral spaces.
The Sick Times
The Sick Times is a journalist-founded website chronicling the Long COVID crisis.
Patient-Led Research Collaborative
The PLRC Registry is an user-friendly registry platform, designed by patients for patients, to connect people with clinical trials and research studies in Long COVID and associated conditions.
C19LAP
The COVID-19 Longhauler Advocacy Project (C19LAP) is a grassroots, patient-led, volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in June 2020 to advance the understanding of Long COVID and its associated conditions and expedite solutions and assistance to Longhaulers and their families through advocacy, education, research, resource development, and support.