BIO
Jennifer Colby, Ph. D. is an artist, scholar, curator, and educator.
Dr. Colby's art work includes installations that evoke women's stories. She conceptualized the "banner painting" in 1984 as free hanging 8 foot acrylic paintings on un primed muslin with embedded collage. Installed as "Border Crossings" the banner paintings won critical acclaim and the Joyce Aiken purchase award. She continues to create with collage and paint and has engaged with community based art projects.
Dr. Colby has prepared undergraduates for the teaching profession since 2000 at California State University, Monterey Bay. She is the co- director of Partners for the Advancement Teaching, an initiative bringing professional development and resources to Monterey Bay area teachers. Her research and expertise is in community based service learning, visual arts/arts integration and cultural diversity. Dr. Colby was a trustee of the Aromas San Juan Unified School District. She has served on non-profit boards and written, reviewed and evaluated numerous grants.
Dr. Colby received her PhD in Humanities from the California Institute of Integral Studies, a Masters in Studio Art from Fresno State University, and a Masters of Theology, Religion and the Arts from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, where she became the director of Contemporary Art at the Badé Museum, Pacific School of Religion for eight years. She was the founder of Galeria Tonantzin (1992 – 2013), and Luna Gallery and Eco Art Studio (2022) in San Juan Bautista, California. Dr. Colby served as the Women’s Caucus for Art National Board President and Executive Director (2006 – 08). She was named 2007 Champion of the Arts – Educator for Monterey County and 2010 Catalyst for Art and the Environment in the Pacific Region.
Dr. Colby was the project director and humanities expert for two California Council for the Humanities California Stories projects with multimedia exhibits and CD/DVD: Rumme Living River: The Pajaro River Watershed Experience traveling in 2004, and The Creeks of Salinas: The Gabilan Watershed Experience in 2010 at the National Steinbeck Center. She served as guest curator at the Museum of Monterey producing a series of exhibits for Fishing 2014. She lives with her husband in the tiny Monterey County town of Aromas, CA with her two grown daughters near by.
Dr. Colby's art work includes installations that evoke women's stories. She conceptualized the "banner painting" in 1984 as free hanging 8 foot acrylic paintings on un primed muslin with embedded collage. Installed as "Border Crossings" the banner paintings won critical acclaim and the Joyce Aiken purchase award. She continues to create with collage and paint and has engaged with community based art projects.
Dr. Colby has prepared undergraduates for the teaching profession since 2000 at California State University, Monterey Bay. She is the co- director of Partners for the Advancement Teaching, an initiative bringing professional development and resources to Monterey Bay area teachers. Her research and expertise is in community based service learning, visual arts/arts integration and cultural diversity. Dr. Colby was a trustee of the Aromas San Juan Unified School District. She has served on non-profit boards and written, reviewed and evaluated numerous grants.
Dr. Colby received her PhD in Humanities from the California Institute of Integral Studies, a Masters in Studio Art from Fresno State University, and a Masters of Theology, Religion and the Arts from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, where she became the director of Contemporary Art at the Badé Museum, Pacific School of Religion for eight years. She was the founder of Galeria Tonantzin (1992 – 2013), and Luna Gallery and Eco Art Studio (2022) in San Juan Bautista, California. Dr. Colby served as the Women’s Caucus for Art National Board President and Executive Director (2006 – 08). She was named 2007 Champion of the Arts – Educator for Monterey County and 2010 Catalyst for Art and the Environment in the Pacific Region.
Dr. Colby was the project director and humanities expert for two California Council for the Humanities California Stories projects with multimedia exhibits and CD/DVD: Rumme Living River: The Pajaro River Watershed Experience traveling in 2004, and The Creeks of Salinas: The Gabilan Watershed Experience in 2010 at the National Steinbeck Center. She served as guest curator at the Museum of Monterey producing a series of exhibits for Fishing 2014. She lives with her husband in the tiny Monterey County town of Aromas, CA with her two grown daughters near by.
