{"id":7401,"date":"2026-08-17T19:40:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T19:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeplusstylemag.com\/denver\/?p=7401"},"modified":"2026-08-17T19:52:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T19:52:03","slug":"allyson-mcduffie-mixed-media-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeplusstylemag.com\/denver\/art-culture\/allyson-mcduffie-mixed-media-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Allyson Mcduffie: The art of belonging"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Allyson McDuffie is a mixed media visual artist based in Boulder, CO, whose work explores the intersections between distant nebulous memory, queer (be)longing, societal norms, resilience, and place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

She often employs humor and satire to subvert the seriousness of difficult topics. \u201cThroughout my life, my work has attempted to speak to the way personal experiences and memory recall of those experiences that can morph over time shape our understanding of place and the world around us. My most successful pieces are simplified forms that hint at a deeper emotional resonance. They are reluctantly optimistic; simultaneously an exploration of hardships and a celebration of the beauty in our contradictory society. They are comical and poignant.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

More than fifty hand-tufted, 24-inch \u201cmerit badges\u201d reference the familiar emblems traditionally sewn onto scouting sashes\u2014symbols meant to mark achievement, belonging, and moral character. In this exhibition, however, some badges hold language historically used against LGBTQ+ people. Slurs gradually give way to terms that have been reclaimed, redefined, or celebrated within the LGBTQ+ community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Through this shift, the work traces how language can wound, but also how communities reshape it into symbols of resilience and pride. The badges become both evidence and armor\u2014markers of endurance that acknowledge harm while asserting self-definition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Through this shift, the work traces how language can wound, but also how communities reshape it into symbols of resilience and pride. The badges become both evidence and armor\u2014markers of endurance that acknowledge harm while asserting self-definition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Working in both 2D and 3D from her studio in Boulder\u2019s NoBo Art District, her mediums range from drawing and photography, to employing found objects, and fiber arts. Chickens, miniature donkeys, pigs, cardinals (the Ohio state bird and her grandmother\u2019s favorite), rattan and jelly lawn furniture, a coveted bowling trophy, and the power of words are just a few of the elements that make appearances in McDuffie\u2019s work. These objects help to evoke\/embellish the retelling of childhood experiences, friend and familial relationships, and an accounting of (be)longing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

McDuffie\u2019s most recent solo exhibition, <\/span>Woven Evidence<\/b>, reimagines the visual language of American scouting badges as a record of queer survival. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Convex mirrors placed among the badges reflect viewers back into the installation, implicating us all in the circulation and transformation of language. A video and sound element features the artist reading the list of words; slurs dissolve into blurred, muffled fragments before giving way to clear, intelligible affirmations. The distortion echoes the act of refusing harmful language while amplifying the words that sustain community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Together, these woven emblems function as both archive and transformation, documenting the language that has shaped LGBTQ+ experience while reclaiming space for dignity, visibility, and collective strength.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

McDuffie is the owner and operator of Kin Studio and Gallery, an artist-run space in Boulder dedicated to making art accessible, fostering community, and celebrating creativity through exhibitions, live events, and education.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Kin connects the public with local artists, musicians, and writers, creating opportunities for dialogue, learning, and joy, while centering inclusivity and the power of belonging in the arts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Kin Studio and Gallery<\/b><\/p>

NoBo Art District | Boulder CO kinstudioboulder.com<\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Allyson McDuffie is a mixed media visual artist based in Boulder, CO, whose work explores the intersections between distant nebulous memory, queer (be)longing, societal norms, resilience, and place.\u00a0 She often employs humor and satire to subvert the seriousness of difficult topics. \u201cThroughout my life, my work has attempted to speak to the way personal experiences […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7408,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeplusstylemag.com\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeplusstylemag.com\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeplusstylemag.com\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeplusstylemag.com\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeplusstylemag.com\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7401"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/lifeplusstylemag.com\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7418,"href":"https:\/\/lifeplusstylemag.com\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7401\/revisions\/7418"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeplusstylemag.com\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeplusstylemag.com\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeplusstylemag.com\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeplusstylemag.com\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}