Nico - Poet, Artist, Organizer
Nico Wilkinson (they/he) is a poet, teaching artist, and printer based out of Colorado Springs, CO. Their work is a celebration of identity, resilience, and joy, and through their poetry and printing workshops they seek to inspire the joy of creation in others.
They are the organizer of Keep Colorado Springs Queer, an award-winning open mic by and for the queer community of Colorado Springs. In January 2017 he and Idris Goodwin released the book “Inauguration,” winner of the Pikes Peak Arts Council 2017 award for Best Publication, which celebrated resilience in the midst of the current political climate. In summer of 2017 he competed and won Capturing Fire, the national queer slam tournament.
Poetry
Nico’s poetry speaks to the challenges and joy of inhabiting a transgender identity and body. It also speaks to what it means to be a human in times like these — how do we find our place in this world, amid civil unrest, climate catastrophe, and an ongoing mental health crisis? How do we find community, joy, and ourselves, while still being authentic and present to the suffering around us? Nico seeks to answer these questions through their writing.
Nico has represented both Colorado Springs and Denver at the National Poetry Slam, regional poetry slams, and as the champion of the 2017 Capturing Fire International Queer Poetry Slam and Summit. They’ve performed across Colorado, the southwest, and all across the country.
Teaching artist
Printing and Poetry Workshops
For ten years, Nico has been facilitating poetry and printmaking workshops for youth and adults alike that help cultivate radical creativity and unabashed self-expression for the participants.
Linoleum Printmaking
Zine-making and countercultures
Poetry for Personal empowerment
“What I hope for for queer people is what is made possible by queer people: The most unabashed, unapolagetic expression of self, that is free from shame. I want a future that is free from shame. One in which people are celebrated in all that they are, for all that they are.
What I want for all of us is to live. I don’t just mean survive. I mean what exists beyond survival. ”
