Fine Arts Center

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
2022-02-24 19:30 - 21:30, 2022-03-02 19:00 - 21:00, 2022-02-27 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Denver) | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
A new comedy from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage (Intimate Apparel) draws on the screwball films of the 1930s to take a funny and irreverent look at racial stereotypes in Hollywood. By the Way, Meet Vera Stark is a seventy-year journey through the life of Vera Stark, a headstrong Black maid and budding actress, and her tangled relationship with her boss, a white Hollywood star desperately trying to hold on to her career. When circumstances collide and both women land roles in the same Southern epic, the story behind the cameras leaves Vera with a surprising and controversial legacy scholars will debate for years to come.
Wed at 7 p.m., Thurs & Fri at 7:30 p.m., Sat at 5 or 7:30 p.m., Sun Matinées at 2 p.m.
“The first act, in which Vera angles for a role, is in the style of a screwball comedy…. The second act, which shifts between a 2003 symposium, steeped in academese, and a 1973 talk show, steeped in gin, is more like a screwball tragedy” —The New York Times
“A satisfying screwball comedy in which Nottage uses stereotypes to expose them, tapping into a current of rueful emotion beneath the surface.” —Vogue

Action Words Virtual Discussion: By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
2022-03-09 15:30 - 16:30 | Virtual
Live virtual discussion. Dive deeper into By the Way, Meet Vera Stark with our next action words virtual discussion. Join Colorado College’s Director and Associate Professor of Feminist & Gender Studies Dr. Heidi R. Lewis in a discussion with students of her Feminist Theory course on how various feminist theoretical frameworks might influence interpretations of the show.

FAC member event
2022-03-05 12:00 - 13:00 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Join us for a hands-on art making experience (or three)! Follow along with our Bemis School of Art teachers, as they give guided lessons in watercolor greeting cards, beginning wheel throwing, and birdseed/clay sculpting. Get as messy as you’d like while you learn a new skill or show off an old one. No previous experience needed.
This event will take place in the FAC’s Bemis School of Art building at 818 Pelham Place. Please park in the Bemis School of Art parking lot, located directly behind the Fine Arts Center off of W Cache la Poudre St.
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Black Sound Series
2022-03-04 - 2022-06-18 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
The Black Sound Series features the work of three contemporary artists who use sound to investigate the construction of Black identity in the personal, social, and political spheres. In our Lane Gallery, Rodney McMillian explores how the words of twentieth-century musician Sun Ra resonate in the present; Cy X presents a newly commissioned audiovisual project featuring the figure of an Afro-Indigenous gardener navigating the impending apocalypse; and Camille Norment harnesses harmony, dissonance, and feedback in a sonic installation that responds to movements of protest and resistance.

Boy mother/faceless bloom by Juni One Set: World premiere
2022-02-24 19:30 - 21:00 | Cornerstone Arts Center, 825 N. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Performed at the Cornerstone Arts Center
“Threading mythology and autobiography, while drawing from the diverse lineages of queer, anticolonial, and care-based artistic practices, Boy mother / faceless bloom is a new interdisciplinary performance work by Juni One Set. Dance, music, poetry, ritual, and sculptural installation converge to tell a story of transformation, transgression, and the formation of new trancestral lines.
Juni One Set is Senga Nengudi, eddy kwon, and Degenerate Art Ensemble’s Crow Nishimura & Joshua Kohl.
sengasenga.com | eddykwon.net | degenerateartensemble.com
Boy mother / faceless bloom is co-commissioned by Colorado College (lead) and Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati.
The project is supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation through a residency at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College.
Supported by Creativity and Innovation at CC
Additional support from the National Performance Network Creation Fund Award.
The project has also been supported by a residency from BASE Experimental Arts in Seattle.
More information
FAC Members get 50% off! Just login after clicking the ticket link to receive the discount.
Tickets

Advanced Watercolor Workshop: Achieving Your Goals
2022-01-21 10:00 - 16:00 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
This workshop will target those painters who are experienced in painting in watercolor yet who have still unrealized goals in the medium. The instructor will work individually with each painter to develop skills they already possess but want to improve upon. Various short demonstrations during the day will be provided for additional techniques but won’t take away from your painting time.
Level III – This class is for those who have significant experience in the medium – 2-3 or more classes or a year or more of experience.

Action Words: The Raid
2022-02-11 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
The Actions Words Series is a FAC Connect program devoted to conversation and literary arts that respond to social issues and collective conversation. Engagements range from spoken word poetry performances, to play readings, panel discussions and more.
In this episode, join Betty Hart and Jon Cherry in a conversation about The Raid.

Diago: The Pasts of this Afro-Cuban Present
2022-02-11 - 2022-07-02 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
A leading member of the new Afro-Cuban cultural movement, visual artist Juan Roberto Diago (b. 1971) has produced a body of work that offers a revisionist history of the Cuban nation. His “history,” a term that he frequently inserts in his works using the visual language of graffiti, is not the official narrative of a racially harmonious nation, built thanks to the selfless efforts of generous white patriots.

Meet the FAC’s New Theatre & Museum Directors
2022-01-27 17:30 - 18:30 | Virtual
Join the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region’s Angela Seals for a special episode of Peak Radar Live introducing the community to two exciting new leaders at the Fine Arts Center: Michael Christiano, Director of Visual Arts & Museum, and Pirronne Yousefzadeh, Producing Artistic Director of the Theatre Company. Angela will dig into how their careers led them to join the creative community of the Pikes Peak region and their visions for the future of the FAC. Watch live or catch a recording on FAC Connect after if you miss it.
Watch Live on Facebook

Action Words: Spoken Word
2022-01-18 19:30 - 20:30 | Virtual
Presenting an evening of spoken word inspired by the legacy of Dr. King, on FAC Connect.
Featuring Pikes Peak Poet Laureate Ashley Cornelius, Albuquerque Slam Champion Mercedez Holtry, and Writer & Activist Angela Kong Colorado College class of 2017.
Hosted by FAC Executive Director and Poet Idris Goodwin, this special event brings together three dynamic poets with ties to the region. Beaming in from three different cities, they will share original spoken word poetry inspired by the messages and legacy of Dr. King.
Live streamed Tuesday, January 18 at 7:30 p.m. MST on FAC Connect

This event is part of a week-long celebration of the legacy of Dr. King organized by Colorado College. View full event list on the Colorado College website.

CLEO PARKER ROBINSON DANCE ENSEMBLE
2022-01-17 - 2022-01-21 | FAC Digital, CO, United States
In honor of the 2022 Martin Luther King Day Celebrations
CHECK CASHING DAY and STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS
Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life’s difficulties, and if you think for a moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph. –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This event is part of a week-long celebration of the legacy of Dr. King organized by Colorado College. View full event list on the Colorado College website.

Museum Free Day
2022-01-15 10:00 - 16:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
In celebration of the new exhibition Kukuli Velarde: CORPUS, we are offering free museum admission on Saturday, January 15. Reservations are required.

IMPORTANT COVID-19 guidelines, policies, and reservations

Kukuli Velarde: CORPUS
2022-01-14 - 2022-04-09 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
An installation of sculpture and textiles that encourages reflection on the meaning of survival in the face of colonialism by blending Indigenous and European aesthetics in a critical representation of the celebration of Corpus Christi in Peru.
Image: Patrón Santiago, 2012, Low fire clay, underglazes, casein paint, gold leaf. 33 x 19.3 x 10.45 in., Inspired by work from the Tiwanaku culture (Bolivia). Images courtesy the artist.

First Friday
2021-12-03 16:30 - 20:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Join us for a First Friday celebration at the FAC! Museum admission is FREE from 5-8 p.m. Drinks and small plates will be available in Deco Lounge (credit card payments only).
In the Ladyfingers shop: Local designer Noel Dolan will be in the shop hand lettering custom ornaments
On stage: Celebrate the opening of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella
In the museum: Catch Ronny Quevedo: at the line before it closes Dec. 4
There will be live music and performances by Colorado College students in the exhibition Ronny Quevedo: at the line. Performing on the floor installation, at the line, students will respond to the themes of movement, fragmentation, and displacement which are exhibited throughout Ronny Quevedo’s work. Come watch these performances and experience the exhibition in its final days at the FAC. Performances begin at 4:30 p.m. and run until 7 p.m.
Performance schedule:
4:30-4:45 – Primo Seat
4:50-5:05 – Leo Patternity
5:10-5:25 – Twit
5:30-5:45 – Tenderheart
5:50-6:05 – Rocky Mountain Tops
6:10-6:25 – Funk Off!
6:30-6:45 – Tiny Tomboy

IMPORTANT COVID-19 guidelines

Please register to join us

Museum Free Day
2021-11-24 10:00 - 16:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
The FAC will be closed for Fall Break Thursday Nov. 25 and Fri Nov. 26, so our second free day of the month has been moved to Wednesday, Nov. 24. Reservations required. IMPORTANT COVID-19 guidelines, policies, and reservations

Move, Make, Create, Commune: A Master Class with Juni One Set
2021-11-20 13:00 - 16:00 | Ormao Dance Company, 10 S Spruce St, Colorado Springs, CO, 80905, United States
Ormao Dance Company – 10 S. Spruce St.
This class will explore what it means to be moved through deep listening and the guidance of sound and imagery. We let go of our individual will to manifest shapes and surrender to the richness of the present. We let art awaken us to our soul center. Our trainings are rooted in butoh dance, physical theater, improvisation, music, and visual art. We will practice tuning into what the space, our body’s subtle energies, and our physical memories can move through us. We will practice both playfulness as well as pushing ourselves to our edge. We will hone our embodiment and observation, bearing witness to each other’s discoveries. In addition to dancers and performers, creative and curious people from all walks of life and all levels of training and ability are welcome. This workshop is designed for people who love to move and be moved, exploring their emotions and being playful.
18+ age | 20 person capacity | please review Ormao’s safety precautions
Free! Registration required

JUNI ONE SET STATEMENT
Our work is intensely collaborative, rooted in the deepest respect and love we hold for one another. Through an intentional, transformational process, we build a world within which we can be free. Our bodies live in fear, in the shadows of beginning-less violence, in joy and in care. Through ritual and embodiment, we find openings for healing and growth and invite others to arrive. We are trying to tell a story we never want to end.
JUNI ONE SET is Eddy Kwon (Brooklyn), Senga Nengudi (Colorado Springs), and Degenerate Art Ensemble’s Haruko Crow Nishimura & Joshua Kohl (Seattle).

BIOS
Eddy Kwon (they/them) is a violinist/violist, vocalist, composer, improviser, dancer, and interdisciplinary performing artist based in Brooklyn. They are a United States Artists Ford Fellow, Van Lier Fellow at Roulette Intermedium, Andrew W. Mellon Artist-in-Residence at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, and Johnson Fellow for Artists Transforming Communities at Americans For The Arts. In addition to an evolving, interdisciplinary solo practice, they collaborate with artists of diverse disciplines, including The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Tomeka Reid, Susan Alcorn, Du Yun, and Carla Kihlstedt. They have performed throughout the Americas and Europe, including the Kennedy Center, Big Ears Festival, SESC Pompeia, Barbican Centre, Berlin Jazz Festival, Festival Banlieues Bleues, and more. Recent commissions include the Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati, National Performance Network, Bang on a Can, Roulette Intermedium, and Colorado College.
Senga Nengudi’s (she/her) media-spanning oeuvre draws on a range of influences including free jazz and spoken word, Yoruba mythology, Japanese art and theater, Brazilian Constructivism, and African ritual. Characterized by experimentation with process, material, and form, Nengudi’s work challenges and reimagines the traditional narratives of Post-Minimalism and Conceptual Art, while reframing the broader histories of both feminism and the Black Power Movement. Nengudi has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (2021) the Denver Art Museum (2020); Henry Moore Institute (2018); the Baltimore Museum of Art (2018); Art + Practice, Los Angeles (2018); the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (2017); and the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans (2017). She has also been featured in significant group exhibitions, including Another Energy: The Power to Continue Challenging-16 Women Artists from Around the World (2021) Mori Art Museum-Tokyo, Japan; Soul of a Nation (2017); Viva Arte Viva, the 57th Venice Biennale (2017); We Wanted A Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85 (2017); Radical Presence: Black Performance in Contemporary Art (2012); Now Dig This! Art and Black Los Angeles 1960–1980(2011); WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution (2007); and the 54th Carnegie International (2007). sengasenga.com
Haruko Crow Nishimura & Joshua Kohl of Degenerate Art Ensemble
The duo creates performance work infused with the energy of live music and driven by their own style of visceral movement theater and dance. Their work has been featured in 12 countries presenting large scale experimental theater and dance installation projects, concerts, site-transforming spectacles, and ongoing public experimentations. Some highlights of their work include being commissioned by director Robert Wilson to interpret his work Einstein on the Beach performed at the Baryshnikov Center, a site specific collaboration with Olson Kundig Architects for the 50th Anniversary of the Seattle Worlds Fair at the Seattle Center, a composition and solo dance with the Kronos Quartet which was also performed as part of 95 Rituals — a celebration of Anna Halprin’s 95th birthday at SF’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Crow and Joshua were joint recipients of the 2020 Artist Trust & Dale Chihuly Foundation’s Artist Innovators Award. Haruko Crow was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship in choreography and Joshua’s work was awarded a Music Theatre Now award at the Swedish Biennale. In 2016 they teamed up with the legendary Czech Rock group Uz Jsme Doma for the creation of an epic orchestral work inspired by the group’s music at the Archa Theatre in Prague with the South Bohemian Philharmonic Orchestra. Their recent work Skeleton Flower was shown at the Spotlight USA Festival in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the International Festival of Contemporary Dance in Mexico City and will have its New York premiere in June of 2022.

Top photograph by Wolf Daniel courtesy of Roulette Intermedium
