Fine Arts Center

Museum Free Day
2023-05-13 10:00 - 17:00, 2023-05-19 10:00 - 20:00 (America/Denver) | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Museum Free Days are offered the second Saturday and third Friday of each month. See what’s on view in the museum

Slip Casting and Mold Making
2024-01-25 18:30 - 21:00 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
You will explore the process of creating multiples of a single clay object through foundational techniques in clay slip casting and plaster mold-making. You will have an opportunity to create your own object from clay and will learn to mix and pour plaster to fabricate a functional and reusable one-part mold. We will spend ample time learning to pour our own porcelain clay slip castings using plaster molds, as well as introductory techniques for how to glaze porcelain castings. There is a material fee of $22 due to the instructor on the first day of class.
Level 0 – This class is for the true beginner with no prior experience in the medium.
Ages 16–Adult

Water by the Spoonful
2024-02-15 19:30 - 21:00, 2024-02-18 14:00 - 15:30, 2024-02-21 19:00 - 20:30 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Somewhere in Philadelphia, Elliot has returned from Iraq and is struggling to find his place in the world. Somewhere in a chat room, recovering addicts keep each other alive, hour by hour, day by day. The boundaries of family and community are stretched across continents and cyberspace as birth families splinter and online families collide. WATER BY THE SPOONFUL is a heartfelt meditation on lives on the brink of redemption.

Museum Object Photography
2024-02-16 13:00 - 16:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Join the museum collections team in the Agents of Care gallery from 1–4 p.m. to learn about museum object photography. Staff will discuss some of the tools and tricks of the trade with live demonstrations and hands-on opportunities. Discover why we photograph collections and how those images are used in our object catalog and eMuseum to make the museum’s collections accessible to communities around the world. This is a drop-in program that is free and open to the public.

Behind-the-Scenes Sunday
2024-02-18 16:30 - 17:30 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Ever wonder, “how’d they do that?”? Well, unbox your inner theatre nerd with the Fine Arts Center Theatre Company staff for a thorough look at the special effects, backstage spaces, costume, and scene shops. This event will begin immediately following the Feb. 18, 2 p.m. performance of Water by the Spoonful.
This event is free and open to the public; no reservations required.

Advance Your Darkroom Skills
2024-02-21 13:00 - 16:00 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
You will process your own traditional black and white film and learn to make handcrafted silver-gelatin prints in the darkroom. You will learn advanced techniques such as split-filter printing, Sabattier printing, and combination printing to challenge your creativity and bring ideas to new heights. We will work to nurture your creativity, giving you an opportunity to create a lasting portfolio of handcrafted, photographic imagery.
Level II – This class is for those who have taken at least one class in the medium. Students should be comfortable with the basics of how to use and manipulate the medium.
Ages 16–Adult

Dirty Dyeing Colors
2024-02-24 10:00 - 15:30 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Get down and dirty with this introduction to immersion-dyeing class using acid and fiber reactive dyes. Students will learn the basics of how to color fabric and skeins using a dye bath. Color is free and loose while learning the step-by-step method of safely using synthetic dyes. This class is good for weavers, knitters, crocheters, and quilters. There will be a 30-minute break for lunch, so please be sure to bring a sack lunch. There is a material fee of $25 due to the instructor on the first day of class.
Level A – All levels welcome.
Ages 16–Adult

Songs in the Key of J.
2023-10-21 19:00 - 20:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Join us all season long in the Deco Lounge as local favorite J. Chang-Tablada sings and shares stories from the piano following 5 p.m. mainstage performances. Donations will be accepted.
Misery Oct. 21, 2023
Elf the Musical Dec. 9 & 30, 2023
Water by the Spoonful Feb. 24, 2024
Rent May 11 & 25, 2024
J. Chang-Tablada is a Korean-Filipino-Irish-American musician, storyteller, and photographer. One of Colorado Springs’ most beloved and prolific Music Directors, J. Chang-Tablada is known for his work with the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, Theatreworks, and Millibo Art Theatre. An accomplished entertainer in his own right, J. frequently takes the stage singing and sharing stories from the piano, with recent performances at 54 Below in New York City, at the Green Box Arts Festival with his “Sing-a-long with Jerry McCauley and Friends” concerts last summer, and with his debut holiday album “Naughty & Nice” concerts last December.

Ask the Actors
2024-02-25 16:30 - 17:30 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Curious about the lifestyle of a theatre professional? What’s it take to slip into a character night after night? Stay in your seats after the show for a curated discussion with the cast and creatives and satiate your curiosity. This event will begin immediately following the Feb. 25, 2 p.m. performance of Water by the Spoonful.
This event is free and open to the public; no reservations required.

Photo by Jeff Kearney.

FAC Member Tour: Hương Ngô: Ungrafting
2024-03-01 16:00 - 17:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Join artist Hương Ngô and Curator of Contemporary Art, Katja Rivera for a tour of the new exhibition Ungrafting. The tour will offer an opportunity to connect directly with the artist and learn about her interests in plants; her use of archival research; and her experimentation with paper-making, invisible inks, and printing processes. Visitors will also gain insight into how her work explores the history of Vietnamese resistance to French colonialism through image-making, translations, and material investigations.
Please RSVP for tour
Make a night of it! Stick around after the tour for our First Friday Art Party.

First Friday Art Party
2024-03-01 17:00 - 20:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Join us for our First Friday celebration from 5–8 p.m. Enjoy the stunning ambiance offered by the FAC’s chic, historic venue.

Opening celebration for the museum’s newest exhibition Hương Ngô: Ungrafting and a Conversation with Hương Ngô, Chadwick Allen, Aline Lo, and Justin Quang Nguyên Phan
Free museum admission
Attendees will receive BOGO tickets to Water by the Spoonful
Art in Deco Lounge by Bruce Nall
Music by Dustin Cooper
Drinks and snacks available for purchase
FREE downtown shuttle, THE ZEB, running along Tejon Street to downtown art galleries

About Dustin Cooper
Dustin Cooper has been playing hammered dulcimer for over 20 years. His repertoire includes a wide variety of folk tunes ranging from music of the celtic nations to near and far East traditional tunes. During his shows he talks about the history of the tunes, along with some history on the hammered dulcimer (and the various other dulcimers around the world).

A Conversation with Hương Ngô, Chadwick Allen, Aline Lo, and Justin Quang Nguyên Phan
2024-03-01 17:30 - 19:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
As part of the FAC’s First Friday, please help us celebrate the opening of Ungrafting, Hương Ngô’s first solo exhibition in Colorado. Guests will be invited to engage in an informal conversation to discuss the exhibition and its connection to topics such as intergenerational knowledge transmission, the importance of land in anti-colonial movements, and the role of the archive in artistic production. Joining the artist are Chadwick Allen, Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement and Russell F. Stark University Professor at the University of Washington; Aline Lo, Assistant Professor at Colorado College; and Justin Phan, Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. This event is free and open to the public; RSVPs are requested.
PLEASE RSVP

Image: Hương Ngô, Latent Images (Grafts) (detail), 2021. Courtesy the artist.

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical!
2024-03-02 10:00 - 11:00, 2024-03-03 12:00 - 13:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
It’s not easy being the Pigeon—you never get to do ANYTHING! But when the Bus Driver has a crisis that threatens to make her passengers (gasp!) late, maybe that wily bird CAN do something. With a script written by Mo Willems, the creator of the #1 New York Times best-selling, Caldecott Honor award-winning Pigeon picture books, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical! is sure to get everyone’s wings flapping.

Micro Torch Bezels
2024-03-02 10:00 - 16:00 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
You’ve used your micro torch to make a ring or pendant, now we’ll learn how to create a simple round or oval bezel on a ring and set the stone! Please note that students need to wear eye protection (eyeglasses work), closedtoe shoes, no loose sleeves, and long hair must be tied back. There will be a one-hour break for lunch.

Ages 16–Adult
