Fine Arts Center

Agents of Care: The Lives of Objects
2023-08-18 - 2023-10-20 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Agents of Care: A Collections Transparency Project kicks off with an exploration of the storied and sometimes complicated lives of objects. Included in our investigation are several works from the collection that will soon be loaned for exhibitions at other museums including Portrait of Miss Elsie Palmer, or A Lady in White by John Singer Sargent and Dark Iris No.1 by Georgia O’Keeffe. We will also explore various textiles from our Southwest collection and many of our flat works of art.

Museum Free Day
2023-05-19 10:00 - 20:00, 2023-05-13 10:00 - 17:00 (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

Agents of Care Opening Celebration
2023-08-18 17:00 - 20:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Celebrate the opening of Agents of Care: A Collections Transparency Project with a (portrait of) Elsie Palmer inspired garden party. Located in newly transformed galleries at the FAC, Agents of Care highlights the often unseen, behind-the-scenes collections-based work of the museum.

Agents of Care kicks off with an investigation into the exciting and sometimes unexpected lives of artworks including the Portrait of Miss Elsie Palmer, or A Lady in White by John Singer Sargent. Enjoy light refreshments, lawn games, create your own expressions of care to send to loved ones, and more at this free event.
Creative garden party looks are encouraged!
RSVP FOR THE GARDEN PARTY
Image: Portrait of Miss Elsie Palmer, or A Lady In White (detail), John Singer Sargent (American [born Italy]), Oil on canvas, way lined. 1889-1890

Paula Poundstone Pre-Theatre Dining
2023-08-19 17:00 - 19:30 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Pre-theatre dining is back! Please join us for a buffet dinner in Taste before the show. The night of the show, you may check in at Taste anytime between 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Prepayment is required and space is limited. Make sure to add both your tickets to the show and for dinner to your cart when purchasing! Purchase dinner tickets

Paula Poundstone
2023-08-19 19:30 - 21:30 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Iconic comedian Paula Poundstone is known for her smart, observational humor and legendary spontaneous wit. Paula is the star of several HBO specials, including Cats, Cops and Stuff, and Paula Poundstone Goes to Harvard. Paula is a regular panelist on NPR’s comedy news quiz, Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! She is heard weekly on her successful comedy podcast. Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone.

Yoga at the FAC
2023-08-26 11:00 - 12:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Join us for a one-hour yoga class in our beautiful glass-walled Smith Family gallery. Participants are invited to stay and enjoy the museum for free after class. All experience levels welcome. Please bring your own mat. Water is allowed during class, but not in the museum galleries. Suggested donation of $10 to benefit the Fine Arts Center (you’ll also have the option to donate at class).
SIGN UP FOR CLASS
Space is limited

Bemis School of Art fall session
2023-08-28 - 2023-12-08 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Whatever your artistic interest and whatever your age or skill level, we have classes to drive your passions at the Fine Arts Center’s Bemis School of Art. Explore! Public registration begins Aug. 28.
Browse classes

In Conversation: Krista Franklin and Ionit Behar
2023-08-31 18:00 - 19:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Please join artist Krista Franklin for a poetry reading in the Fine Arts Center’s Holaday and Seagrave Galleries in celebration of her exhibition Solo(s). The reading will be followed by a conversation in Taste with Franklin and DePaul Art Museum Associate Curator, Ionit Behar to discuss artistic process, collaboration, and the influence of Afro-Surrealism.
Free and open to the public.
Reservations requested for this conversation
Photo of Krista Franklin and Ionit Behar

Mi Gente: Manifestations of Community in the Southwest
2023-09-01 - 2024-02-03 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Drawing from works in the collection stewarded by the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Mi Gente: Manifestations of Community in the Southwest considers community within a landscape that has been shaped by colonization and migration. Focusing primarily on works by Chicanx/a/o, Hispanic, and Mexican American artists based in New Mexico and Colorado, Mi Gente considers the politics and complexities of community, including those who are perceived as outsiders.
Image: Carlos Frésquez, The Obsidian Ranfla Series #3 (detail), 1999, Museum Purchase (Colorado 2000 Purchase Prize), FA 2000.4.

FAC Member Tour: Mi Gente
2023-09-01 16:00 - 17:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Join Savanah Pennell, Assistant Curator of Collections, for a tour of Mi Gente: Manifestations of Community in the Southwest. Drawing from works in the collection stewarded by the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Mi Gente considers community within a landscape that has been shaped by colonization and migration. The spiritual, familial, and artistic groups represented in these artworks demonstrate that community is elastic—it is flexible, with individuals frequently weaving in and out of multiple roles and factions.
RSVP for tour
Make a night of it! Stay after the tour for First Friday with music by Mariachi Lobos, a Mexican folk music band. Learn more about First Friday.

First Friday Art Party
2023-09-01 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.

FREE museum admission, including the newest exhibition Mi Gente: Manifestations of Community in the Southwest
Art in Deco Lounge by Ian Stewart
Music by Mariachi Lobos, a Mexican folk music band
See three lowrider cars as a preview for the Sept. 2 Lowrider Show & Mi Gente Opening Celebration
Drinks and snacks available for purchase
From Source to Mouth: a creative survey of Monument Creek exhibition opening
FREE downtown shuttle, THE ZEB, running along Tejon Street to downtown art galleries

Lowrider Show & Mi Gente Opening Celebration
2023-09-02 12:00 - 16:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Join us for a lowrider car show and opening celebration of Mi Gente: Manifestations of Community in the Southwest! This event is free and will include kid-friendly art activities, live music, a performance by Ballet Folklórico de Barajas, and food for purchase from local businesses.
Attendees also will be invited to visit the Museum’s newest exhibition, Mi Gente: Manifestations of Community in the Southwest. Drawing from works in the collection stewarded by the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Mi Gente considers community within a landscape that has been shaped by colonization and migration. Focusing primarily on works by Chicanx/a/o, Hispanic, and Mexican American artists based in New Mexico and Colorado, Mi Gente considers the politics and complexities of community, including those who are perceived as outsiders.
Join collections staff in the Agents of Care Gallery to learn about the work that went into preparing the collections for display.
Reservations to the opening celebration encouraged
Please note that parking for this event will be located in the Ed Robson Arena parking garage at 114 E Dale St, 80903. Shuttles will run regularly between the parking garage and the event, including an ADA accessible van. Otherwise, you may walk to the event, which will be located at 30 W Dale St.
Performance Schedule
12:10-12:40 p.m. – Presentation by Grupo Folklórico Sabor Latino
12:55-1:25 p.m. – Performance by Ballet Folklórico de Barajas
1:35-1:50 p.m. – Performance of Somos Gente de Aztlán by Amaury PerezPulido
2:10-2:55 p.m. – Soy Celesté
3:15-4 p.m. – Cipriano

Mural Conservation & Care
2023-09-07 10:00 - 12:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
As part of Agents of Care: A Collections Transparency Project, join museum staff for a morning chat about mural care and conservation. Artist Emanuel Martinez will speak about restoration currently underway of Arte Mestiza, Martinez’s seminal Chicano Mural Movement work painted on 2,000 square feet of concrete wall in the Fine Art Center’s parking lot. Visitors will also be invited to observe conservators from the Western Center for the Conservation of Fine Arts as they repair Frank Mechau’s 60-foot fresco Wild Horses in the Fine Arts Center courtyard. Meet in the FAC lobby.

This event is free and open to the public.

Just the FACts Trivia Night
2023-08-11 17:30 - 19:30 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Join us for a trivia night led by Bob Morsch 5:30–7:30 p.m. Be prepared for a multitude of surprises around the theme of art.
The ticket price includes dinner!
$21 (FAC members $19)
Trivia Tickets

Performance by Su Teatro and Panel Discussion with Artist Carlos Frésquez
2023-09-09 16:00 - 18:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Join us for a performance in the FAC Music Room by Denver-based Chicanx theatre group Su Teatro and for a panel discussion with artist Carlos Frésquez.
Free! RSVP requested
Image: Carlos Frésquez, The Obsidian Ranfla Series #3 (detail), 1999, Museum Purchase (Colorado 2000 Purchase Prize), FA 2000.4.

Bronze Sculpture Care
2023-09-13 10:00 - 12:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
As part of Agents of Care: A Collections Transparency Project, join Fine Arts Center Museum staff to learn how it cares for its bronze sculptures. Watch staff in action throughout the day as they clean, wax, and buff each work.

Meet in the FAC lobby. This event is free and open to the public.

Night of Indigenous Comedy: Adrianne Chalepah
2023-09-15 19:30 - 21:30 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
From Nexflix and Amazon comedy specials to NBC Peacock’s “Rutherford Falls,” Chalepah now brings her unique Native take on the world back to the FAC.

Sasha Colby
2023-09-16 19:30 - 21:30 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
This goddess is making history. She’s the first drag queen to win both Drag Race and Miss Continental. Sasha’s signature, sensual modern drag is sure to entertain.

Yoga at the FAC
2023-09-23 11:00 - 12:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Join us for a one-hour yoga class with instructor Rebecca Myers in our beautiful glass-walled Smith Family gallery. Participants are invited to stay and enjoy the museum for free after class. All experience levels welcome. Please bring your own mat. Water is allowed during class, but not in the museum galleries. Suggested donation of $10 to benefit the Fine Arts Center (you’ll also have the option to donate at class).
Sign up for class
Space is limited

Enchanted Textures of Taos, New Mexico
2023-09-25 09:00 - 2023-09-29 18:00 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Taos’ light, color, and culture have inspired modern artists for over 125 years to create inspirational and memorable paintings. Taos is especially stunning in the autumn with glorious textures and colors. Professional artist and instructor Martha Mans will concentrate on watercolor and gouache painting with a special small presentation about how she creates her casein paintings, which is becoming an increasingly popular medium.
We will visit a different location each day with a demonstration by Martha to encourage you to try water media techniques designed to help you hone your painting skills. After breakfast, our day will begin with a gathering at a specific location to watch a demonstration and take technical advice. We will enjoy the rest of the day painting with a break to have lunch and continue painting in the afternoon for as long as you’d like. Since studying how other artists approach painting is important to your artistic growth, and to further your art experience, Martha strongly advises that you take a little time to visit one or more of the wonderful museums or art galleries in Taos to study what other artists both from the past or present find so interesting and inspiring about Taos. We will gather for a critique in the afternoon around 4 p.m. before you head out on your own for dinner at one of the many restaurants Taos has to offer.

Libation Lecture: Musings of Chicana Feminist from the Anthropocene
2023-09-29 17:30 - 18:30 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Coinciding with Mi Gente: Manifestations of Community in the Southwest, an exhibition currently on view at the FAC, join us for our next Libation Lecture. Local murals, with their multiple and layered meanings, is the topic of this lecture by CC Mobile Arts Co-Director and independent scholar, Nancy Ríos. Using local murals, Ríos will engage the audience in discussion about how walls in our built environment tell stories about people and their communities.
From a once-neglected Chicano mural in a museum’s collection (Arte Mestiza (1986) by Emanuel Martinez), to a mural commissioned to honor a demolished Mexican American neighborhood in the heart of downtown Colorado Springs (Conejos (2020) by Mauricio Ramirez), to a public mural commissioned by the Colorado Springs Police Department (Community-CSPD (2023) by Paes 164), this lecture will have us thinking about who we are, our collective history, and paths forward in our geological time of the Anthropocene.
Themed drink: Green chili mules
Lecturer: Nancy Ríos, CC Mobile Arts Co-Director and independent scholar
$10 for FAC members, $15 for non members, includes your first drink
Buy tickets
About Libation Lectures
Libation Lectures is a lecture series offering an educational twist to the traditional happy hour. Each lecture explores an aspect of the amazing art and featured artists from various Fine Arts Center exhibitions served up with a themed drink to help you dive deep into the topic.

FAC Member Tour: Museum Collections
2023-10-06 16:00 - 17:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
The collections team at the Fine Arts Center invite you on an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour. See how the museum stores the 17,000 works entrusted to its care and stewardship, and learn about ongoing collections projects including mural conservation, object inventory and cataloging, and NAGPRA compliance. After a tour of the collections storage spaces, enjoy a private walk-thru of the new Agents of Care gallery, and discover how the space is supporting collections-driven learning and community collaboration. Join our team as we pull back the curtain and demystify museum practice, inviting you to be an active partner in the care of the collections we safeguard.
Make a night of it! Stick around after the tour for our First Friday Art Party.
Please RSVP
Space is limited

First Friday Art Party
2023-10-06 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.

FREE museum admission
Art in Deco Lounge by Adana Dysart
Music by Jeremiah Walter
Drinks and snacks available for purchase
FREE downtown shuttle, THE ZEB, running along Tejon Street to downtown art galleries

Jeremiah Walter is a multi-instrumentalist folk musician and songwriter who has been performing for over 25 years as a solo artist and in bands such as The Rogue Spirits, Buster’s Tangent, and Intake. He utilizes a collection of instruments from around the world to enhance original and traditional songs, some of which can be found at jeremiahwalter.bandcamp.com.

Misery
2023-10-12 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-10-15 14:00 - 15:30 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Misery follows successful romance novelist Paul Sheldon, who is rescued from a car crash by his “number one fan,” Annie Wilkes, and wakes up captive in her secluded home. While Paul is convalescing, Annie reads his latest book and becomes enraged when she discovers the author has killed off her favorite character, Misery Chastain. Annie forces Paul to write a new Misery novel, and he quickly realizes Annie has no intention of letting him go anywhere. The irate Annie has Paul writing as if his life depends on it, and it does.

Sacrosanto: An Evening with Santos and Song
2023-10-13 18:00 - 19:30 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
This three-part event will begin in the Mi Gente: Manifestations of Community in the Southwest exhibition space with a musical performance of traditional Nuevomexicano liturgical music by Dr. Theresa J. Córdova and William Córdova. Following their performance, we will move to the Agents of Care space to hear an excerpt from the newly acquired Padre Jaramillo Archive and listen to an artist talk by Vicente Telles, a contemporary Santero.
Free and open to the public.
Please RSVP
This program is co-presented by the Colorado College Southwest Studies Department and the Fine Arts Center Museum.
