Fine Arts Center

Chicanx Landscapes
2022-08-26 10:00 - 2023-03-05 16:00 (America/Denver) | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
This exhibition explores landscapes as a system of ecology, history, culture and belonging from a Chicanx perspective with new works presented by the interdisciplinary artist collaborative, Desert ArtLAB. Desert ArtLAB is an interdisciplinary artist collaborative co-directed by April Bojorquez (she/her) and Matthew Garcia (he/him) whose work promotes Indigenous perspectives on ecological practice and climate change. Bojorquez and Garcia were the 2022 Mellon Artists in Residence for the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College.

Exploring Watercolor
2022-07-12 10:30 - 12:30 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Discover the unrivaled and endless possibilities of watercolor. Build a repertoire of skills from choosing proper materials, brilliant colors, radiant blends, shadow and light all while incorporating traditional and experimental techniques. No need for natural talent. Just the desire to learn the limitless possibilities of this magnificent, versatile medium.

Anyone Can Whistle
2022-07-28 19:00 - 21:30 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
A Youth Rep Ensemble Production | Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim | Book by Arthur Laurents
Anyone Can Whistle tells the story of a corrupt mayoress who fakes a miracle to revitalize her bankrupt town and the ill-fated romance between the rational nurse, out to expose the fraud, and the easygoing doctor who is determined to enjoy the chaos that it brings. In the end, the show delivers a poignant message about the importance of the individual in a conformist society — but not before aiming its still-relevant barbs at government, religion, science, and anything else that stands in its way!
With its circus-like atmosphere, Anyone Can Whistle features plenty of memorable, lovably cartoonish roles of all sizes. The dazzling, melodic Broadway-style score overflows with the youthful energy of experimentation, consisting of one showstopper after another, including two extensive ballets that provide opportunities for some inspired choreography.

Action/Abstraction Redefined
2022-07-29 - 2023-01-08 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Action/Abstraction Redefined presents modern Native American art from the 1940s through the 1970s. The exhibition features 55 artworks by leading artists such as Fritz Scholder (Mission/ Luiseño), George Morrison (Chippewa), and T.C. Cannon (Kiowa), organized by influences of major twentieth-century art movements including Abstract Expressionism, Color Field, and Hard-Edge painting.

Friday Night Adult Painting
2022-06-17 17:30 - 19:30 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Love painting and do it all the time? Haven’t picked up a paintbrush since elementary school? Perfect! This is the class for you. This painting class will teach you the fundamentals of painting with acrylic paint and give you the confidence to finish a masterpiece! Supplies will be provided.

Steven Yazzie: ^^(Resource)
2022-07-01 10:00 - 2022-08-13 16:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
The central video of ^^(Resource) follows the journey of a yellow stone taken from Dook’o’osliid, later named the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona, a location that is sacred to the Diné people. The stone moves from a lab to a shop, and finally to a ritual ceremony. These contexts—scientific, aesthetic, consumerist, and spiritual—contribute to the stone’s changing meaning and significance. Yellow is the is the color the Diné associate with the mountain and the cardinal direction west. While the experiences with the stone change based on the people who interact with it, the imagery of the mountain range reminds us of where this resource came from and has since been extracted and removed.

Happy Hour at The Garden
2022-06-22 17:00 - 19:00 | CO
Join us for the next stop in our new FAC happy hour series celebrating the “liquid arts.” No formal programming involved, just a casual gathering of FAC supporters getting out to socialize in new and different venues across our beautiful city. Highlighting local bars and restaurants in town, we hope to see you June 22 at The Garden.
FAC members and theatre season subscribers will receive happy hour specials during the event: $5 drafts, $3 shots, $2 off wine, and $1 off cocktails. Just tell your server that you’re a FAC Member or subscriber to receive the discount.
Wednesdays are also “Wine Wednesdays” at The Garden. Buy a Mezze Platter (AKA incredible snack board) from their resident food truck, Zaatar & Olive, and get a FREE bottle of wine.
No RSVP needed, stop by The Garden anytime and feel free to bring a friend! Event location: 401 S Nevada Ave

Endangered at the Fine Arts Center
2022-06-17 18:00 - 19:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Tomás Doncker & The True Groove All-Stars present Endangered, a live music, multi-sensory installation performance steeped in 21st Century Psychedelic Soul. Endangered premieres at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center on June 17 & 18, as an intimate site-specific performance in the Floyd D. Tunson: Hearts and Minds exhibition.
Inspired by the Afro-Futuristic and politically charged artworks of Colorado’s own Floyd D. Tunson and powered by lyrics from Pulitzer Prize winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa, Tomás Doncker and The True Groove All-Stars chart a sonic journey to freedom, a modern day revolution of the mind.
FREE for students and teachers from any school with school ID and CC Gold Card holders (get tickets online now and present ID upon arrival).
Friday, June 17 SOLD OUT!
Purchase Tickets to Saturday, June 18 performance
CONTENT ADVISORY: This program addresses issues of gun, and other forms of violence. Although the program offers a hopeful, positive, and empowering message, some themes and images may be troubling to certain audiences.

For additional Juneteenth activities in the Colorado Springs community please check out the Southern Colorado Juneteenth Festival. www.onebodyklcc.org | www.csjuneteenthfestival.com

Print Day at the FAC
2022-06-11 11:00 - 15:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
A day of hands-on printmaking activities and in gallery experiences for the whole family in celebration of the Robert Blackburn exhibition. The event is free and open to the public.
Schedule of Events
11 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Washable Marker Prints with Sophia Hanna, Bemis School of Art Instructor
Wax Paper Monoprints with Zandra Zieman-Foster, Bemis School of Art Instructor
Abstract Prints with Turner Black, Bemis School of Art Instructor
Make Your Own Letterpress Print with The Press at CC

12:30–2 p.m.

Screen printing with Ladyfingers Letterpress and CC Mobile Arts

1:30–3 p.m.

Washable Marker Prints with Sophia Hanna, Bemis School of Art Instructor
Wax Paper Monoprints with Zandra Zieman-Foster, Bemis School of Art Instructor
Abstract Prints with Turner Black, Bemis School of Art Instructor
Make Your Own Letterpress Print with The Press at CC

2 p.m.

Gallery walk in Robert Blackburn & Modern American Printmaking with artists Jean Gumpper and Aaron Cohick

Activity Details
Bemis School of Art Activities
Washable Marker Prints with Sophia Hanna
The process of block printing involves carving a design into wood, linoleum, foam, or another material and then printing it onto a surface such as paper or fabric. The artist carves their composition on a reusable plate (or block), then prints the images by adding ink to the plate and pressing it against paper. In this project we’re using simple methods to create printing plates out of Styrofoam. We’ll carve grooves into our printing plate using safe objects (pencil or pen!) and use washable markers as our “ink.”
Wax Paper Monoprints with Zandra Zieman-Foster
Mono printing is a print making process that makes one unique print at a time. There is no stamp or printing plate that allows you to make multiples. One is all you get. They are simple and fun. Basically, painting with acrylic paint onto wax paper. Then you flip over the wax paper onto your art paper (watercolor, newsprint, cardboard, anything…) and rub it with your hand or a brayer.
Abstract Prints with Turner Black
‘Found Object Printing’ loosely falls into the bracket of Collagraph. A collagraph is a simple and very effective form of printmaking that is created by using various types of collage as the plate that you then take a print from. Create works of art using a variety of shapes, found objects and stamps using your choices of color, repetition, placement and more to create your own abstract work of art.
The Press at CC
Make Your Own Letterpress Print with The Press at CC
Set and print a word or short phrase of your choice using antique wood type and a tabletop printing press.
Ladyfingers Letterpress and CC Mobile Arts
Bring your own T-shirt, fabric tote, sweatshirt, or surface you might want to screen print on with Ladyfingers Letterpress and CC Mobile Arts! Some T-shirts, bags, and other items will be available for purchase, and free paper will be provided.
Event Partners: FAC’s Bemis School of Art | Ladyfingers Letterpress | The Press at CC | CC Mobile Arts
Image by Arley Torsone, Ladyfingers

NEW Crafts + Cocktails Event
2022-06-09 18:00 - 19:30 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
A fun filled evening of crafting awaits! Instructor Julia Barrett will provide supplies and step-by-step instructions to create your own macrame hanging plant holder to take home. (Plant holder will fit a standard 6” terracotta pot) Space is very limited so grab a friend and buy your tickets today!
Cash bar and small plates available for purchase to fuel your macramé creativity!
Make a night of it and join us for our outdoor theatre production, The Wolves at 7:30p.m. in the FAC Courtyard. FAC Members receive discounted tickets!
Price: $30 | Purchase tickets for Crafts & Cocktails

The Legend of Georgia McBride
2022-04-24 14:00 - 15:00, 2022-04-21 19:30 - 21:30, 2022-04-27 19:00 - 20:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
He’s young, he’s late with the rent, and he just found out that he’s going to be a dad. And when his boss at a small-town Florida dive bar axes his Elvis act, replacing it with a flashy drag show, Casey decides to step out of the blue suede shoes of his comfort zone and into a pair of size 11 heels. From creating his persona to embracing his femininity, Casey has a lot to learn. But most of all, this sequin-filled story is a celebration of individuality and a reminder to all of us to live in our truths.

Robert Blackburn & Modern American Printmaking
2022-05-14 - 2022-08-07 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Robert Blackburn (1920-2003) was a key artist in the development of printmaking in the twentieth century. His innovative, masterful expertise with the medium helped define the overall aesthetic of the American “graphics boom.” This new exhibition examines Blackburn’s life and work, which touched the Harlem Renaissance and the WPA; the Art Students League and the New York School; Paris in the 1950s; the venerable print workshop Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE) and the graphic explosion of the 1960s. Blackburn forecasted and participated in the proliferation of collaborative, non-profit workspaces in the early 1970s, the rise of multiculturalism, and, ultimately, globalism.
Image: Robert Blackburn, Red Inside, 1972–late 1980s, Woodcut, 12 x 111/2, Nelson/Dunks Collection, Photograph by Greg Staley

Dragstravaganza at the FAC
2022-05-06 22:00 - 23:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
ONE NIGHT ONLY!
Friday, May 6 following that evening’s theatre performance
Drag show starts 10 p.m.
House opens 9:45 p.m.
Grab a drink before the show in Deco Lounge (opens 9 p.m.)
The show goes on! The drag show that is. Following the May 6 performance of The Legend of Georgia McBride, join us for an hour long drag show hosted by Belzin Whistlez (local favorite Sammy Gleason), with performances from FIVE local Colorado drag artists – Gila Moonstar, Porsha DeMarco Douglas, Mario Wanna, Venus Victrola, and Saint Valentease.
Whether you’ve been to a drag show before or this is a first, it’s an experience you’re not going to want to miss!
Dragstravaganza is brought to you in partnership with Inside Out Youth Services, working to build access, equity, and power with LGBTQIA2+ youth, ages 13-24.
Min. $10 suggested cover
A few things you should know if this is your first drag show experience –

You don’t have to attend the May 6 performance of The Legend of Georgia McBride to join us for Dragstravaganza. (Although we hope you will!)
All are welcome! Open minds, open hearts, and an appreciation for the performing arts are what it’s all about.
Drag shows feed off the energy of the crowd. In other words, have FUN! Cheer, clap, show the artists your support.
Speaking of support, tipping is customary at drag shows. These artists work hard on their acts. If you’re enjoying the show, let the drag artists know with a much-appreciated tip. (NOTE: All tips go directly to the artist you give them to and are separate from the suggested cover charge.)

Mark your calendars for May 6 and join us for The Legend of Georgia McBride, Dragstravaganza or BOTH!

About Inside Out Youth Services
The mission of Inside Out (est. 1990) is to build access, equity, and power with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer, intersex, asexual, and two-spirit (LGBTQIA2+) youth from Southern Colorado. Inside Out does this by creating brave spaces for young adults ages 13-24 and offering evidence-based programming completely free of charge. By providing support systems and teaching life skills to all youth in our community we work to make our community safer, more accepting of gender and sexual orientation diversity, and further the happiness and health of LGBTQIA2+ youth in the Colorado Springs vicinity. For more information about Inside Out and our services, events, and staff, please visit: insideoutys.org
