Fine Arts Center

Friday Night Adult Painting
2022-06-17 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Denver) | 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.

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

Floyd D. Tunson: Hearts and Minds
2022-05-06 - 2022-07-09 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Completed in 1995 and acquired by the Fine Arts Center in 2020, Tunson’s “Hearts and Minds” addresses the ongoing impact of gun violence on youth of color. In Colorado, Black men ages 18–24 are more than 12 times more likely than white men the same age to be killed in a gun homicide (“The State of Gun Violence”). The work asks us to consider the systems and structures that perpetuate these cycles of violence and the tragic loss that results.

Roundtable conversation with Juan Roberto Diago
2022-04-15 18:00 - 19:00 | Cornerstone Arts Center, 825 N. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Please join us for a roundtable conversation with Juan Roberto Diago (joining remotely), Alejandro de la Fuente, Director of the Afro-Latin American Research Institute at Harvard University, and Andrea Herrera, Professor of Literature and Women’s and Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.
Free and open to the public. Please RSVP
Cornerstone Arts Center – Room 131 Screening Room

Talking about Audubon
2022-04-09 14:00 - 15:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Drawing from the FAC’s collection, a class of 9 CC students has organized an exhibition of the renowned Birds of America prints by John James Audubon. Join the student curators of the exhibition Rethinking Birds of America: Conversations on Audubon for an in-gallery discussion of the prints, the birds, the artist, and the show.
Free and open to the public, space is limited.
Image: John James Audubon, Phoenicopterus Ruber, Linn. Old Male (Greater Flamingo) (detail), 1838
Collection of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, FA 1958.6.173, Gift of the Estate of Phillip B. Stewart

“Reframing Birds of America:” Conversations on Audubon
2022-04-08 - 2022-07-30 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
From 1827-1838 John James Audubon published Birds of America, which is generally considered to be among the finest examples of prints illustrating avian life in America. This exhibition Reframing Birds of America: Conversations on Audubon explores these historic prints with a contemporary lens. The FAC show, curated by Colorado College students, fosters appreciation of the prints while highlighting other voices in conversation with Audubon’s work. Reframing Birds of America: Conversations on Audubon comes from the Fine Arts Center’s collection of several hundred Audubon prints and includes rarely seen examples.

April FAC Member Tour
2022-04-02 12:00 - 13:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
FAC Members are invited to join curatorial paraprofessional, Savanah Pennell, for a tour of Diago: The Pasts of this Afro-Cuban Present, the first retrospective exhibition of prominent Cuban artist Juan Roberto Diago (b. 1971). This tour will explore Diago’s experience with race and identity across his career, and dive into how this can be seen though his choices in medium and subject matter.
No RSVP needed, check in at the front desk.
NOT A MEMBER? JOIN TODAY!

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark: Talkback
2022-03-20 16:45 - 17:45 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Join us for a FREE talkback session following the final Sunday performance of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark.
