Fine Arts Center

Exploring Watercolor
2022-07-12 10:30 - 12:30 (America/Denver) | 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.

Ascending Actors—Art in ACTion
2022-07-25 09:00 - 12:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Register for Art in ACTion$250 ($225 FAC members) Ages 11-13
Devise a new piece of theatre through conversation, collaboration, and experimentation. Guided discussion and theatre exercises focused on the issues facing middle schoolers, our local community, and the national landscape will result in a brand new, one-of-a-kind performance by the students of this class. Singing, dancing, acting, writing, designing, directing and activism in the arts will all be explored in the class. This session will culminate with a performance of their original work during the final class.

Portraits in Oil
2022-07-25 09:30 - 11:15 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Inspired by Rembrandt’s palette and layering techniques, this class will provide a strong foundation for developing portrait painting skills and/or expanding and enriching your current practice. Informed with the instructor’s years of personal development and experience, the approach is a simple, step-by-step process designed for minimal anxiety and a solid foundation to continue to expand your skills confidently after the class ends. Non-toxic alternatives to the traditional mixing mediums and paints will be covered. As the course ends, adding one’s distinctive mark to these fundamental oil painting techniques and color palettes will be discussed and implemented.

August FAC Member Tour
2022-08-06 12:00 - 13:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Join Curatorial Paraprofessional Savanah Pennell for a tour of Robert Blackburn & Modern American Printmaking. Curated by Deborah Cullen, this exhibition is brought to the FAC by the Smithsonian Institution for Traveling Exhibition Service. This tour will explore the life and career of master printmaker Robert Blackburn, and the collaborative communities that he was a part of. Free for members, RSVP through the link sent in your member email or by calling (719) 634-5581.

FAC Happy Hour at Homa Café & Bar
2022-08-11 17:00 - 19:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
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 August 11 at Homa Cafe & Bar at Kinship Landing.
FAC members and theatre season subscribers will receive extended happy hour specials during the event: $2 kinship lagers, $2 off drafts, $6 house wine, and $5 well spirits. Just stop by the FAC table at the event to pick up a discount ticket.
Event location: 415 S Nevada Ave (Kinship Landing Hotel). We’ll also be handing out FAC museum admission passes, so bring a friend!
No RSVP needed

Ceramic Sets
2022-08-20 10:00 - 13:00 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
In these two sessions, learn some new techniques and get creative with a variety of handbuilding methods. Make a set of wares that will be a functional memento. Make ceramics to serve drinks, snacks, or whatever you choose!

Making Memories Downtown History Stroll
2022-08-20 10:00 - 13:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
FAC members are invited to a special downtown walking tour in partnership with the Pioneers Museum. From the colorful displays of Hispanic heritage at La Fiesta Bonita in Acacia Park, to the anti-Vietnam War peace vigils held in front of the U.S. Post Office, history is made downtown. On this walking tour guests will explore the meaning of downtown for previous generations and in their own lives, as they consider stories of celebration and protest, identity and belonging, entrepreneurship, and carrying on beloved traditions.
Join a knowledgeable guide from the Pioneers Museum for this ¾ of mile downtown stroll that starts and ends at Story Coffee Co. (120 E. Bijou St) in Acacia Park. The tour will last approximately 90 minutes. Wear comfortable walking shoes, bring water, and be sure to dress for the weather.
Buy tickets
Space is limited, $5 per person
Not a member? Join today for as little as $5 per month!
Image: Pikes Peak Avenue with Second Antlers Hotel (c. 1950) courtesy of Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum

Chicanx Landscapes
2022-08-26 10:00 - 2023-03-05 16:00 | 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.

Art Adventure Day
2022-08-27 11:00 - 14:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center’s Bemis School of Art will host a free Art Adventure Day in our studios! Pop in to check out what we have to offer and explore your creativity in drawing, painting, and sculpture! Art Adventure Day will offer a variety of hands-on art projects in the Bemis School of Art studio classrooms along with artist demonstrations and interactive, self-guided activities. Bemis instructors will help guide you to awaken your art-making skills or show you new possibilities in art making. Everyone is welcome! Attendees also receive free museum admission.
FAC Member early access from 10–11 a.m.
Open to the public from 11 a.m.–2 p.m.
Please RSVP to Art Adventure Day

Community Free Day
2022-08-28 10:00 - 16:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
In honor of the Inauguration of L. Song Richardson, Colorado College’s 14th President, join us for an extra Museum Free Day this month. This day will include hands-on art activities and speed seminars. Find details here: coloradocollege.edu/inauguration.
Let us know you are coming!
See what’s on view in the museum

FAC member tour: Action/Abstraction Redefined
2022-09-03 12:00 - 13:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Join Learning and Engagement Intern Katie Norton for a tour of Action/Abstraction Redefined. Action/Abstraction Redefined is the first major traveling exhibition that analyzes modern Native American art from the mid-1940s through the 1970s that was inspired by Abstract Expressionism, Color Field, and Hard-edge painting. Discover how the artists in this exhibition, including George Morrison, Fritz Scholder, and T.C. Cannon, challenged stereotypical expectations of Native American art by experimenting with American modern art movements combined with art influences from their own cultural heritage.
Not a member? Sign up now for as little as $5 a month!
Register for Sept. member Tour
Action/Abstraction Redefined is organized by IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe, NM. Action/Abstraction Redefined was co-curated by Dr. Lara Evans, Professor of Art History, IAIA Research Center for Contemporary Native Arts Director; Tatiana Lomahaftewa-Singer, curator of collections, IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts; and Dr. Manuela Well-Off-Man, chief curator, IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.
Support for this exhibition and its national tour is provided by Art Bridges.

Crafts + Cocktails
2022-09-08 05:30 - 18:30 | 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 macramé sunflower wall hanging, just in time for Fall! Space is limited so grab a friend and buy your tickets today! Cash bar available.
FAC members: $20
General admission: $30
SOLD OUT!
Join us Oct. 27 for the next one!

Breathe into the past: Crosscurrents in the Caribbean
2022-09-09 - 2023-01-29 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
The land that touches the Caribbean Sea has long been a space shaped by its relation to oceans, empires and colonization. The result is a region that is now inextricably intertwined with the rest of the globe, including parts of Africa, India, China, Japan, Europe, the United States and elsewhere. The nature of these histories and relationships have shaped much of the Caribbean’s ecology, economy, and culture.

Breathe into the past: Crosscurrents in the Caribbean Opening Performance
2022-09-09 17:00 - 19:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Experience an Afro-Cuban dance performance by Yesenia Selier accompanied by the Cuban Bata drummer Miguelo Valdés to celebrate the opening of Breathe into the past: Crosscurrents in the Caribbean.
Performance begins at 5:30 p.m.
Event is free, please RSVP
Photo: Yesenia Selier

FAC Happy Hour at Rico's Cafe & Wine Bar
2022-09-14 17:00 - 19:00 | Rico’s Cafe & Wine Bar, 322 N Tejon St, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
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 at Rico’s Cafe and Wine Bar located at Poor Richard’s downtown.
FAC members and theatre subscribers will receive special tapas menu and happy hour deals during the event.
No RSVP needed. Event location: 322 N Tejon St. We’ll also be handing out museum admission passes, so bring a friend! Stop by the FAC table to say hi!

Yoga at the FAC
2022-09-17 10:30 - 11:30 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Join teacher Amanda Smolinski from Soulshines Yoga 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).
SOLD OUT

Where the Saint Lives: Artist Talk with Delilah Montoya
2022-09-17 14:00 - 15:00 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Join us for an afternoon artist talk with Delilah Montoya, Chicana Photographer and featured artist in Where the Saint Lives. Event is free with museum admission and open to the public.
Delilah Montoya is a self-identified Chicana artist, works and lives in the U.S. Southwest of New Mexico and Texas. As an activist artist, she poses herself questions about identity, power, land, borders, gender, community, family, that she then explores through her art practice. She is an investigator of histories and lives; her primary subject is the human condition through time and territory as expressed through the lens of being a mestiza, a Chicana, someone who claims a hybrid identity and place both in terms of lineage and culture.
Delilah’s work is in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Los Angeles, CA; Houston Museum of Fine Art; Houston, TX; Mexican Museum; San Francisco, CA; The Bronx Museum, Bronx, NY; and the Smithsonian Institute; Washington DC. Her awards include the USLAF Latinx Fellowship, Artadia Award and the Richard T. Castro Distinguished Professorship. She is a professor emeritus from the University of Houston, College of the Arts.
Reserve your seat now!
Image: La Guadalupana (detail), Delilah Montoya, 1998, exhibition copy of photo mural, altar, courtesy the artist

Drawing Far and Wide: A Course on Perspective
2022-09-20 17:00 - 18:30 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Class for ages 12-16. This course is all about perspective. Through indoor and outdoor exercises each week and two unique final projects (like a city block of haunted houses), you will develop the skills to create depth in any piece of art. Students with previous experience are welcome to join and hone their skills. We will cover 1-, 2-, and 3-point perspectives.

Libation Lecture: Unearthing Ancestral Knowledge
2022-09-21 17:30 - 18:30 | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Unearthing Ancestral Knowledge: natural elements narrate the past and present
Coincides with with Breathing into the past: Crosscurrents in the Caribbean, on view in the museum from Sept. 9–Jan. 29.
Fabrics, corals, fruits and herbs connect the physical world with ancestral spirituality. Learn some of the ways we can look to natural materials to understand our current state of affairs and unearth buried histories from our colonial past and unfolding present.
This will be a multi-sensory experience where we will explore examples from the current exhibition, listen to music, and touch some of the natural elements that shape our sense of reality. You may be called to dance, taste, or smell in ways that you have not done before!
Themed drink: Cuba Libre
Lecturer: Dr. Naomi Pueo Wood,
NEH Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Humanities
Department Chair of of Spanish and Portuguese and Program Director of Feminist and Gender Studies at CC
Co-Director of CC Mobile Arts
All lectures are from 5:30-6:30 p.m. (Bar opens at 5 p.m.)
$10 for FAC members, $15 for non members, includes your first drink.
Purchase tickets
Also, join us for the Libation Lecture in October, Dancing Paintings: An Interactive Guide to Abstract Expressionism

Block Printing
2022-09-22 16:00 - 17:30 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Ages 6-9. Learn how to create prints by carving into Styrofoam. You will be introduced to the art of printmaking and learn about lines, patterns, and contrast. Explore printing on varied materials, such as paper and fabric, as well as how to use found objects in printing with ink.

Square Plates and Mugs
2022-09-23 09:00 - 12:00 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Classes for ages 16-adult. Get square! Explore the exciting possibilities of building square plates and mugs. Learn to handbuild with soft pre-textured clay slabs using flat patterns that fold up into 3-dimensional forms to create dynamic and self-expressive plate and mug sets. Glazing for textured surfaces will be taught. Supplies will be provided.

Landscapes in Oil Pastels
2022-09-24 15:00 - 16:30 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Ages 9-12. Enjoy creating your favorite landscapes with oil pastels. Learn to draw the various elements found in landscapes while discovering the importance of the direction of strokes and blending of colors. Study the concept of background and foreground, as well as light and shadow effects to create vibrant landscapes. Supplies will be provided.
