Fine Arts Center

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
2022-02-24 19:30 - 21:30, 2022-02-27 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Denver) | Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
A new comedy from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage (Intimate Apparel) draws on the screwball films of the 1930s to take a funny and irreverent look at racial stereotypes in Hollywood. By the Way, Meet Vera Stark is a seventy-year journey through the life of Vera Stark, a headstrong Black maid and budding actress, and her tangled relationship with her boss, a white Hollywood star desperately trying to hold on to her career. When circumstances collide and both women land roles in the same Southern epic, the story behind the cameras leaves Vera with a surprising and controversial legacy scholars will debate for years to come.
Wed at 7 p.m., Thurs & Fri at 7:30 p.m., Sat at 5 or 7:30 p.m., Sun Matinées at 2 p.m.
“The first act, in which Vera angles for a role, is in the style of a screwball comedy…. The second act, which shifts between a 2003 symposium, steeped in academese, and a 1973 talk show, steeped in gin, is more like a screwball tragedy” —The New York Times
“A satisfying screwball comedy in which Nottage uses stereotypes to expose them, tapping into a current of rueful emotion beneath the surface.” —Vogue

Tantalizing Textured Mugs
2022-03-11 10:00 - 13:00 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Practice slab construction to hand build tantalizing mugs from textured clay slabs. Build mugs that have three or four feet, or build four-sided full-bodied forms using fold-up flat patterns. You will not be able to resist filling your mugs with your favorite beverage!
Level 0 – This class is for the true beginner with no prior experience in the medium
Semi-private – limit 5 students

Watercolor Mountain Landscape and Techniques
2022-02-19 13:30 - 15:30 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Discover new watercolor techniques and try something new! In this class, we will examine the art style of contemporary artist Jen Aranyi, practice drawing a simple, abstract mountain range, then outline it with black Sharpies, and finish the sky with watercolors to create a galaxy-like effect. We will discuss diverse ways to finish the foreground (in front of the mountains, such as trees, a river, a camping scene, etc.). Supplies will be provided.
Ages 12-16

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.

Military Artistic Healing
2022-01-24 17:30 - 19:00 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Discover techniques to inspire creative skills and gain greater self–awareness. Explore possibilities, develop your creativity, and gain personal insight through working with a variety of controllable mediums. There are many benefits to using art to express emotions: art can furnish a healthy outlet and an alternate way to communicate something that one cannot always put into words. The art can provide safe containment for emotions that are expressed and reflecting on the art can give new understanding and insight about feelings. Visual thinking strategies will be used to increase group cohesion. Supplies will be provided.
Level A – All levels welcome.

Crystalline Glazes
2022-01-25 09:00 - 12:00 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Learn how to properly make, apply, and fire crystalline glaze while discovering the most attractive forms for these spectacular glazes. This is a fantastic opportunity to advance your knowledge of glazing in general and produce beautiful pieces of pottery. Supplies will be provided.
Level III – This class is for those who have significant experience in the medium — two or more classes or a year or more of experience.

The Story of Me. Told by Me!
2022-03-02 16:00 - 18:00 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
We are the protagonists of our own stories. We see and interact with the world from our own point of view. By using cameras to show others how we interact with what we see, we can tell stories that allow us to foster a greater human connection with ourselves and the other people in our communities. Supplies will be provided.

Ages 9-12

Thrown and Altered Ceramics
2022-03-02 18:00 - 21:00 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Throwing on the potter’s wheel and handbuilding combined into one fun class to make unique work! Use the pottery wheel to make while learning new techniques to alter your work with molds, sprigs, texturing, and hand forming, along with other methods.
Level 0 – This class is for the true beginner with no prior experience in the medium.

Group Painting Reviews
2022-03-05 10:00 - 13:00 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
Are you curious whether the paintings you are creating are “good?” Feedback from others who are not artists may not be helpful. How do you judge your own work objectively? This class will offer you an opportunity to learn about your work and the work of others in a supportive and educational group format. Dena has been a judge and juror for several local and national art shows. Bring in your work and let her help you make it stronger!
Level II – This class is for those who have taken at least one class in the medium. Student should be comfortable with the basics of how to use and manipulate the medium.

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!

“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.

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

FAC Member and Subscriber Happy Hour at Local Relic
2022-04-14 16:00 - 19:00 | CO
Join us for a kickoff celebration of a 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, our first stop is Local Relic.
FAC members and theatre season subscribers will receive happy hour drink specials which include $7 beers, wine, and cocktails at The Carter Payne’s three bars: Crusade Wine Bar, Araucana Bespoke cocktails, and Local Relic Artisan Ales. Just mention that you’re a FAC member or subscriber when ordering.
No RSVP needed, stop by Local Relic anytime! Event location: 320 S. Weber St.
Not a member? Join now!
Please note: The parking lot directly in front of Local Relic is a paid lot.

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

Handbuilding in Clay
2022-01-29 10:00 - 13:00 | Bemis School of Art, 818 Pelham Pl, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903, United States
This exciting workshop will focus on the techniques of handbuilding to communicate your style. Build what you want and learn how to transform a malleable ball of clay into a piece you love. This course demonstrates different building techniques and how to finish your work with glazing.
Level 0 – This class is for the true beginner with no prior experience in the medium.

The Legend of Georgia McBride
2022-04-21 19:30 - 21:30 | 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.
