In 2009, Lauren Ciborowski and Brett Andrus started a tiny art gallery with a momentous mission: to create a new arts scene in Colorado Springs. Operating as a for-profit gallery at the height of the recession in a downtown alley meant the stakes were high and the odds were stacked. But this wasn’t just about selling art. It was about creating a local love language. And thus, The Modbo, short for “modern bohemian,” was born.
In 2010, the co-owners, then married, created the Arts Alley District when they expanded from their humble 700-sq-ft beginnings into a neighboring gallery, S.P.Q.R. In 2013, they opened an art school at Ivywild. And in 2016 they divorced, split the galleries but kept collaborating anyway, defying all odds. Over the past decade, they’ve curated over 200 shows, shown upwards of 500 artists, sold thousands of pieces, earned dozens of awards, hosted countless cabarets, chamber music recitals, shows, concerts, and poetry readings… and counting.
The Modbo is about creating art with integrity. It’s about live music, dance performances on rooftops, and boisterous First Fridays. It’s about fostering, nurturing, and creating a new arts scene in Downtown Colorado Springs.
Above all else, The Modbo wants you to know: You need Art. Art needs You.
Photo by Allen Eppley
