Voting ends today for Indy's Best of issue

Today is the day to vote for the FAC in the Independent's 2009 Best of edition. Categories to look for ... Café 36 could work for Overall Restaurant, Innovative Menu, Restaurant for a Wedding Reception, Fine Dining, or Patio Dining. In shopping, LUMA at the FAC could go for Place to Buy Art or Place for a Unique GiftAnd for the Fine Arts Center in general:
· Frolicking: Place for a Wedding
· Making News: Nonprofit Organization
· Making Noise: Cultural Attraction/Museum
· Making Noise: Tourist Destination
· Making Noise: Art Gallery

VOTE and VOTE OFTEN!

Denver magazine 5280 spends an art-filled day in the Springs

"The beauty of Pikes Peak has inspired artists since the 19th century, yet only in the past few years has a diverse, truly exciting arts community blossomed in Colorado Springs, the city that lies in Pikes Peak's shadow. With major museum expansions, new galleries, and a wide range of community efforts to bring fine arts to the fore, the Springs has seen a burst of artistic energy that's drawing art lovers from all across the state." Read the complete article here.

Family Adventure Day is this Saturday

Join us for Family Adventure Day this Saturday (Aug. 29) at the Bemis School of Art from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Artist demonstrations and hands-on art projects led by Bemis School of Art instructors. Free for FAC Members and just $3 for non-members.

Weekend With the Masters

While students are busy with back to school, the FAC is gearing up for our major educational event this season, American Artist's Weekend with the Masters. We're proud to be the host for the magazine American Artist, and excited to give local artisits a chance to learn from 18 internationally recognized artists. through lectures, workshops, panel discussions, and demo events. In addition to notable instructors including Richard Schmid, David A. Leffel, Daniel Gerhartz, and Jacob Collins, will be three special guests:

• George Gallo, an award-winning writer, painter and director of the film, Local Color;
• Jack Warner, one of nation‟s premiere collectors and director of the Westervelt-Warner Museum of American Art; and
• Jean Stern an art historian and executive director of The Irvine Museum.

On Saturday, a portion of the proceeds from both the ticket sales and the silent auction will benefit the Bemis School of Art as well as a Young Master program scholarship at the Cottonwood Artists School.

You're invited to FAC's Venetian Carnivale

Carnivale may have passed, but that doesn't mean you can't take part in the festivities anymore!

The Colorado Fine Arts Center cordially invites you to participate in our season-opening Venetian Carnivale Gala Weekend September 24th through the 27th. Join us for delicious Italian food, spectacular costumes, dazzling entertainment, romantic dancing, fun filled family activities, and of course- the art!

Here's a rundown of the weekend:

Thursday Sept. 24
Collector Dinner: A Taste of Colorado, at the home of Kathy Loo
Guests will enjoy a gourmet dinner featuring Colorado grown and raised food surrounded by world-class Colorado art in the home of Kathy Loo, a local philanthropist who has donated almost 70 works of art to the Fine Arts Center.

Saturday Sept. 26
Venetian Carnivale Gala
Carnivale-inspired costumes and masks encouraged for this affair where valet parking, fire juggling greeters, and signature cocktails at the door are only the start. Enjoy roaming entertainers, visiting with friends, dancing the night away or simply relaxing and taking in the scenery. A sumptuous Italian buffet will be served in the galleries complete with a special selection of Italian desserts

Sunday Sept. 27
Gala Weekend Family Day
Bring the whole family for a day at the FAC with special mask-making activities, face painting, hat decorating and more.

Tickets to any of the weekend's events are available by visiting the FAC Box Office, calling 719.634.5583 or online.

Advanced tickets are required for the Collector's Dinner and Venetian Gala, and spaces are limited, so reserve your spot soon! Family Day tickets will be available at the door.

A Cultural Kidnapping: East meets West

Bill Reed and Noel Black recently wrote in the Gazette about a cultural experiment involving "downtowners who don’t like to venture east of Wahsatch Avenue" and "a group of east-siders who rarely travel downtown."
The FAC was prominently featured in giving the east-siders a taste of the cultural cornucopia downtown Colorado Springs has to offer.
“I feel like I’m in a different world because it’s nothing like the world I live in,” said one east-sider, Heidi Kelly, about the FAC's recent Botero exhibit.
Check out the article for an interesting perspective of what Colorado Springs has to offer from the east and the west side.

Denver Post: Mexican ceramics fire up fun

The Denver Post's Kyle MacMillan reviewed our permanent collection exhibit Color, Whimsy and Humor: Mexican Popular Ceramics today, calling it "entertaining and down-to-earth" and "a visual carnival that anyone can enjoy."

"Art can inspire, inform, enlighten, provoke and comfort. And, sometimes, it can just be fun. Put an ongoing exhibition at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center solidly in that last category. Its title aptly sums up the anything-but-highfalutin artwork on view: "Color, Whimsy and Humor: Mexican Popular Ceramics." The 29 playful, festively decorated clay sculptures draw on a variety of folk traditions and take the form of everything from fanciful animals to masked figures, ornate candelabras and even a miniature bullfighting arena. They are handsomely arranged in a gallery boisterously decorated to match..."