Colorado College Receives Fine Arts Center Gift Valued at More Than $175 Million
Largest Gift in College History Increases Community, Campus Collaboration
The assets of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center will transfer to Colorado College as a gift valued at more than $175 million, making it the largest gift in the college's history and the second largest gift received by a liberal arts college.
The center, which includes an art school, theatre and museum with a renowned Southwest and Spanish Colonial collection, became the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College on July 1, 2017, a process that began with an alliance formed in August 2016.
"The amount of this gift is significant, but the true value of the Fine Arts Center and its collections - and the center's potential to enhance our educational mission - cannot be quantified," said Colorado College President Jill Tiefenthaler. "Through this alliance, we envision an arts renaissance that engages the entire regional community. The center also complements the strengths of Colorado College's innovative Block Plan, and will add considerable breadth to experiential opportunities we offer our students."
Members of the Fine Arts Center board and the college's Board of Trustees decided that the center should play roles in both the Colorado Springs community and the Colorado College community.
"Many museums or centers serve a campus community or a local or regional community, but rarely both," Tiefenthaler said. "We're striving to engage these communities by creating the most innovative, dynamic and vibrant organization possible."
In August, the Fine Arts Center announced reduced admission rates, expanded hours and increased discounts in order to provide greater access for the Colorado Springs community. More recently, the FAC announced the launch of the "Passport to the Arts" program, in which fourth-grade students, two parents and all other children under 18 in the household receive a free, one-year family membership to the Fine Arts Center. The student also receives a free ticket to the FAC's fall and spring family theatre productions.
The changes come at a time when access and funding for the arts nationally are increasingly limited.
"The Fine Arts Center at Colorado College has been able to buck this trend because the boards of the FAC and the college saw the potential of working together and made thoughtful decisions that are beginning to produce incredible outcomes for the Colorado Springs and Colorado College communities," said President Tiefenthaler.
The Fine Arts Center's programming reflects opportunities that have emerged since the alliance. Among them: Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Artist in Residence Raven Chacon is co-teaching a class on song, poetry and performance in the Southwest with Colorado College Professor of Music Victoria Levine and Associate Professor of Spanish and Portuguese Carrie Ruiz. This fall, the FAC opened a new classroom gallery in the museum to support hands-on teaching and learning in the museum and so far, the UnBlocked gallery has hosted student examinations of the work of Rembrandt, in conjunction with the Everyday Extraordinary show, and an exhibit curated by first-year students taking an Introduction to Art History course.
Additionally, Colorado College Music Department faculty and students composed and recorded original music for an FAC theatrical production; five CC faculty members collaborated with the FAC and contributed their expertise to a photography exhibit; two key positions have been added to the museum staff, a curator of Southwest art and a director of museum education; and the center's Bemis School of Art's annual Fine Arts Sale and Colorado College's annual Arts and Crafts Sale are combining to create one collaborative community event this winter.
"The Fine Arts Center is an institution with a rich history in Colorado Springs; it is also the largest arts institution between Denver and Santa Fe," said Rebecca Tucker, museum director and associate professor of art at the college. She notes that since the alliance was formed in August 2016, more than 1,600 students have visited the museum as part of college classes or programs. "Our faculty are enhancing their classes through the center, students are being introduced to new opportunities for experiential learning and community engagement, and bridges between the college and the Colorado Springs community are leading to collaborations that will allow us to become a model of distinction for an arts center that serves a campus, as well as the region and the world," she said.
The
$175
million-plus
valuation
comes
at
the
same
time
as
the
implementation
of
a
strategic
plan
that
includes
six
recommendations:
1.
Nurturing
a
Community
of
Artists
2.
Inviting
Visitors
to
Enliven
the
FAC
Community
3.
Building
an
Innovative
Program
of
Arts
Education
4.
Inspiring
Creativity
through
Collaboration
5.
Developing
an
Arts
Corridor
6.
Underscoring
the
FAC's
Place
as
a
Distinct
National
Model
for
an
Arts
Center
It is one of the only multi-discipline arts institutions in the nation. The center's building was designed by noted architect John Gaw Meem, who melded Pueblo and Art Deco styles. The building was opened in 1936 and is included on the National Register of Historic Places.
Earlier
this
year,
the
Fine
Arts
Center
was
named
the
Best
Gallery
and
Museum
in
Colorado,
and
one
of
the
top
25
in
the
country
by
the
board
of
the
American
Art
Awards.
Additionally,
Don
Coen's
exhibition
of
migrant
workers
was
featured
April
8
on
NBC
Nightly
News
in
a
segment
called
"An
Artist
Paints
the
Nation's
Forgotten
Migrants,
One
Canvas
at
a
Time."
As part of the formal alliance between the college and the FAC, assets of the Fine Arts Center will transfer to Colorado College in 2020 as a gift. These assets, along with the value of an endowment to support the Fine Arts Center in perpetuity, are valued at more than $175 million.
About
Colorado
College
Colorado
College
is
a
nationally
prominent,
four-year
liberal
arts
college
that
was
founded
in
Colorado
Springs
in
1874.
The
college
operates
on
the
innovative
Block
Plan,
in
which
its
approximately
2,000
undergraduate
students
study
one
class
at
a
time
in
intensive
3½-week
segments.
The
college
also
offers
a
master
of
arts
in
teaching
degree.
For
more
information,
visit
www.coloradocollege.edu.
About
the
Fine
Arts
Center
The
story
of
the
Colorado
Springs
Fine
Arts
Center
at
Colorado
College
(FAC)
begins
with
the
founding
of
the
Broadmoor
Art
Academy
by
Julie
and
Spencer
Penrose
in
1919.
During
the
Great
Depression,
three
dedicated
philanthropists
-
Julie
Penrose,
Alice
Bemis
Taylor,
and
Elizabeth
Sage
Hare
-
envisioned
expanding
the
Broadmoor
Art
Academy
into
an
entire
arts
district
under
one
roof.
The
FAC
changed
its
name,
built
a
grand
building,
and
opened
as
the
Colorado
Springs
Fine
Arts
Center
in
1936.
In
August
2016,
the
FAC
announced
an
historic
alliance
with
Colorado
College
and
on
July
1,
2017,
became
the
Colorado
Springs
Fine
Arts
Center
at
Colorado
College.
The
FAC
is
deeply
rooted
in
the
legacy
of
its
founders,
who
possessed
bold
visions,
a
deep
passion
for
the
arts,
and
dedication
to
the
Colorado
Springs
community.
The
FAC
honors
this
legacy
and
spirit
today
by
providing
innovative,
educational,
and
multidisciplinary
arts
experiences
designed
to
elevate
the
individual
spirit
and
inspire
community
vitality,
building
on
its
history
as
a
unique
cultural
pillar
of
the
Pikes
Peak
region.
For
more
information,
visit
www.coloradocollege.edu/fac.