As a longtime Colorado Springs resident with deep ties to the Fine Arts Center, guest curator Pat Musick brings both personal history and community spirit to her contribution to Gathering Place, a powerful new exhibition opening in September 2025 that explores the diverse histories, cultures, and artistic voices of the Southwest, and beyond, through works from the museum’s permanent collection.
Her connection to the FAC stretches back nearly a century — her father was an art student at the Broadmoor Art Academy as early as 1927. That personal thread became the foundation for a unique installation titled A People’s History of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center: a community-sourced timeline tracing the Fine Arts Center’s evolving legacy. The goal of the installation was for the stories, themes, and insights that emerge during the interactive process to inform the historical segment of the permanent collection reinstallation.
“When the idea of the timeline was first proposed,” Musick recalls, “I dove into both what I knew and what I could find through research to identify key moments in the FAC’s history.” But instead of telling a complete story herself, she left space — intentionally — for others to contribute. “This was envisioned from the beginning as a community participation piece.”
Visitors to the FAC were invited to write their memories on printed cards and drop them into boxes placed around the exhibition. Musick transcribed the responses by hand and added them to the timeline. At first, the submissions trickled in. But soon, they poured forth.
“The repeating theme,” she says, “was how much this place has meant to people, across generations.” There were stories of children attending recitals in the Music Room, of art classes at Bemis School of Art sparking lifelong passions, and of museum exhibitions that profoundly shaped careers — from musicians to cultural anthropologists.
Some memories were humorous — a child accidentally locked in the museum. Others were deeply emotional — weddings, personal awakenings, moments of feeling seen. One note simply said, “This was the best Mother’s Day gift ever,” written by a woman whose son brought her to Mother’s Day Brunch.
As Musick curated these reflections, she also uncovered forgotten gems from the FAC’s history, like a collaborative exhibition with the Air Force Academy attended by Manhattan Project physicist Dr. Edward Teller, or impactful exhibitions by Latinx artists that made community members feel truly recognized.
“Kids especially loved having something to do,” she adds, noting the stubby pencils and blank cards they could draw on. “They could be artists themselves.”
She also reflects on the long-standing relationship between the Fine Arts Center and Colorado College. “[The FAC] is a resource for the wider community and the CC community alike. And it’s a wonderful opportunity for those two to strengthen one another going forward.”
In the end, Musick sees the timeline not as an archive, but as living proof of the Fine Arts Center’s lasting relevance. “This has been a community center for generations,” she says. “It’s not just old-timers like me. People from all walks of life have embraced this place.”