About
Art Lab is a fresh way to see art, music, dance, culture in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Art Lab turns empty store-fronts into vibrant art-spaces. It transforms good places into unique venues where art can happen. Art Lab is an art space/gathering place for creativity and innovation, and all the creative folks that go along with it.
Art Lab Fort Collins is a cooperative initiative made for and by the artists and creatives in Fort Collins. Art Lab empowers young and old through access to art, music, theater, dance, through diverse performance and gallery opportunities, workshops, and community activity.
Art Lab is a gathering place.
“Art Lab is a different way of seeing Fort Collins,” says Patty Spencer of Realtec, a commercial real estate company based in Fort Collins. “It gives art a temporary, flexible home in Old Town. It literally changes the way you look at a store-front or venue.”
Art Lab is not a traditional gallery or show. It’s different because its scene is always changing: Art Lab Fort Collins is never the same, it changes with the venue.
Dawn Putney, from Toolbox Creative, says that Art Lab helps showcase and promote creativity in the community. “Art Lab is an experimental space for art. It moves, changes shape and pushes boundaries,” she explains. “It’s a happy surprise for people who wander through the doors.”
Art Lab is the dynamic leading-edge of the creative economy. It incubates the future of the creative community in Ft. Collins by transforming under-appreciated retail locations into an innovative arts and cultural opportunity.
Art Lab makes it possible for the local creative industry to innovate and experiment on bold new projects. It revives potential establishments, and inspires current and future entrepreneurs.
Local business owners are excited about Art Lab Fort Collins. Steve Taylor of Austin’s American Grill, who also owns Art Lab’s first space, says that there are only “great reasons” for people to be excited about Art Lab. “It’s not your typical gallery. It’s a new creative scene. It has energy, something that can really get people involved and excited. I think that it really inspires great and lasting developments in Fort Collins.”
Kevin Beucher, an early support of Art Lab, said it best:
“Art Lab is something that cannot and should not be done alone, the Art Lab is a community project, that was born from friends coming together and is now inviting all to experiment, participate, and create.”