COLORADO SPRINGS — A one-of-a-kind outdoor art gallery will soon be opening to the public in Colorado Springs. It's opening just in time for Arts month, which is October, and also comes when creativity during COVID has been challenging.
The free outdoor gallery is located at the event space next door to Rocky Mountain Brewery. Andre Eddens, a local professional artist, came up with the idea to create a free outdoor gallery because of challenges artists face during the pandemic.
"A lot of people (right now) don't have an outlet to get their art out there," said Eddens. "You can't have a close group of people together to have these things, so we're trying to open that up to other artists and inspire people to do something outside that's COVID safe."
Eddens has been a professional artist for 3 1/2 years and says most artists make an income by showing their artwork at indoor galleries. Because of COVID-19 restrictions however, that's been more challenging than years past.
"We do a lot of our shows indoor in the galleries," said Eddens "So it's very hard to get people together when you only have groups of ten."
It's not your traditional art gallery however. Eddens, with the help of Nick Hilborn, Rocky Mountain Brewery's part owner, built large canvases and murals so artists of any age and experience can get creative.
"If you ever thought it's not even possible to get your art in a gallery, we want to be able to give you that chance," said Hilborn. "Everybody gets a chance to put their mural up. Everybody gets a chance to play with ideas."
While 2020 may not necessarily be a work of art, Eddens says the outdoor gallery is a masterpiece in the making and he's thankful the brewery is finding a way to adapt during COVID, but also supporting the community in doing so.
If you'd like more information on how to display your artwork on a canvas, you can call Eddens at 719-237-5596 or the brewery at 719-528-1651.
