You only have til September 22 to experience this amazing traveling exhibition World of Wearable…read moreArt. The pictures say it all. This is the true intersection of art, fashion and design. Some of the artists shown design for Cirque du Soleil. This exhibition was my first introduction to this fine art museum. Other installations going on now include current works by Colorado Springs art instructors as well as established artists in Colorado Springs from the 1900s on.

Three of four loved the new production , Where We Belong at FAC. How did she remember all that? As…read morea Mohegan and a Shakespeare doctoral candidate her discussions on language disappearing was intriguing. In addition having someone sign for the deaf brought another dimension. I loved the show.

Everyone should boycott this place indefinitely. I went to an event they scheduled months ago &…read morepromoted. Absolutely no one from the org showed up. The other attendees were angry too. Doors locked. We all waited outside a half-hour extra. I found out later that they had taken down the event posters inside! So they canceled the event in advance & purposely did not notify attendees (Eventbrite = super easy to notify) out of some weird mix of spite & incompetence. Other folks told us later that this org does this often for different events w/ no explanation or apology EVER! Some drove an hour like me just for this event, so they would need a loan to comp these people at current gas prices! BOYCOTT them into non-existence!

I absolutely love this place! I've been lucky enough to have a studio here for the past few months…read moreand I love coming into Cottonwood Center for the Arts every time! The staff is incredibly dedicated to the center, studio artists, and future of Cottonwood. I see it grow more and more every week. They have fantastic exhibits to enter monthly open to the public. However, the sense of community is what I love about it the most. Great job Cottonwood Center for the Arts!

REAL Academy is an amazing community of artists on a journey to understand and create a visual…read morelanguage. The instruction is based on time honored traditions from the renaissance and students works at their own pace and based on the time they have available to dedicate to their art. Cannot say it enough...there's no better time to be part of the movement to create beauty in this world.

I want to be fair in saying that REAL Academy of Art Colorado was very clear that this is a…read moretraditional master-style art school. That was explained before I enrolled, and I take responsibility for not fully understanding what that style of instruction would actually mean in practice. I paid for a full semester of 12 sessions, and because of their schedule I had to complete them over four weeks, attending three days a week. I was driving a significant distance each time, so I was investing a lot of time, money, and energy into the program. What I found was that a large portion of the experience consisted of standing at an easel and drawing for very long periods with relatively little hands on instruction. I understand that sustained drawing is part of traditional atelier training, but personally, I could do that at home. I was paying for instruction, critique, demonstrations, and clear guidance, and I did not feel that I received enough of that to justify the cost. One thing that especially bothers me in hindsight is the lack of guidance around basic studio tools. They had mahl sticks available, but I was never instructed to use one. I was struggling significantly with fatigue in my arm and hand from holding my arm up and trying to draw straight lines for 3 hours at a time. I had also specifically explained that I had health issues that made prolonged arm positioning difficult. As I have continued studying art, I have learned how useful a mahl stick can be for exactly this kind of problem. Knowing now that such a simple tool could have reduced a substantial amount of the fatigue I was experiencing makes me very frustrated that nobody thought to suggest it, especially when the tools were right there. My experience with the instructors also varied. Ali was very disappointing for me. When I tried to express that I was unhappy with the amount of instruction I was receiving, I often felt that the conversation turned into long explanations rather than practical help or a concrete change in what I was being given. James was different. When I told him I was frustrated, he did listen and would try to give me something specific to work on. I appreciated that effort and want to acknowledge it. To be more specific about what I actually did during my time there, much of the work consisted of straight line blocking. They would draw simple shapes, star like forms, and I would the break them down into straight lines, working from the largest lines to progressively smaller ones. I later learned that this exercise had a name, but that was never really explained to me at the time; I was essentially just told what to copy and how to proceed. We also copied Bargue plates, again using straight line blocking. In my experience, there was very little actual instruction or critique during this process. Ali specifically told me that he did not believe in giving traditional feedback and instead preferred to tell students that they had done better than they had the day before. That may work for some people, but for me it made it extremely difficult to understand what I was doing incorrectly, why it was incorrect, or what specifically I needed to change in order to improve. I also found it frustrating that even while I was attending three days a week and clearly expressing dissatisfaction with the experience I was already having, I was pressure to purchase additional classes and and told i needed to spend even more time there. That did not sit well with me. Another thing prospective students should know is that many of the additional activities, painting workshops, and other offerings are not included in the regular tuition. They are separate and can be quite expensive, so the total cost of participating in everything the school offers can add up quickly. I also heard other students express similar frustrations about wanting more instruction, so I do not think I was alone in feeling this way. I do not think REAL Academy is necessarily a bad fit for everyone. If you specifically want a very traditional atelier environment where you spend long stretches of time independently drawing and observing, with relatively limited hands-on teaching, you may enjoy it. But if you are looking for an instructor who is actively teaching throughout class, demonstrating techniques, introducing tools and methods that make the work easier or more effective, giving frequent practical feedback, and helping you progress through varied exercises, I would strongly recommend asking very detailed questions before enrolling. I wish I had understood all of this before paying for a semester and making the drive several times a week. I hope this review saves someone else some time and money if this is not the type of art education they are looking for.

One star doesn't even begin to cover my disappointment in this "establishment". My sister and I…read moredecided to do pottery this summer. We had each taken four years of classes in high school so granted we are far from professionals. We were mainly looking to have some bonding time, as well as making a few gifts for people in our family. With this being said, we were treated in such a condescending manner by both owners that we were uncomfortable to even come in the studio at times. When our month was nearing the end my sister and I both came to the owner about our concerns of pieces not getting fired in a timely manner (2-3 weeks of waiting). We were told that if they didn't have time to bisque fire it before the month was over that we would then have to pay a small fortune to then glaze fire. We were also given misinformation about where to put our finished pieces causing more delay. When we were one week from being done we were told all of our pieces had been bisque fire. I brought it to their attention that the color of my clay was off and also that it did not appear to be fired at all. The owner assured me that it was and that I was okay to continue on to the glazing process. At this point I did only to cover every piece but one with glaze, essentially ruining everything because it was in fact NOT BISQUE FIRED. When I came to the owner about devastated that EVERYTHING I had made in the last month was ruined she proceeds to yell at me. She took zero responsibility for the fact that we were given misinformation and placed the blame on myself and others who share that work space. She laughed at my problem and told me that, "everyone looses work" and, "well this is a community kiln". We had a decent moth up until this point, but because of this we would absolutely never consider coming back or ever recommend coming here to anyone. I do want to say I did receive a refund for my rental space, however I am out all the money for material (about $150-$200) When we were given our tour by the owner there were several things they did not tell us to do. Things like there is a red clay wedging table and a white clay wedging table. When the owner brought this to our attention he again did it in a extremely condescending way. We also were privy to several rants about things that we didn't want to be apart of (political, religious, etc.). Lastly this place is extremely dirty. The bathroom alone should be enough to have it condemned. The owner also does woodworking and will place his works in progress on top of your personal desk. I had a pot ruined because of this as well. The common areas such as sink, kitchenette, and desks were overly cluttered and it was hard to walk around without items being in your way. We had high hopes for this experience but the owner yelling at me, my ruined work, waisted time and money, have left a bad taste in my mouth.

I was refused service for wearing a mask and the owner straight up told me he didn't care that I…read morefelt more comfortable wearing one. Businesses requiring masks is for HEALTH reasons not simply because of their own wants. If you believe in science and care about public health, don't give your money to this rude business.

This charming campus was originally constructed as the Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society (JCRS),…read morefounded in 1904. It was one of the world's largest free, non-sectarian treatment facilities for tuberculosis patients. Most of the self-sustaining, 105 acre facility was designed in the Beaux-Arts style by noted Denver architects Fisher & Fisher. It included a dairy farm (the land was originally the Robinson Dairy), chicken houses, laundry facilities, a pharmacy, treatment rooms/tents, residences, operating rooms, a dental office, print shop, library, post office, general store, and a synagogue. The facility switched to a mission of cancer research in 1954, after tuberculosis was cured with antibiotics, and became the American Medical Center (AMC). Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design (RMCAD) purchased most of the campus in 2002. The final AMC operations moved out by 2009. AMC is now part of UCHealth on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. AMC sold 20 acres facing Colfax which was developed into the JCRS Shopping Center in 1957. It has been the home of the infamous Casa Bonita since 1974. The center was renamed Lamar Station Plaza in 2014. The RMCAD campus encompasses the core 23 acres of the facility with 11 of the original buildings now used for arts education, galleries, and studio spaces. The buildings are generally on a small scale which makes a charming, miniature college campus, arranged elegantly around a landscaped esplanade. The campus is anchored at the west end by the Texas building (1927), originally the female dormitory, now administration, the library, technology center, and classrooms. The large building at the east end of the esplanade was the New York Pavilion for Men (1922). It was rented out by AMC and is now owned by Jefferson County. It is not part of RMCAD. Other notable buildings on the campus include the Isaac Solomon Synagogue built in 1926 and on the National Register of Historic Places. Unfortunately this building is not generally open and is not in use. The Moorish design features mosaic accents and a silver pyramidal roof. It is the oldest religious structure in Lakewood on its original site. The Rotunda (1912), with its large windows, was built for sun therapy. It is now mostly used as a gallery and event space. TriBoro (1936) was the main dining hall. The Isadore Hurwitz Library (1906), which also housed the co-op grocery and post office, is now the Robinson building. The Mary Harris Auditorium (1941) features a gorgeous, art deco theater plus two wings used as art galleries. The Rude building (1919) was the original admissions office. It now houses offices and classrooms plus a small gallery. RMCAD currently offers BFA degrees for careers in art, design, and creative industries. Major concentrations include animation, game art, graphic design, illustration, interior design, fashion design, photography, fine arts, and art education. This campus is a unique treasure and it's great to see such a creative reuse taking advantage of this resource.

Where to begin? RMCAD has the potential to be a great post-secondary art education institution -…read morethey have a beautiful intimate campus, and a great student-to-teacher ratio for in-person classes, and yet, they still fall short in so many ways. Post-COVID, on-campus enrollment plummeted--over 80% of students didn't return to in-person classes, leaving roughly 150 students now on campus each term. This caused major issues, including a lack of available in-person classes required for your major, and frequent professor reassignments. Instructors often don't know what they're teaching until one or two weeks before a term starts, leading to severe underpreparedness and a poor learning experience. Faculty professionalism is another major issue. While a few professors genuinely care about their students and try to do a good job, most fall short. So far, I would say only 30% of the professors I've had have been average / good, while the other 70% have been underprepared, unqualified to teach, and quite frankly don't seem like they even want to be here. The education quality is often worse than public high school and incomparable to my previous college experience. One professor didn't bother to grade assignments for the last four weeks of class, ignored feedback requests from her students, and openly talked about her desire to leave RMCAD. Instead of teaching, she spent most of our class time shopping online and watching TV shows--yet she remains employed despite official documented student complaints. What does that tell you about the quality of education here and the school's priorities? Some of the course curriculum being taught raises eyebrows too; there are many mistakes, out-of-order learning units, and outdated information in the LMS (learning management system), which each class is supposed to follow, whether you are an on-ground or online student. If you take classes online, not having direct access to your professor necessitates a lot of back-and-forth communication and easily creates confusion, whenever there are blatant mistakes in the learning module you are supposed to be following, since online classes do not have professors that lecture. RMCAD also struggles with student retention due to institutional ineffectiveness and poor communication. A major frustration is the inability to schedule your own classes, an unusual policy for higher education. While students can submit scheduling preferences, these are ignored 90% of the time. The registrar's office frequently assigns students to classes that don't fit their availability, even when better options exist. This makes maintaining a job or arranging childcare extremely difficult. Every term, I've had to fight for schedule corrections, despite clear solutions being available from the start - they just always get overlooked by the people in charge of making your schedule. If you try to be proactive, efforts to resolve issues are met with endless runarounds and finger-pointing between departments. Promised follow-ups rarely happen, requiring students to chase answers repeatedly. Younger, first-time college students would likely find this process even more frustrating. Despite being paying customers, students must constantly advocate for themselves to receive basic services. Despite being a student at RMCAD for less than a year, these are not the only alarming issues I've encountered here - I could go on but am limited by Google's review character count maximum. The root issue is that students are not RMCAD's priority. Instead, financial interests seem to dominate decision-making, which makes sense given it's a for-profit institution. Unfortunately, leadership seems unaware that taking care of students would, in turn, improve the school's financial health. The campus's main owners and the college's president all lack backgrounds in education, and this disconnect reverberates throughout the institution. As a result, students receive a poor experience and low-quality education, making RMCAD an unworthy investment.

I attended a Yelp elite painting class here and it was so much fun…read more They offer a huge schedule of art classes in all different mediums. I am planning to do some drawing and possibly more painting over the Summer. They offer kids classes too. We used water colors as the base today and she started by teaching several techniques, which was incredibly helpful once we started our abstract pieces. We also used pastels on top, which I thought added a really cool texture to my work. The teacher made each part seem so simple, everyone in the class was able to make something really beautiful. So much fun! Go check it out.

Great place with great prices. Please watch the web site on pricing. They jacked up the prices by…read moredouble in 2025 but made it look like they didn't on the web site until you got to checkout. The teachers are well qualified and make this place what it is. I adore the teaching staff! But the admin staff are not good. They are always clueless in person and when you call they can't get anything done. I have talked to a few of the higher ups and I would say their attitude is deal with it. It's 2026 and what this country has gone through with this government and greedy corporations, I'm over that attitude from a business even a non profit! I think the C Suite needs either training or replaced! My advice: get it together! The community doesn't need your non profit - you need us!

I took an ASL immersion class here as part of their community outreach! It was fast paced and I…read morelearned a lot. Beautiful historical campus too! It was a privilege to visit.

Absolutely the best of the best school for the deaf and blind! My company sells products for the…read morevisually impaired and I cover five states. Hands-down this is the most efficient and effective school for the blind and deaf. They have had an amazing renovation over the past five years to bring this school back to its original form and function including Technology. More than anything though the people that work here are caring and loving individuals, plus they are the best of the best and most knowledgeable in their field. Jim Olson has been an advocate to bring the tools necessary for the students so they can be their best. Wonderful job and kudos to The team.