Inspiring the next generation of artists, creators, and healers.

Featuring live performances by Minderaser, Seance, Prefab Soul, and Mark Warm, the soundscape weaves ethereal synths, pulsating drones, and delicate textures, creating a meditative journey through sound and light. Experience a multi-sensory voyage designed to inspire awe and introspection.

Join us for a two-day workshop designed to stretch your creative muscles through various art games and warm-up exercises. You will engage in three playful art experiences that challenge and enhance your creativity. Begin each day with Melanie Audet’s dicey drawing games to get in some playful practice. Day 1, Brian Tryon will lead a mixed media cyanotype activity, which will usher in Day 2 adventures when Naomi Falk guides an improvisational pieced and quilted project. Opportunities abound to mix it up. No experience necessary. Plus, we’ll have 60-second dance parties throughout to keep you energized and moving! Snacks and drinks will be provided. Feel free to bring your own lunch. This workshop promises to be a fantastic way to spend your weekend and unleash your creative potential!

Saturday, November 23
10 am - 2 pm

Sunday, November 24
10 am - 2 pm

Catharsis

A group art exhibition and live ambient music featuring various artists

For the artist, the act of creating can be a therapeutic process, a way to externalize complex feelings and make sense of inner turmoil or joy. This often occurs through expressive techniques, vivid color choices, bold compositions, or symbolic representations. For instance, an artist might paint scenes of struggle or triumph to process personal trauma or life transitions.

For viewers, cathartic artwork can evoke empathy, helping them confront or reflect on their own emotions. Art can serve as a safe space to experience intense feelings that might otherwise feel overwhelming in real life, providing both relief and insight. Cathartic art can span various forms, from abstract expressionism that channels raw emotion to narrative art that tells a story of hardship, redemption, or personal growth. In this way, artwork becomes a powerful tool for personal and collective emotional healing.

The Age Of Rust

featuring Caleb Butcher

PASSING OF TIME MEASURED BY CORROSION MYSTIFIED TOTEMS OF FORGOTTEN TECHNOLOGY THE TIME OF TRANSITION BETWEEN ERAS MACHINES FOR WORSHIP
SCIENCE FOR MYSTICISM
THIS IS THE AGE OF RUST


Caleb Butcher is a Colorado Springs resident who has been making art for the past ten years. He started by making flyers in the local metal and punk scene and still is inspired by underground music. He is extremely interested in art as a conversation between people and materials but approaches his art more like a movie prop maker than a conceptual artist. With no formal education he loves just guessing and approaching things as a layman. He is not good at writing bios.

Scheduling

First Fridays

Our in-house Disruptor Gallery is a DIY venue that provides space for under-represented artists. We aim to provide a platform for the voices of artists of all types. Join us for opening receptions between 5 and 9pm on the first Friday of every month.

Ongoing Workshops

Shutter and Strum offers workshops (both prepaid and with scholarships for youth in need) in various visual arts and music subjects. These include:

  • Studio Portrait Photography

  • Film and Darkroom Photography

  • Art Gallery Curation and Management

  • Songwriting

  • Music For Healing and Self-Expression

  • Studio Recording

“Unshuttered” Youth Photography Project (May-July 2024)

Through free photography workshops, therapy from trauma specialists, and a public art exhibition with various opportunities for community dialogue, Shutter and Strum's "Unshuttered" project will empower young survivors of intergenerational trauma to become agents of change in Colorado Springs. This project is being generously funded by the Arts in Society grant program, administered by RedLine Contemporary Art Center.

New Colorado Springs community arts center focuses on at-risk, underserved youth

“Before Shutter and Strum, Tryon opened Garfield Art Gallery in 2022 in the basement of Community Prep School. The intention was the same — to run a gallery and help at-risk and underserved students at the school through programming. He relocated the equipment from the school to the new arts center and held the last Garfield art exhibit in September.

Tryon and Bacavis offer before- and after-school workshops and experiential learning opportunities in film and darkroom photography, gallery curation and management, songwriting, music performance and more. Schools and other organizations, such as Inside Out Youth Services, which provides support to LGBTQIA2+ youth, have partnered with the arts center. But programming also is available for kids who want to explore the arts on their own. Workshops and classes are offered on a sliding-scale basis or are free through scholarships for those with financial need.

The center will be funded through a GoFundMe, grants, donations, corporate sponsorship and fees from programs and classes.”

Our before-school and after-school programs offer a wide range of artistic pathways, from film and darkroom photography to songwriting and music production.

At Shutter and Strum, we believe that every person deserves the opportunity to explore their creativity, express themselves, and heal through the power of the arts. That's why we have numerous workshops and experiential learning opportunities focused on film/darkroom photography, art gallery curation and management, songwriting, music performance, and music blended with core subjects.

Our before-school and after-school workshops allow a space for youth to practice mindfulness and explore their passions, ultimately inspiring them to pursue their interests in the arts. We've seen firsthand how these experiences can transform lives and we want to continue to make them accessible to as many students as possible.

Our goal is to provide free access to these programs, with a special emphasis on serving at-risk/underserved youth in the Colorado Springs area. We want to offer artistic pathways for all these individuals— providing authentic relationships and mentoring through shared artistic passions, enabling students to overcome various difficulties and generational trauma through personal recovery. We offer safe and non-judgmental spaces that emphasize the visual and music arts as mediums for mindfulness, healing, and empowerment.

“We teach music pathways, art pathways, visual art pathways, how to run businesses and how to communicate with people and artists in the community and do it in a positive manner that’s going to help the students, the community and us grow and flourish.”

— Brian Tryon, Nov. 24, 2023, Interviewed by Nick Raven

Contact

Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Email
owner@shutterandstrum.org