The Art Show on Wednesday, May 14 at the Dancing Spirit Community Art Center was the kickoff to a wonderful program, which is being called Building Bridges Through Art.

The program is part of a grant created by the Department of Justice Tribal Youth for the Tribe. Local artists have been working with students at the Southern Ute Indian Montessori Academy to inspire and expand their creative minds.

During the first eight weeks of the program students worked tirelessly in preparation for the show. The opening became the largest evening event so far at the Dancing Spirit Community Art Center at its relatively new and uniquely beautiful location next to the Floral Shop in downtown Ignacio.

With well over one hundred pieces of art on the walls and dozens of ceramics and carvings on presentation, students of the SUIMA impressed and surprised gallery patrons.

The event was a potluck and the smell of grilled meat wafted down the block and around the corner as over one hundred people slowed into the gallery in anticipatory silence.

Bright colored abstract drawings were the centerpiece of the gallery. There was plenty to see with both eyes. The mesmerized silence was broken after dinner when the SUIMA’s Choir took to the stage to sing a selection of pop music. The evening of fun, family, and community set the stage for potential future possibilities. Fine Art is being created all around this beautiful landscape we live in and the children are the future artists.