[mrnoodle]

the short answer is, there's a vibrant arts community if you know where to look. again, things are spaced differently geographically, so your circle of "local" artistic friends might live anywhere from Taos to Cheyenne. Naturally, Southwestern/Native American art is king, but it's not all blankets and dreamcatchers these days. (currently the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center has a Dale Chihuly exhibition, and he represents modern Native American-inspired visual artistry as well as anyone). Unfortunately, there's a strong Precious Moments/Thomas Kincaide vibe as well, but that's mostly in the touristy parts.

But yeah, the coffeehouse bulletin boards are chock full of events celebrating art and culture. You have to head downtown, away from the Applebees and Cinemark Theaters, but you can find em, and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

edit: case clicked submit before me. I have to say she probably knows more about it than me, since I haven't spent too much time down there recently.