Maybe you know Audrey Gray from the art she creates using different-colored soils and other natural materials, or maybe you know her face from Adam’s Mountain Café.
Now, get to know her as the interim executive director of Creative Alliance Manitou Springs (CRANE).
Gray joined the Manitou Springs Arts Council in 2010 and was a board member and treasurer for years. As board president, she was an integral part of the negotiations merging MSAC and the Manitou Springs Creative District to form CRANE.
She’s filling the large shoes of Becca Sickbert, who resigned in July 2023.
“Audrey is the perfect choice for this point in CRANE’s evolution. She already knows the organization, its history, people and priorities,” said Ralph Routon, CRANE board chair.
Gray is excited about the opportunity to make a difference in the community she loves.
“The arts are all about creating connection. And when you have a strong sense of connection, then you can have a strong community,” she said.
The nonprofit’s website (manitouspringscd.org) is being updated to be even more helpful and responsive.
The board has also been focusing on launching its free self-guided walking tour app. Art lovers can download it from manitouspringscd.org/art-on-the-avenue to learn more while wandering through the region’s longest-running public art program.
According to its 2021-22 annual report, CRANE installed eight new works in 2022, playing a key role in celebrating the city of Manitou Springs’ 150 years.
As Routon pointed out, the pandemic forced the board to focus on dealing with the economic downturn. He emphasized that CRANE will work on ways to use its online presence to build awareness, enhance its identity and open new ways to communicate.
And Gray is the right person to do that, he said.
In mid-January, she spoke about her goals for her tenure — however long it lasts.
“I want to make sure that CRANE has a really strong public art program that is stable and funded. And be able to weather adversity. Then, I really want us to expand what we do. I want us to do more things that help the individual artists,” Gray said.
“We really want to reach out to local creatives in town and find out what’s missing in their lives, and see if we can help plug some of those holes.”
That could include a workshop/seminar program, possibly in collaboration with the Pikes Peak Arts Council.
Also, Gray has her eye on the roundabout at the northwest end of Manitou Avenue, where the city will install a pedestal for public art. CRANE has a two-year contract with the city for supplying a sculpture.
She’s already envisioning a gateway art installation to welcome visitors. Big dreams like that are possible thanks to the organizational merger and grants from the Manitou Arts, Culture, and Heritage fund.
“We’ve gone from having a bunch of really nice old art, and a bunch of empty pedestals,” Gray said, adding that, after two installations scheduled for this year, Manitou will have only one empty pedestal.
“To her, overseeing public art isn’t a chore. It’s an ongoing challenge, like solving an ever-changing puzzle, making the pieces fit,” Routon said.
CRANE also has focused on repairing those older pieces, such as Liz Szabo’s “Peeps” sculptures in the 900 block of Manitou Avenue.
“There’s no learning curve here. She knows what she’s getting into, and this gives her the chance to turn more of her ideas for CRANE into reality,” Routon said.
He pointed out that Gray has already interacted extensively and well with city staff, and working at Adam’s for 12 years has given her insight into the community’s business scene.
CRANE now has workspace in the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce building, and Gray has cut back to part-time at Adam’s.
About that interim status: Routon doesn’t want to pressure Gray, who has an 11-year-old son, to stay on in the position. But he and the board have their fingers crossed that she will, adding that they’ll support her in every way they can.
“Being an accomplished artist herself might be her No. 1 asset. She understands what our creatives need, how to connect and build closer ties with them. As one of Colorado’s certified Creative Districts, it’s important for us to help artists find more opportunities and make the most of them,” Routon said.
A certain type of artist can see potential in what most of us would walk right past. Gray sees something special in soil’s multicolored minerals and works hard to bring out that beauty.
Extrapolate that to an entire community, and it’s apparent that she can use that skill to improve life in Manitou and the Pikes Peak region.
“You can enjoy yourself and be surrounded by beautiful things. so why would we not want to enrich our surroundings and our lives that way?” Gray said.
THE CRANE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ralph Routon, chair; Farley McDonough, treasurer; and Edie Greene, secretary. Board members: Fred Darpino Jeanne Solze, Julia L Wright, Mary Snyder and Taylor Trask.
CRANE’s mission is to:
1. Promote Manitou Springs;
2. Support artistic vitality; and
3. Increase economic activity.