Ode to Pages

Shanah Leaf

2026 F.E.A.R.S Artist

October 29 - December 19, 2026

GOCA Project Space

Ent Center for the Arts

Ode to Pages

by Shanah Leaf

The Galleries of Contemporary Art (GOCA) in collaboration with the UCCS Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Department at the Ent Center for the Arts at UCCS proudly announces the opening of Ode to Pages, a new installation by Colorado-based artist Shanah Leaf, on view October 29 – December 19, 2026, in GOCA’s Project Space at the Ent Center for the Arts.

This exhibition is part of VAPA’s Female Emerging Artists Residency Series (F.E.A.R.S.), a program designed to support early to mid-career female-identifying artists across the United States. Now in its 7th year, the residency provides space, time, and resources for artists to expand their practices, engage the Colorado Springs community, and present new work at GOCA.

IMPORTANT DATES

Exhibition on View
October 29 - December 19, 2026

Opening Reception:

Thursday, October 29th, 2026, 5-8 pm

GOCA Project Space | Ent Center for the Arts

*no registration required

VACS Lecture:

Thursday, October 29th, 2026, 6-7 pm

Chapman Recital Hall | Ent Center for the Arts

*registration required, tickets available below

Get your ticket!

F.E.A.R.S. is an artist residency series founded in 2018 and co-hosted by UCCS VAPA and GOCA.

Learn more about F.E.A.R.S

Gallery hours:
Thursday - Saturday, 1 - 6 pm, or by appointment
email: gallery@uccs.edu | call: 719.255.3504

Banner Image from “Shifting Ground”, 2024. Ceramic installation at 12.26 Gallery in Dallas, Texas. Gallery floor dimensions: 15.6 ft 9.75 ft x 22 ft. Photo by Kevin Todora

photo by Melissa Gamez-Herrera

About

Karla García

Karla García (1977, Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico) is a Texas-based artist originally from Mexico. Her ceramic sculptural installations are rooted in her Mexican heritage and informed by personal and cultural memory, historical research, and philosophy. She explores the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative effects of the environment on the land we share.

García earned an MFA in Ceramics and a Certificate in Museum Education from the University of North Texas. She is a Sandhills Institute Artist Fellow in Nebraska and has exhibited in museums such as the Nasher Sculpture Center, the Old Jail Art Center in Texas, and a bi-national exhibition at the Chamizal National Memorial and the Museum of Archeology and History of El Chamizal on both sides of the Texas/Mexico border. Her recent projects include Grass Flower, a ceramic installation at Lora Reynolds Gallery in Austin, TX, and a residency at the University of Colorado Springs.

Karla Garcia