The spirit of Starr Kempf will live on in a new exhibit.

Kempf, the late Colorado Springs artist celebrated for his monumental steel, kinetic sculptures, three of which dot the landscape outside Ent Center for the Arts, is the inspiration for “We Are the Sky,” a new show at Galleries of Contemporary Art at Ent Center. It runs through Oct. 5. The monthslong run will feature a number of events, including gallery talks and pop-up performances.

Instead of merely imitating Kempf’s work, artists were asked to respond to themes present in the works of the artist, who died by suicide in 1995. Those are: mental health, creation and expansion of community, and innovation.

Visitors shouldn’t expect to find works resembling Kempf’s sculptures, though they might find some similarities in terms of aesthetic or material features, but more of what do these themes mean to artists in the region and grappling with some of society’s most pressing issues.

“How can artists address crises of mental health,” said Galleries of Contemporary Art Director Joy Armstrong. “How do they experience it in their own lives and how does that creative practice play a role in taking care of their own health and those around them?”

About 45 artists, working individually or collaboratively, will present 20 projects in the show.

“I hoped artists would think creatively about their own practice and think of this as a space where they might feel free to try something different than they’ve done before, or what we might expect of them or to work with another group of artists or another artist to see how they can innovate that community through relationship development,” Armstrong said.

One of those projects, “What Kinda Brown Are You,” headed by co-creator Kevin Shinelikar Persaud, features works by 13 artists who are people of color or in marginalized communities. Each piece was inspired by each artist’s headshot. It’s the second iteration of the project; the first was at Shutter & Strum gallery in December.

“It has very little to do with skin tone or being on the spectrum of melanin,” Persaud said. “I wanted them to create pieces that allowed them to show up as they are, how they wanted to be perceived. With that comes their culture, their past traumas, how they deal and cope with being in society. I wanted them to show up how they perceive themselves.”

The struggle for the artists in his collaboration, he says, is creating art that’s true to themselves while also hoping it’s acceptable enough to be shown in a gallery.

“Which is not why we should create art,” Persaud said. “It’s been this idea to sell art. It’s been a commodity instead of expressing ourselves. The artists wanted to show up for themselves.”