It’s no accident that the word “connection” comes up repeatedly in a conversation about a new local arts partnership.

The exhibit “Colors of Change,” on display through Dec. 30 at Coutura Design Inspirations, 6380 Corporate Centre Circle, connects the Manitou Springs Arts Council with a group of homebuilding experts — bringing together artists who use oils and watercolors with builders who work in wood and steel. Artwork from the juried show hangs in the showrooms and hallways of Coutura.

Founded in the fall of 2008, Coutura is a partnership of local building businesses specializing in flooring, kitchens, lighting, baths, electronics, stone and building materials, windows and doors, and more, with their showrooms all under one roof. Buyers can browse materials, purchase items, or design rooms, landscapes or custom homes there. A concierge greets buyers at the door and encourages them to look around.

Until recently, Coutura featured commercial art on the walls of its luxuriously appointed showrooms. But builder Steve Scott, whose Signature Homes company is a Coutura partner, says, “We had talked about bringing some art into the center to make the building more interesting to the people who visit here.”

When Scott met Ben Kuckel, “Colors of Change” was born. As president of the Manitou Springs Arts Council, Kuckel is always looking for new venues for artists and their work. After the offer from Scott and the other partners at Coutura to stage a show in their building, the arts council put the call for artists on its website.

“We had no formula or recipe for what we were going to do. But within four weeks, we had 50 artists,” Kuckel says.

Kuckel and the artists had the show on the walls of Coutura in a day, and it opened last month with an artist reception. The Manitou Arts Council gets 15 percent of the proceeds from sales of the artwork to benefit the nonprofit group, with the rest going to the artists.

Customers at Coutura are encouraged to browse, so the artwork creates another level of interest, says Tyler Stevens, general manager of Complete Kitchens in Coutura.

“We have tried hard to make Coutura available to all budgets,” he says. “The art in this show ranges from $100 to thousands of dollars. It’s accessible to a wide range of buyers.”

Scott says the art show is a perfect way to expand what Coutura has to offer.

“We are a non-traditional retail type of building, from the color palettes to the materials. The back of the building shows as well as the front. The front entryway was designed to welcome people. It’s all about the experience here. We hope that, in a fashion, we have created some art that’s not a typical building-industry environment.”

Audrey Gray, a local artist whose work in oils, acrylics and natural materials such as sand and seeds is featured in the show, believes the exhibit is a great partnership between the arts and organizations that aren’t always associated with the arts. “I think that art is an inherent and deeply important part of being human, and that in a balanced world, it will permeate every aspect of our lives,” she says.

As an artist, Gray says she feels her art “is particularly at home with other natural materials like wood, stucco and other natural building materials.”

Scott and Stevens say this art show is just the first in many partnerships they hope to foster. “Art gives people a way to communicate on a different level,” Scott says. “It’s not about the stock market. It’s not about the economy. It’s a good common ground.”

The Coutura partners and the Manitou Springs Arts Council are already talking about other projects. “We’d like to extend the art show to the outdoors,” Scott says. “We have a vision of a weekend in the spring or summer with artists working on art in our parking lot.”

Manitou Springs Arts Council president Ben Kuckel, left, and builder Steve Scott of Signature Homes in a hallway filled with art at Coutura Design Inspirations. Art by local artists can be seen throughout the building. Photo by MARK REIS, THE GAZETTE