Through Jan 12. The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center has both the will to take on big ideas and the space to do them right. That makes it an ideal setting for Pamela Joseph’s fantastical installation “Sideshow of the Absurd,” currently in the El Pomar Gallery. Joseph has created a whole world based on the old, traveling sideshow, complete with sights, sounds and characters, such as “The Lady Sword-Swallower,” “The Cat Woman” and “The Virgins.” The installation challenges viewers to consider the role of outsiders — freaks, even — and the power they have to capture our imagination and to teach us a few things about tolerance. That’s a heavy message, but what an entertaining way to deliver it. 30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, 719-634-5583 or . $10.
