Aspen Art Museum

THE ASPEN ART MUSEUM WILL EXPLORE THE ROLE THAT ART PLAYS IN CATALYZING CONNECTIVITY AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN RURAL COMMUNITIES. THE MUSEUM WILL ESTABLISH A LEADERSHIP NETWORK OF ARTS AND CULTURE LEADERS FROM FOURTEEN TOWNS ACROSS WESTERN COLORADO. A SUMMIT WILL FACILITATE THE IDENTIFICATION OF BOTH COLLECTIVE AND TARGETED COMMUNITY NEEDS HELPING THE MUSEUM TO DEVELOP A CORE PROGRAM CRITERIA TO SUPPORT A VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES IN EACH COMMUNITY SUCH AS LECTURES, ART MAKING, PERFORMANCES, BILINGUAL DISCUSSIONS, AND COMMUNITY EXHIBITIONS. THE PROJECT TEAM WILL USE EVALUATION DATA TO REFINE THE CORE PROGRAM CRITERIA AND DEVELOP PROMISING EXAMPLES OF NEW PROGRAM DESIGNS. THE MUSEUM WILL HOST A RURAL ART MUSEUM CONVENING FOR EDUCATION STAFF FROM RURALLY BASED ART MUSEUMS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES TO SHARE PROJECT FINDINGS, IN ADDITION TO CREATING REPORTS THAT WILL BE POSTED ONLINE FOR THE FIELD.

TO SUPPORT AN ARTIST RESIDENCY AND EXHIBITION BY MICKALENE THOMAS.

AS ONE OF FOUR ACCREDITED ART MUSEUMS IN COLORADO- AND THE ONLY ACCREDITED ART MUSEUM IN COLORADO'S WESTERN SLOPE- THE MUSEUM USES ART AND ITS PROGRAMMING TO MAKE MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS WITH THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY. THE ASPEN ART MUSEUM COMMITS ITSELF TO SERVING THE REGION'S UNIQUE GEOGRAPHY AND DEMOGRAPHIC ENVIRONMENT, WHERE NEARLY ONE THIRD OF SCHOOLS IN NEIGHBORING SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE DESIGNATED TITLE ONE. THROUGH NO-COST PROGRAM AND FREE ADMISSIONS, THE MUSEUM HAS OPENED THE DOORS OF ITS NEW BUILDING TO APPROXIMATELY 200,000 VISITORS SINCE 2014, AND SINCE 2014 HAS SEEN AN INCREASE OF ANNUAL VISITORS BY 217 PERCENT. THE MUSEUM TAPS INTO THE POWER OF ART TO BRING NEIGHBORING RURAL COMMUNITIES TOGETHER.