12 Days of Aspen
Cultural Family Friendly Aspen Central Core
Celebrate the last 12 days of December during 12 Days of Aspen. Each day, enjoy fun, free, and family-friendly activities. 12 Days of Aspen activities include performances by carolers, photo ops with Santa, holiday crafts, film screenings, live music, cookie decorating, storytime for kids, and more. On New Year’s Eve, check out the torchlight parade and New Year’s Eve fireworks at the base of Aspen Mountain.
Aspen Art Gallery
Cultural Aspen Central Core
The Aspen Art Gallery is located in downtown Aspen, CO, and showcases the work of artists who use varied media to create their art. On display at the Aspen Art Gallery are landscapes, abstract artworks, and mixed media pieces. Visit the Aspen Art Gallery in the heart of downtown Aspen for a unique cultural experience in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
Aspen Art Museum
Cultural Family Friendly Aspen
The Aspen Art Museum (AAM) has been a fixture in the Aspen arts community since 1979, and since then, they have provided visitors with insightful and inspiring exhibitions featuring the work of international contemporary artists working in a wide variety of media. In addition to their riveting exhibition program, the AAM strives to educate the community on the topic of contemporary art through workshops for elementary, middle, and high school students, family workshops, teacher workshops, and public programs featuring discussions by curators, artists, and other prominent figures in the contemporary art world. Since 2005, the AAM has partnered with the Aspen Skiing Company to provide an art experience to a wider audience by placing "art in unexpected places", such as on the ski lift tickets and on the ski mountains.
Aspen Grove Fine Art
Cultural Aspen Central Core
Aspen Grove Fine Art has been exhibiting high quality artworks in Aspen, CO for over 35 years. Known for cultivating relationships with local and international art collectors as well as art enthusiasts, Aspen Grove Fine Art is the Aspen art gallery to visit when considering purchasing a piece of art.
Aspen Historical Society
Cultural Aspen
The Aspen Historical Society provides visitors and local residents alike with the opportunity to explore the rich history of the Roaring Fork Valley. With their Wheeler/Stallard museum, housed in a beautiful West End Victorian home, and their Holden/Marolt Mining & Ranching museum, they offer an insightful perspective on the history of this special place. The Historical Society also offers a wide variety of tours, including their History Coach, a guided tour of downtown Aspen in an electric vehicle. On-mountain ski tours are also offered, with topics covering the Ute Native Amercan Tribe, the Ziegler reservoir dig site in Snowmass, the early days of skiing, 1970s ski culture, and freeskiing.
Aspen Music Festival and School
Cultural Aspen
The Aspen Music Festival and School has been a major cultural institution in Aspen since 1949. Each summer, the Aspen Music Festival and School brings talented musicians to Aspen. Over the course of eight weeks, these musicians from all over the world treat the Aspen community to over 320 performances and musical events such as orchestral concerts, chamber music, opera, and more.
Aspen Words
Cultural Aspen
Aspen Words, formerly the Aspen Writers' Foundation, was founded in 1976 with the purpose of inspiring writers and readers through programming that brings people together to share in a love of reading and writing. Throughout the year, Aspen Words hosts a number of popular programs, including the Winter Words Festival, which brings authors like Salman Rushdie, Michael Chabon, Erica Jong, and many others to Aspen to share their stories. During the summer, Aspen Words hosts a program called Summer Words, which includes writers' workshops and author lectures.
Baldwin Gallery
Cultural Aspen Central Core
The Baldwin Gallery is an art gallery located in the heart of downtown Aspen, Colorado. The Baldwin Gallery represents artists like Will Cotton, Eric Fischl, Robert Mapplethorpe, Mariyln Minter, Tom Sachs, and James Turrell. Past Exhibitions at the Baldwin have included Gilbert & George: Urethra Postcard Pictures in January 2012, Robert Mapplethorpe: Horses in July 2010, and Eric Fischl: Beach Scenes: New Work in March 2009.
Galerie Maximillian
Cultural Aspen
With over 40 years of experience in the fine art market, Galerie Maximillian represents artists such as Renoir, Cassatt, Picasso, and Matisse. Also represented are modern and contemporary British and American artists such as Peter Doig, Damien Hirst, Chuck Close, and Sarah Graham. Visit Galerie Maximillian in downtown Aspen, Colorado.
Harvey Preston Gallery
Cultural Aspen Aspen Highlands
Harvey Preston Gallery specializes in contemporary ceramic art, works on paper, and sculpture. Working with nationally and internationally recognized talent; the gallery’s main focus is to forefront the work of artists willing to push the boundaries of their ideas and materials.
Red Brick Center for the Arts
Cultural Family Friendly Aspen
The Red Brick Center for the Arts is a vital organization within the Aspen arts community, as they both promote local artists, as well as strive to create a thriving local arts community. The Red Brick hosts an opening reception for new exhibitions the first Thursday of every month, so there is always an inspiring installtion of new artwork to see. Classes for elementary, middle, and high school students are also offered with workshop subjects ranging from painting to printmaking. Each spring, the Red Brick hosts the ArtStart! Kids' Art Show, featuring fantastic creations by kids who live right here in the Roaring Fork Valley. The Red Brick truly is a wonderful place to view art by local artists of all ages.
The Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies
Cultural Aspen
The Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies (“The Bayer Center”) is a new exhibition space and center for the study of art and culture located on the Aspen Institute’s campus in Aspen, CO. Herbert Bayer (1900–1985) was an influential modern artist and designer who worked at the Bauhaus before relocating to Aspen in 1946. The Bayer Center promotes a fuller understanding of Bayer—one of the leading figures to translate the Bauhaus movement into an American context—and his contributions to art, design, and architecture. Free Admission.
Theatre Aspen
Cultural Family Friendly Aspen
Theatre Aspen provides the perfect venue in which to enjoy a professional theatrical production. With an array of rich programming such as productions of Annie, Little Shop of Horrors, The True Story of of the 3 Little Pigs, and so much more, Theatre Aspen brings inspiring live performances to the Aspen community each season. In addition to their theater productions, they also provide educational programs for all adults, teenagers, and children in order to cultivate an appreciation and love for performance art.
Wheeler Opera House
Cultural Nightlife Aspen
The Wheeler Opera House has been situated on the corner of Hyman Avenue and Mill Street since 1889. With over 350 days of entertainment and programming, the Wheeler is considered an integral component of cultural life in the Aspen community. The Wheeler hosts an incredible array of festivals and other programs including the Aspen Laff Festival, Mountain Summit: Mountain Film in Aspen, the 7908 Aspen Songwriters Festival, and so much more.
Wintersköl
Cultural Family Friendly Aspen Central Core
Wintersköl is a unique Aspen celebration of winter that began in 1951. This nordic festival includes a canine fashion show, a snow sculpting competition called Wintersculpt, a torchlight parade, fireworks show on Aspen Mountain, and lots of other activities and events happening around town.
Woody Creek Community Center
American Cultural Family Friendly Aspen Woody Creek
Woody Creek Community Center (WC3), located next door to the popular Woody Creek Tavern, is a great spot to enjoy a cup of coffee, browse their extensive secondhand library, eat a delicious sandwich, and view the current art exhibition in their small gallery. The WC3 has a lot of offer. Spend the afternoon in a comfortable space right along the Roaring Fork River and Rio Grande Trail.
