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Intersect Aspen puts the spotlight on local creative leaders, international galleries at the Ice Garden

Art enthusiasts gather at the 2023 Intersect Aspen Art Fair inside the Aspen Ice Garden. The fair returns with a focus on themes like the environment and social consciousness from July 30-Aug. 3, 2024.
Kelsey Brunner
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Courtesy of Intersect Aspen Art and Design Fair
Art enthusiasts gather at the 2023 Intersect Aspen Art Fair inside the Aspen Ice Garden. The fair returns with a focus on themes like the environment and social consciousness from July 30-Aug. 3, 2024.

The Intersect Aspen Art and Design Fair will explore themes like the environment, social consciousness and “the Aspen art journey” — with a host of panels and collaborations at the Aspen Ice Garden next week.

The lineup includes a who’s who of Aspen’s creative scene: Mayor Torre moderates one conversation with Aspen Collective gallerist DJ Watkins and the Red Brick Center for the Arts’ leader Sarah Roy. Artist and gallerist Sam Harvey is a featured panelist in a talk about Aspen’s past and present art community. And landscape artist Ann Mullins serves as moderator for another panel, focused on eco-conscious art and design.

Intersect CEO Tim von Gal says he wanted to raise the level of community engagement, both this year and in future fairs.

“Aspen has not only incredible artists, but has so many dynamic members of this community that are fully engaged in the arts and can really speak in a very, very sophisticated, knowledgeable way about the incredible, subjective nature of art,” von Gal said.

The festival opens on Tuesday, and runs through Saturday, with more than 30 galleries from around the world — including a few local ones, like the Aspen Collective, the Anderson Ranch Arts Center and the Guadalupe Laiz Gallery.

And it takes place during a major week of art events in Aspen, with the Aspen Art Museum’s Art Week and the new Aspen Art Fair at the Hotel Jerome also on the docket.

The city will be a mecca for fine art collectors looking to acquire new pieces, but von Gal said you don’t need to have deep pockets to get in on the action.

“We have an extremely wide range,” von Gal said. “And we know that there are a lot of people who want to come, who may want to just treat this as a museum trip, which is perfect. You know, this is an opportunity for them to see things that they might not normally see.”

A day pass to either Intersect or the Aspen Art Fair runs about the price of a fancy cocktail in town, and several of the Art Week events just require an RSVP.

More information for each program is available on their respective websites: intersectaspen.com, aspenartfair.org, and aspenartmuseum.org. Aspen Public Radio will air coverage from all three programs throughout the week.

Kaya Williams is the Edlis Neeson Arts and Culture Reporter at Aspen Public Radio, covering the vibrant creative and cultural scene in Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley. She studied journalism and history at Boston University, where she also worked for WBUR, WGBH, The Boston Globe and her beloved college newspaper, The Daily Free Press. Williams joins the team after a stint at The Aspen Times, where she reported on Snowmass Village, education, mental health, food, the ski industry, arts and culture and other general assignment stories.