The Roaring Fork Valley lost one of its most influential artists on Saturday.
Ro Mead passed away at the age of 78 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Mead was a ceramic artist who was the executive director of the Carbondale Council on Arts and Humanities from 2004 to 2011.
During her time at the Council, she helped establish first Fridays, worked to create the R2 Gallery, and was influential in the growth of Carbondale’s Third Street Center.
Amy Kimberly is the current executive director of CCAH, and worked with Mead. She says the Carbondale Council on Arts and Humanities would be years behind where they are now if it weren’t for Ro Mead’s influence and guidance.
“She was able to rise CCAH up out of a place that was a little more removed from the community,” says Kimberly.
There will be a scholarship established for high school students in Ro’s name.
