MEMBER UPDATE
Tell us what’s new and exciting at Carbondale Arts:
We’re about to open the Valley Visual Arts Show on Friday, January 20th. It will run for a month and a half and feature local and regional artists — about 60 artists in total. It’s our longest running show and just such a great community event. After that, our next big thing will be the Green is the New Black fashion extravaganza held March 9-11. We get about 600 people each night for that event and have both local and regional designers who put together incredible lines for the show. It’s a big party with dancers and silk aerialists, and all sorts of awesome artistry. Oh, and the fashion models are all local. So those are the two next big events coming up!
How can members support you:
We’d always love to see other Aspen Business Connect members at our events. And if members are interested in sponsoring an event or know someone interested in sponsoring, that’s always great. I joined Aspen Business Connect to try and connect people from the whole valley to see what we’re doing. We have a lot of local community support but would love to share more of what we’re doing to the broader valley. I’d encourage ABC members to make the drive up this way and check stuff out. Carbondale is a state-designated creative district and our organization is an amplifier for other organizations and creatives in the community. If any other members are looking to get the word out about an artist, or some event they are hosting, they should reach out to us since we have avenues for that! For example, we have a blog with artist opportunities and a newsletter that regularly publishes not just events at Carbondale Arts, but throughout the community. We have many different access points. So in short, we welcome the support of Aspen Business Connect members, just as Carbondale Arts loves to support the local art communities!
Any other changes or trends you’re seeing in Carbondale?
I just started at Carbondale Arts in October, but I’ve lived in the valley since 1999. We’re seeing many of the same changes as in Aspen in terms of rents going up, and restaurants coming and going as a result, but there are still many great things and wonderful events happening. Recently we’ve seen a significant turnover in terms of leadership in the arts and nonprofit sectors here in the valley, and that’s brought a lot of new energies, and new collaborations. It’s too early to say how that’s going to shake out and impact the local art scene, but it’s interesting to watch, and I look forward to seeing what’s next!
