By Cindy Hirschfeld
Images courtesy of Anderson Ranch Arts Center
The town of Snowmass Village and the vast ski area in its midst have grown into one of North America’s preeminent year-round resorts since the lifts started spinning in December 1967. Likewise, the village’s Anderson Ranch Arts Center has become among the country’s foremost creative hubs for artists and collectors since its inception in 1966. This synchronicity was both intentional and serendipitous.
As Snowmass developers planned the fledgling resort, they asked celebrated ceramicist and Aspenite Paul Soldner to establish an arts center. He chose a former sheep ranch in the Brush Creek Valley as the venue, with ceramics and photography as its first disciplines. But from those humble beginnings, when artists pulled double duty as arts center stewards—shoveling manure out of farm sheds, hosting potluck suppers, and crashing out in sleeping bags—it would have been a stretch to envision the Anderson Ranch of today.
Now a sophisticated working arts center, the ranch also embraces sculpture, painting, woodworking, printmaking, digital fabrication, and more under its creative umbrella. Both emerging and internationally renowned creators, as well as the public, come for a year-round slate of workshops, lectures, and exhibits, plus beloved annual events like an art auction and community picnic. More recently, expanded and new programming aims to include more artists and more community members within the ranch’s fold.
What hasn’t changed: the idyllic five-acre setting. Many of the original rustic cabins and barns remain (joined by outbuildings moved from other local ranches), but they’ve been transformed into studios (open 24/7), classrooms, galleries, and dormitories. Newer architecture pays homage to the center’s agricultural roots. Meanwhile, the craggy peaks of the Elk Range soar in the background. “It’s magical,” says Liz Ferrill, a longtime artistic and program director at the ranch, who lives on campus with her husband and their two young children.
The visiting artists program reflects the ranch’s multidisciplinary ethos, embracing sculpture, painting, woodworking, printmaking, digital fabrication, and more.
That landscape also inspires those who stay at the ranch as part of its artists-in-residence program. “Being around nature has affected me and my work,” says Andy Van Dinh, a Virginia-based artist who spent five weeks there in March 2023 working on a large-scale drawing and embroidery project. “Even if it was just going for a walk if I was having a hard time in the studio, being in nature reenergized me.”
The residency program has been a signature offering since 1986 but continues to evolve. The ranch offers the space and support, including lodging and meals, for 16 artists at a time to fully immerse themselves in their craft. An interdisciplinary approach means that residents can expand their practices through other mediums, too. “A painter could go to the ceramics studio and try throwing a pot,” says Ferrill, who oversees the program. “It helps them to think about other avenues their work could take.”
More recently, the digital fabrication lab has become a hub for many residents, enabling them to experiment with incorporating emerging technology into their work. “I’ve seen them use it so much,” Ferrill says. “It’s really changed our residency program.”
To accommodate a broader swath of artists, the program was modified a few years ago to offer five-week stays in addition to the traditional 10-week sessions. Soon, the ranch hopes to offer residencies that welcome artists and their families.
Another initiative to bolster inclusivity centers on increased outreach to the region’s Latinx community. Says program coordinator Olivia Martinez, “Our strengths lie in our artists, and we want to share that with other communities who haven’t historically been a part of the ranch. We have a responsibility to ensure that our programming aligns with the values and culture of our community.”
The ranch now hosts two Latino or Latina visiting artists each fall, who get studio time and help lead a workshop for local educators. (Painter and printmaker Ricky Armendariz and digital artist Rafael Fajardo kicked off the new programming in fall 2022.) Other components include an online Latinx arts curriculum for teachers to use, school field trips, and student scholarships for summer workshops. Plus, an annual Hispanic heritage celebration takes place at the ranch in September, gathering the community for art-making activities, live music and dancing, a performance by Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s Folklórico ensemble, and food vendors. The event drew some 600 people in 2022.
In addition to better serving the valley’s Latinx community, another aim of the new programming is to increase awareness of contemporary Latinx artists among art lovers of all backgrounds. “People are so used to hearing about Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, and that’s great, but there are living Latinx artists today who are making incredible work,” Martinez says.
The outreach isn’t limited to fall, either. Leticia Guzman Ingram, a teacher at Basalt High School who works with newcomers—kids who have been in the U.S. less than six months—was able to take advantage of a ranch visit in March 2023 by Maria De Los Angeles, who will return in autumn as a Latinx visiting artist alongside architect Ronald Rael. The assistant director of painting and printmaking at the Yale School of Art, De Los Angeles guided Ingram’s students through a project to design custom sweatshirts over nearly three weeks. “She was a great role model,” Ingram says, noting that De Los Angeles arrived in the U.S. as a young undocumented immigrant. “Hearing her story and how she’s now teaching at a prestigious university in the U.S. was inspiring.”
When Paul Soldner founded Anderson Ranch, he was adamant about forging a sense of community at the arts center. The Latinx programming builds on that vision. Martinez hopes that more locals of diverse backgrounds will feel comfortable visiting the ranch or making art there. “Whether you’re an artist or just having fun, art brings people together,” she says. “It’s a wonderful way to share stories and have amazing conversations. It’s the beginning of a dialogue.”
