Showcasing the work of local artists, the Red Brick Center for the Arts will hold its annual Summer Arts and Culture Celebration from 4-6 p.m. Thursday on the Red Brick lawn.
Artist Wendi Schneider’s “Egret Reflected” can be viewed as part of the Red Brick Center for the Arts’ Summer Arts and Culture Celebration from 4-6 p.m. Thursday.
The event will feature live music, theater performances, art activations, open artist studios, light refreshments — and free margaritas. There also will be live music by the Josefina Mendez Trio and the JAS Aspen Student Street Horns. A series of short films will be presented by Aspen Film.
Theatre Aspen will offer a sneak peek from its upcoming production, “Seussical Jr: Oh the Thinks You Can Think.”The Aspen Polynesian Dancers will perform and host a station where crowns are made from flowers.
Local presenting artists will include Nika Meyers, Art Burrows, Leah Potts, Caitlin Dunn, Tammie Lane, Michael Bonds, Eric Brownstein, Nancy Kullgren, Lorraine Davis and Mindy Vernon. To cap it off, visitors will be able to participate in hands-on art activities.
“This is our fourth year doing this celebration event,” said Sarah Roy, executive director of the Red Brick Center. “It’s a way for us to highlight and celebrate not only the nonprofits that have office space and live here in Red Brick, but also shine a light on our artists that are here in the center. It’s an opportunity for the public to come in and engage in activities around the arts through performances, interactive activities, and meaningful connections.”
The event is being held in partnership with the Aspen Resort Chamber Association.
“This annual event brings together our member businesses, the local workforce, arts and culture partners and community members to honor what we value in Aspen, like personal connections, inspiration from our natural surroundings and fostering an environment where Aspen can thrive,” said Sarah Reynolds Lasser, vice president of business development at ACRA, in a news release.
Visitors will be able to attend the 2025 Colorado Juried Exhibition, which is currently on display until Aug. 2. Becca Hoffman of 74th Arts and Bob Chase of Hexton Gallery, co-founders of the Aspen Art Fair, curated the exhibit, which is a biennial affair.
They received over 100 submissions from artists all over Colorado; 28 works were chosen for the exhibit. It features innovative works that experiment with materials, critique contemporary society and explore diverse themes such as motherhood, travel and the perception of light and color.
Awards were given to Erin Morrison, Shelly Marolt and Heather Schulte for first, second and third place, respectively. Honorable mentions went to Chloe Wilwerding and Shawna Miller.
“It has been such an incredible joy to participate in this exhibition as I have been working among this community of artists for the past two years in the capacity of keeping a studio at [Studio for Arts and Works] in Carbondale and managing The Gallery at The Art Base [in Basalt],” Morrison said. “‘Moon Summoning’ was my interpretation of watching the early evening moon rise, that period when the spring snowfall becomes less frequent and the silent chill of the valley after the sunset seems to hold the pink moon in place, casting a softened light on the dramatic hillsides, the still beauty of a moment to sharpen our awareness of nature’s romance.”
Erin Morrison’s piece “Moon Summoning” earned first place in the 2025 Colorado Juried Exhibition, which is currently on display at the Red Brick Center for the Arts.
Also on on display at the Red Brick is Denver artist Wendi Schneider’s show, “Reverent Alchemy.” Schneider is a multimedia artist whose work is hyperrealistic and captures the subtle beauty in nature. The show includes images she completed from 2012 to 2020.
“My work is rooted in the serenity I find in the sinuous elegance of organic forms,” she said. “It’s a celebration of the senses anchored in the visual — an exploration of my spiritual connection to our vulnerable natural world and the transcendence I find in its beauty. In those magical moments when my eyes and essence are engaged, I photograph what I feel, as much as see.
“The images are layered digitally with color and texture to blur the boundaries between the real and imagined, inspired by my background in painting, art history and collecting turn of the 20th century art and objects,” Schneider continued.
She said Red Brick is a crucial resource for artists all over Colorado.
“The Red Brick Center for the Arts is a vital hub for artistic expression, mirroring the crucial role that community and dedicated workspaces play in fostering creativity,” Schneider said. “It offers an invaluable ecosystem for artists working across diverse media. More than just a beautifully and thoughtfully designed building; it’s a living organism that nourishes the artistic spirit. By providing a space for community interaction and offering dedicated spaces for both creation and exhibition, it empowers artists to flourish. For an artist, the opportunity to showcase their work to the public is not merely about validation; it’s about dialogue.
“Exhibitions provide a platform for artists to share their perspectives, provoke thought, and engage with viewers. This interaction is vital for an artist’s development, offering fresh insights and broadening the reach of their message. It also enriches the cultural landscape of Aspen, providing residents and visitors with access to diverse artistic expressions,” she added.
Another feature at Thursday’s event will be the chance for visitors to learn about and engage with the new program administered by Aspen Public Arts, which will have a tent on the Red Brick lawn.
APA will be handing out activity kits for a do-it-yourself tour of public arts projects it has sponsored around town, including Sanford Biggers’ sculpture “Unsui (Mirror)” in Paepcke Park, Anthony Garcia Sr.’s “Galena Asphalt Art” pavement mural (an arts-meets-public safety project); and Adam Frezza and Terri Chiao’s “Charm Valley,” a seven-piece sculptural installation at Francis Whitaker Park.
“We have put together these really cool, zippered pouches that are made from upcycled banners, so that anybody, a group of friends or a family, can go from site to site and have an experience at each one of these public arts projects that connects them closer to the artwork and the artist,” said Lara Whitley, who leads the Aspen Public Art program for the city.
All the activities on Thursday will take place amid food and beverages. Suerte Tequila is sponsor and there will be free margaritas.
“It’s just a great evening of music, performance and art,” Roy said. “We want people to know that Red Brick Center for the Arts is their space, it’s their community art center where they’re always welcome.
“We hope people are inspired by all the work that our great non-profits are doing in our community, and that they get a deeper appreciation for our local artists and how they enrich our lives,” she added. “Finally, I hope they come away with wanting to jump into making art, even if you’re not an artist, to sit down and take a try at watercolor painting or do a collage. I think that act of creating opens ourselves up. Making art is good for our mind, body and spirit. It’s good for our soul.”