As a Colorado Springs resident, there’s a chance you’ve ventured west on Highway 24, seeking fresh powder in one of our beloved ski towns.
As you meander past quirky Manitou and swerve through Ute Pass, you may have noticed a sign on the side of the road just 10 miles outside of town reading: Green Mountain Falls. And before now, you may have just thought of it as nothing more than another quaint little Colorado mountain town.
But... Guess What?
This little town is home to a thriving, year-round arts organization that promotes and fosters space for multi and interdisciplinary performing and visual arts. It’s a treasured haven for renowned national and international artists and it has housed some of the most distinguished dance companies in the world.
“Green Box Arts is an immersive art experience existing at the intersection of art and nature,” explains Executive Director Scott RC Levy.
Founded by Christian Kirkpatrick Keesee, a businessman, philanthropist, and longtime Green Mountain Falls summer visitor, and Larry Keigwin, founder of New York Dance Company Keigwan + Company, Green Box Arts began as an idea for a summer retreat in a fresh and beautiful mountain town. It has evolved into a thriving, year-round arts organization. Speckled throughout the town are art installations, performance spaces, studios, and dedicated housing for artists who come from all over the world to nurture their creative processes and explore new artistic directions – all inspired by the beauty and solace of Green Mountain Falls.
Annual Arts Festival + More
For a long time, Green Box Arts was the mountain town’s best-kept secret. It’s now nationally renowned and continues to bloom with art, thanks in part to the Green Box Arts Annual Arts Festival. Officially launched in 2009, the multi-week festival has become a summer staple – a multi-disciplinary cornucopia of arts performances, exhibitions, classes, camps and celebrations honoring art.
Green Mountain Falls is also home to iconic light artist James Turrell’s Skyspace. Built into the side of a mountain, Skyspace is an atrium that was designed to allow you to undergo an immersive sky experience. At sunrise and sunset, you can be enveloped in a kinetic experience as a sequence of light that affects your optical nerves changes the colors of the room around you.
In addition to its art exhibits, performance venues, and preserved historical landmarks, Green Mountain Falls also offers over 20 miles of magnificent hiking trails.
“Green Box Art is Green Mountain Falls,” explains Levy. “We exist to promote the beauty of this town and foster the art that is inspired by it.”
So, the next time you’re driving up Hwy 24, pull off at that sign and go check out the wonderment of Green Mountain Falls.
Website: https://greenboxarts.org/
Facebook: @greenbox.arts
Instagram: @greenboxarts
