All Arts Week Will Elevate Steamboat Arts
Dancer David Keingatti at Perry-Mansfield. Photo by Brooke Welch, courtesy of Art with Altitude.
Story by Elainna Hemming
While summer brings people flocking to the Yampa for water sports and racing to hike and bike in forested trails, it’s also a time when the arts flourish. Over the years, the local community has incorporated events to highlight creativity: First Friday ArtWalk, the weekly Farmers Market, Art in the Park and now, All Arts Week. Spearheaded by Dagny McKinley and Jennifer Grathwohl, All Arts Week will take place for the first time this year from Friday, July 26 to Sunday, August 4. It’s a 10 day immersive event that will elevate the entire Steamboat Springs arts community.
The concept was first suggested four years ago by The Performing Arts Alliance, a collaboration across multiple performing arts nonprofit organizations; but the capacity to host the complex event was lacking. This year, Undiscovered Earth, an organization that stimulates collaboration and innovation within Northwest Colorado’s art community, was able to support the project and bring the vision to fruition. The event will feature over 30 experiences, brought to life by 100 artists and 22 participating organizations, including The Tread of Pioneers Museum, Elevation Dance Studio, Strings Music Pavilion and Steamboat Creates, to name a few. Hosting events like literary activities, film viewings and heritage talks – and much more – the week will have something for any niche connoisseur of the arts.
The festivities kick off with an opening reception at Steamboat Art Museum. “The venue speaks to the quality of the art here,” Dagny says. The museum’s annual event “The Painted Words,” will also be incorporated into All Arts Week on Thursday, August 1 when writers of all levels will orally present their stories to the public. All Arts Week attendees will receive a free anthology of the written works
Throughout the 10 days, many local businesses will host events. Off the Beaten Path’s happy hour, surrounding guests with books and the cozy atmosphere of a longstanding local store, will be a literary enthusiast's dream. Newly opened retail store SBNY is offering VIP tickets with exclusive shopping and artist experiences, including the gift of pieces by local artists. During the artist’s studio tours, guests will get a chance to watch artists create firsthand, asking questions about their process while watching it unfold in real time. The week will close with a roller disco skating party at the base of Mount Werner.
For Dagny, the event is meant to shift the view of local Steamboat arts. “Very few people know the extent of the arts scene here,” she says. “We have opera, symphony, theater, musical acts, dance performances, painters, glass makers, sculptors, and a literary scene that rivals some of the biggest cities in the country – not to mention the unique history and heritage of the area, with an incredibly beautiful backdrop in nature.” All Arts Week is intended to showcase this local talent and the broad spectrum of art activity to both Steamboat locals and tourists.
Steamboat’s prospering arts scene is enough to be seen on the national scale; the town continually ranks between second and third on the National Creative Vitality Index for a location of its size. Economically, the event should foster further tourism related to arts and culture, as these visitors tend to stay longer and spend more on lodging, dining and retail services. “We have Olympians of the arts but most people don’t know that,” Dagny says.
To purchase tickets and view an events calendar, visit www.undiscoveredearth.org