Aspen Community Vision

Printed From: http://www.aspencommunityvision.com/page_7

Aspen Idea

Embodied by the phrase "mind, body, spirit," the Aspen Idea is a bedrock concept for the local community. Starting with the formation of the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies, the Aspen Music Festival and the International Design Conference, the Aspen Idea has evolved into a wide range of non-profit groups supporting arts, culture and the health and welfare of local communities.

This section replaces the "Arts Culture and Education" section in the 2000 Aspen Area Community Plan, and attempts to show what's going on in the local world of arts and culture.

The new Dorr-Hosier Center at the Aspen Institute opened in 2007, adding additional capacity for a wide range of events.
The Aspen Music Festival is in the process of planning for an expansion of its school campus on Castle Creek Road.
The Wheeler Opera House has launched the 21st Century Wheeler Master Plan, focused on the potential for new performing arts venues and classrooms on the vacant parcel next to the Wheeler.
The Aspen Art Museum is part of the Zupancis-Galena Master Plan, focusing on a new "signature" art museum at the site of the former Youth Center.
The Aspen School District Theatre added much-needed dressing rooms and a reception area as part of an expansion in 2006. The Red Brick Center for the Arts added a conference room in 2006.
Aspen Film was one of several partners in a major public-private partnership that kept the Isis Theatre operating.

Linkage to other issues

There are precious few issues in the Aspen area that exist in a vacuum. Here are a few topics that are directly related to sustaining the Aspen Idea.

Housing. Like other economic sectors, the arts community struggles to find affordable housing for its staff. The Aspen Music Festival and School finds summer homes for many of its students at the Marolt Ranch Housing complex.

Economics. A 2004 study commissioned by the Red Brick Center for the Arts calculated that total audience expenditures on arts/cultural events (including lodging, restaurants, shopping, recreation) averaged $31.3 million during the summer months and $4.8 million in the winter months.