Fifteen years ago, a small arts festival was born in a small mountain town with a big vision. The realization of that vision is larger than ever this summer as the Green Box Arts Festival 2023 nears its two-week run of festivities, June 30 – July 15.
What began with one art installation, one dance performance, one concert and one author workshop has grown into a collection of visual and performing arts experiences that include more than 80 performances, events and classes and truly world-class artists performing a preview of original work that will debut in New York City this fall. (You can read a full overview in Green Box Arts Festival 2023 Is the Biggest Ever.)
Green Mountain Falls may have seemed like an unlikely place for world-class art in 2006 when the New York City-based Keigwin + Company came for a creative residency. But it made perfect sense to Christian Kirkpatrick Keesee, banker, philanthropist and art collector, whose family ties to the area trace back to the early 1900s. Keesee and Keigwin’s vision grew into that first Green Box Arts Festival with one dance performance by Keigwin + Company and Brian Brooks Moving Company, one art installation by Sean McGinnis, one musical performance by the Colorado Springs chapter of the Gospel Music Workshop of America, and author David Lubar providing workshops at the Ute Pass Elementary School and the PPLD East Library.
That festival has grown into a vibrant, year-round incubator of multidisciplinary visual and performing arts that includes arts education, public art installations and artists in residency. The most well known public installation is the James Turrell Skyspace, the first such creation in Colorado by the world-renowned artist. (You can get a preview in our video and article Your Creative Pikes Peak Retreat in Green Mountain Falls.)
The growing Artist in Residence program includes 27 internationally-recognized artists representing a variety of disciplines and talents this year. Each two- to four-week residency offers artists at any stage in their career the opportunity to create new works while living in and engaging with the community of Green Mountain Falls.
“One of the best things about the Artist in Residence program is the ability for artists to dive deeper into their craft in an uninterrupted, beautiful and serene environment,” says Scott RC Levy, Green Box’s executive director. “The town of Green Mountain Falls serves as the perfect place for creatives to escape the demands and noise of everyday life and fully immerse themselves in a community of like-minded individuals.”
That program dovetails with the Green Box Arts Festival, which remains the centerpiece of the Green Box community. For the past three years, the festival has coincided with a residency by what Levy calls “some of the best, world-renowned dance companies.” Those were Ballet Hispanico in 2022 and the American Ballet Theatre in 2021. This year continues the trend with the Paul Taylor Dance Company.
The acclaimed New York City company will be partnering with Larry Keigwin to develop new work that will debut in New York City this fall.
“Paul Taylor Dance Company’s time in Green Mountain Falls is extra exciting,” Levy says. “In addition to the public performances and masterclasses they will be providing our festival-goers, they will be in the rehearsal room with our co-founder, Larry Keigwin, daily, developing a new work that Larry has been commissioned by the company to create which will premiere at Lincoln Center in New York City this fall.”
Green Box Patrons can see a sneak peek of the work at the annual patron party on July 8. A minimum donation of $250 to Green Box provides an invitation to attend that event.
You don’t have to be a full aficionado of the arts to enjoy the Green Box Arts Festival and appreciate the global level of creativity on display there. Levy says Green Box aims for wide variety of events, performances, classes, hikes and other activities for people 3 and older.
“Coming to our campus in Green Mountain Falls for a day, a weekend or for the entire festival are great options to consider,” Levy says. “We pride ourselves on offering a cornucopia of arts activities, most of them free (or with very little cost) every day. And even if a formal Festival event is too much to consider, our audio walking tour, public art and hiking trails are available every day of the year.”
The Green Box Festival features many concerts that can be an especially accessible way to experience the festival. “I’m particularly excited for the musical performances we have on tap at this summer’s festival,” Levy says. “Those feature a diverse group of musicians including composer Marti Epstein, Larry & Joe (who fuse bluegrass with Venezuelan folk songs), the singer-songwriter folk rock diva Lilli Lewis and her trio, Navajo tribal member Delbert Anderson and his jazz quartet, the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony and more.”
Green Box Arts Festival 2023
Read a full overview of the June 30 – July 15 festival in Green Box Arts Festival 2023 Is the Biggest Ever.
For the full schedule and more information, registration for camps and classes, and to purchase performance tickets, visit greenboxarts.org While some events are free, all require registration.
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