Buckhorn Public Arts moves into former Gravity Haus offices with new program

Buckhorn Public Arts has launched its new Aspen Arts Club, an artist residency program providing dedicated studio space for local artists, in the former Gravity Haus offices in Aspen’s downtown core.

The aim of the Aspen Arts Club is to create what a press release calls “an innovative model for supporting Aspen’s creative community.” For Tim Sack, executive director of Buckhorn Public Arts, this aligns with Buckhorn’s mission to offer inclusive ways to bring people together with art at the center.

“I feel like community is art as a whole,” he told The Aspen Times. “A well thriving community is an artistic expression of humanity itself.”

He added, “For Buckhorn, we’ve always been community builders. The opportunity for us to be able to take over what was an originally beloved community third space … to bring it back to the community is the greatest reward we could ever ask.”

The former Gravity Haus location, at 315 E. Hyman, has seen its unused office spaces transformed into working art studios, with the new program welcoming its first group of eight resident artists July 1.

“Thanks to an 18-month lease, the abandoned offices have been reimagined as studios where artists can participate in six-month residencies, bringing new life to the building as a collaborative arts hub,” the release states.

The first residency runs through Jan. 1, 2027, after which new artists will be able to apply for the following six months.

Artists for the current residency were selected through an open application process, according to the release, with a commitment to accepting a mix of artistic mediums, experience, ages and backgrounds. The inaugural residency includes painters, a sculptor, a macramé artist, an art teacher, two silversmiths, a photographer and a musician.

The release confirms that, for several participants, this program marks the first time they’ve been able to set up a dedicated studio practice outside of their homes and showcase work to the public. 

“In the five years we’ve been running the public art program, we’ve done a lot of amazing things,” Sack said. “Awarding these eight artists the opportunity to have their own space to work and expand their creativity has been by far the most rewarding.”

He noted how he’s seen being granted the space has fueled both the confidence and creativity of the participants, adding, “I’m most excited to see what comes from that. Being able to tie the opportunity to have space to work with the opportunity to sell the work is where the magic happens.”

The Aspen Arts Club is hoping to be “a self-sustaining ecosystem,” according to the release, drawing income from co-working memberships, public events and on-site retail in addition to support from a donor for the studio spaces. The income will go back into Buckhorn Public Arts’ mission to support artists, expand access to the arts and create opportunities for community engagement. 

“The Aspen Art Club is about creating more than just workspace,” Sack said in the release. “It’s about building a community where artists can create alongside one another, share ideas, and grow in their practice. By connecting co-working, events, and nonprofit arts programming, we’ve created a model that supports both artists and the broader Aspen community.”

Sack emphasized that effectively leveraging a membership model is necessary in order to sustain the residency model, calling it a “key to the whole program.” The blended model will have an exclusivity component that will then enable the space to welcome other public artists — like yoga teachers, dance and movement instructors, speakers and more — for community enjoyment.

“That model is very exciting to me,” Sack said.

The Aspen Arts Club is part of what the release calls “a larger collective bringing new vitality to the same address.” The building now also hosts Tattoo Aspen, with the new Eddy’s Marketplace opening later this month in the former Unravel Coffee location. The Grove will also launch Aug. 1 in the lower level of the building to offer an affordable co-working space for remote workers, in addition to a multi-use lounge and event space for organizations.

The Grove’s activations and events will generate proceeds that will help support the Aspen Arts Club, the release confirms.

Mischief Vintage will also debut in the building, as a vintage goods and clothing shop and “artistic expression” of Shiloh Uhlir, according to the release. The shop will integrate with the residency program as well, by offering the artists a retail space to offer their goods.

“Buckhorn Public Arts envisions the Aspen Art Club as the beginning of a long-term investment in the local arts, providing affordable studio space, cultivating collaboration among artists, and creating new opportunities for the public to engage with the creatives through future open studios, workshops, community events, and accessible shopping in the retail space,” the release states. “As Aspen continues to evolve, Buckhorn Public Arts hopes the model can serve as an example of how communities can invest in artists through innovative, financially sustainable approaches that benefit both creators and the public.”

For Sack, he’s hoping the momentum of putting so many creatives together and building community from that will continue well beyond the current 18-month lease.

“We envision this to hopefully be a program that continues for years in the future,” he said.

For more information about the Aspen Art Club and Buckhorn Public Arts, visit buckhornpublicarts.com.