Organizers of the premiere annual arts event in the Ute Pass area are serving notice that they intend for the Green Box Arts Festival to continue blazing trails.
On Saturday, April 24, ground was broken for construction on a James Turrell Skyspace, nestled into a hillside near Green Mountain Falls.
Turrell, who was born in 1943, is known for cultivating peaceful and powerful environmental works of art that focus on human perception. His interest in the physical presence of light and space derives, in part, from his Quaker heritage.
His Skyspaces, with ceiling apertures open to the sky, may be understood as creative observatories — a combination of architecture, sculpture and atmosphere perfectly positioned in nature. All Skyspaces are specifically proportioned chambers, perfectly positioned in nature, with apertures in the ceiling open to the sky.
“Through this momentous James Turrell installation, Green Box invites you to contemplate the wonder, calm and connection of something truly unexpected and life-affirming,” Green Box co-founder Christian Keesee said.
The Green Mountain Falls Skyspace will be one of more than 85 the artist has designed and built across the globe. Learn more about his work at jamesturrell.com.
This one will be the first in Colorado and the first to be built into a mountainside. Turrell will title it after it’s completed.
Overlooking a lake and surrounded by aspens atop Red Mountain, the Green Mountain Falls Skyspace will be composed of natural stones and wood species found in Colorado.
A new trailhead will deliver hikers directly to the sheltered Skyspace. Green Box will also partner with local schools and organizations to implement educational programming for future visitors to enjoy at the installation.
The Historic Green Mountain Falls Foundation commissioned the Skyspace installation; it will be unveiled at this summer’s festival, which kicks off on Tuesday, June 22.
Keesee co-founded the festival with Larry Keigwin, founder and artistic director of Keigwin + Company in New York City.
It began as a brief dance residency program in 2006 and became an official festival, offering diverse programming, in 2009. It attracts more than 1,000 attendees each year to the small mountain town.
Green Mountain Falls has been the summer home of Keesee’s family since the early 1900s.
“The Green Box team looks forward to sharing this one-of-a-kind experiential work of art, and the rest of the extraordinary 2021 slate of programming, with our audiences this summer,” he said.
This year’s festival will feature 12 dancers from the acclaimed American Ballet Theatre for a five-week residency.
They’ll conclude their residency with three performances, including a new work created by choreographer Silas Farley.
Cat Balco, a Connecticut artist and writer, will display her latest creation, “Red Over Blue,” at the Lake Street display in Green Mountain Falls.
The annual 4th of July Block Party will take place Saturday, July 3, with upbeat tunes and dance beats from Collective Groove, a collaboration among some of southern Colorado’s “finest musical muscle.”
The Reminders, an award-
winning duo that blends soul, roots music and reggae-tinged hip-hop, will perform at the Saturday, July 10, Block Party.
A variety of classes and camps will ensure everyone will find something interesting, whether they’re into yoga, cooking, wine, dance or silversmithing. Nature lovers can choose from moderate to advanced hikes in the Ute Pass area.
The festival’s popular ArtDesk conversations also return, with free, in-depth discussions of art history, dance, pop culture, music and a Mayor’s Forum.
The festival welcomes new events this year that are free and open to the public: Friday Film Nights, Sunday Sing-Alongs with the Colorado Springs Conservatory and a Pooch Parade at the Lakeview Terrace Theater.
Social distancing measures will be in place.
The full schedule of events and classes is posted at greenboxarts.org. Most events are free to the public.
Registration for classes and culinary events opens June 1 at greenboxarts.org. Registration for camps is available at connect14.org.
Tickets for American Ballet Theatre performances are required and can be reserved beginning June 1 at greenboxarts.org.
