When Aspen was a rough-and-tumble mining camp in the late 19th century, the Wheeler Opera House, the cultural hub of downtown, hosted traveling Shakespeare companies, vaudeville, burlesque, concerts, and of course, operas. Decades later, when Aspen was on its way to becoming a ski destination, the Aspen Music Festival’s music tent, erected in 1949, was the symbol and main venue of a cultural boom that in its early years eclipsed skiing. The point is, arts and culture have always been intertwined with the history, lifestyle, and values of the local community. That’s reflected in the staggering number of arts and cultural events—likely more than any other mountain resort community of its size—presented mostly by an equally staggering number of nonprofit organizations (over 200). And while today, cultural experiences can be had any time of the year, summer is when calendars are full to bursting and the talent—local and imported—really shines. So, how’s one supposed to navigate this embarrassment of cultural riches? We’ve separated the options (not all of them, mind you) into three broad categories, taking a cue from the town’s mining past. First is the Mother Lode: season-long quintessential events that attract the masses and have become part and parcel of Aspen and Snowmass’s cultural identity. Next are the Local Treasures: well-established, local organizations that host reliably splendid events throughout the summer. And finally, the Hidden Gems: lower-key festivals, organizations presenting a limited number of events, and under-the-radar or hyperlocal offerings. We hope you’ll use this guide to capitalize on an artfully entertaining summer. 

Food & Wine Classic

June 16–18 
classic.foodandwine.com

Perennially sold out months in advance, the Food & Wine Classic this summer celebrates 40 years of bringing culinary leaders, wine experts, and other industry connoisseurs to Aspen for three days of tastings, seminars, and cooking demonstrations. It all started when local Gary Plumley, who owns the Of Grape and Grain liquor store in downtown Aspen, had the idea to fill a quiet early summer weekend with a wine-tasting festival. The event grew quickly, soon gained the sponsorship of Food & Wine magazine, and today serves as the annual kickoff to Aspen’s busy summer event season. Foodies and oenophiles with the coveted passes (volunteering can be a way to secure one) benefit from the event’s reduced capacity, since COVID, which means less jockeying for space in the Grand Tasting Tent and more available seats in the seminars. This year’s talent includes culinary experts Justin Chapple, Maneet Chauhan, Gregory Gourdet, Tiffany Derry, Kwame Onwuachi, Kristen Kish, and the winner of Bravo’s Top Chef: World All-Stars. Wine and cocktail tastings will be led by experts such as Alba Huerta, Mark Oldman, Laura Werlin, Amanda McCrossin, Anthony Giglio, June Rodil, Nate Ganapathi, Wanda Mann, Bobby Stuckey, Sabato Sagaria, and Ray Isle.

Aspen Music Festival

June 29–Aug 20 
aspenmusicfestival.com

It’s perhaps appropriate that the theme of this summer’s Aspen Music Festival performance season is The Adoration of the Earth. One of Aspen’s original cultural institutions, the classical music nonprofit was born in 1949 in a bucolic meadow near the Roaring Fork River outside of downtown Aspen, from which stunning views of the local mountains abound. Today, the venue for many of the festival’s 400-plus performances is the same—the open-air Benedict Music Tent and neighboring Harris Concert Hall blend into and reflect their natural surroundings. And while climate change is increasingly wreaking havoc worldwide, why not celebrate and bring attention to the wonders of our one and only celestial home? 

“There’s no better place than Aspen to be thinking about the importance of our place in nature, and how we handle our place in nature,” says AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher.

Whether it’s from one of the Music Tent’s 2,000 seats, or outside on a picnic blanket or low chair on the Listening Lawn, a Sunday afternoon Aspen Festival Orchestra Concert is one of the most soul-stirring experiences of an Aspen summer. And what more appropriate way to open the eight-Sunday series than with Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring—the first movement of which gave its name to the Festival season theme. The July 2 program begins with the orchestra warming up with Brian Raphael Nabors’ Of Earth and Sky: Tales from the Motherland, a four-movement work that transports listeners on a musical journey to different regions of Africa.

Concerts on July 23 and 30 feature works by Gustav Mahler, who had a profound connection to the earth and believed in the transcendent power of becoming one with nature. 

On August 13, audiences are sure to be transported with An Atlas of Deep Time, a geologic musical journey into Earth’s 4.5-billion-year history by John Luther Adams, whose works “consistently engage with the natural world and how mankind intervenes and, in many ways, destroys the natural world,” says Fletcher. Closing out the festival on August 20 is Joseph Haydn’s exuberant, life-affirming oratorio, The Creation, about the Biblical creation of the earth, featuring the Seraphic Fire Professional Choral Institute choir. 

Fridays spotlight the Aspen Chamber Symphony, at 5:30 p.m. in the Benedict Music Tent—another popular time to camp out on the Listening Lawn (bring layers for chilly mountain evenings). The series starts on June 30 with conductor Jane Glover and Aspen alumna Joyce Yang on piano performing Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Sixth Symphony, among others. It continues with pianist and composer Peng-Peng Gong’s commissioned piece and performance on August 11, a portrait of Aspen celebrating nature. And it concludes in style on August 18 with five pieces, including one addressing the California wildfires, another inspired by field recordings ranging from bird songs to urban sirens, renowned pianist Yefim Bronfman and violinist Robert McDuffie, and concluding with Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite.

In its second full post-COVID season, the Aspen Opera Theater and VocalARTS program stages two productions in the Benedict Music Tent: Jimmy López Bellido’s Bel Canto (July 21), only its second staging due to the large orchestra and chorus required; and Mozart’s Idomeneo (August 17).

One particular recital highlight is America/Beautiful (August 5), a project of pianist Min Kwon, who challenged more than 70 American composers to compose variations of “America the Beautiful,” painting a sonic tapestry of her adopted country and all its complexities.  

Special events this season include bass sensations Christian McBride and Edgar Meyer (July 22); the film music of Star Wars, E.T., and other classics by John Williams (July 25); and the Emerson String Quartet’s farewell to Aspen concert (August 15).

Finally, the Aspen Music Festival is known for its many free offerings, among them the traditional patriotic Fourth of July band concert, and a concert for the whole family—this year pre-concert activities for young children lead into the July 18 performance, combining music and storytelling, of Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw’s The Mountain That Loved a Bird. 

Don’t miss the top-of-the-world vibe of Music on the Mountain, chamber music performed atop Ajax on Saturdays at 1 p.m. And while wandering around downtown Aspen, keep an ear open for impromptu street performances by Aspen Music School students, particularly on the patio fronting Paradise Bakery.

Jazz Aspen Snowmass

June 22–Sept 3 
jazzaspensnowmass.org

Inspired by a jazz festival in a medieval village in southwest France, Jazz Aspen Snowmass has been bringing world-class and emerging artists to a variety of Roaring Fork Valley settings for over 30 years. The Jazz June Experience (June 22–25) musically kicks off the summer event season, bringing a classic mix of jazz, soul, blues, world music, and more to 12 venues around downtown Aspen. At the other end of the season, the Labor Day Weekend Experience is a local favorite way to close out the summer, with some of the biggest names in music gracing one of Colorado’s most picturesque stages in Snowmass Town Park. And, in between, the JAS Café series of intimate performances gives audiences an up-close-and-personal experience with six diverse performers.

Here’s what you need to know about this summer’s Jazz Aspen Snowmass shows: First, if you’re interested in any of the performances, don’t wait to buy your tickets. Thanks to the caliber of the talent and oftentimes the size of the venues, any show can sell out early. Arguably most popular are three-day passes to the Labor Day weekend festival; in 2022 both general admission and VIP passes sold out in early June. It’s also not uncommon for single-day tickets to Labor Day weekend shows to sell out—the bigger the name, the faster they go. JAS Café tickets can also be a hot commodity—the venue for this summer’s shows, the Rooftop at the Aspen Art Museum, seats just over 100 people. At press time, three JAS Café shows are already waitlisted.

JAS June Experience

June 22–25 

The June Experience seems to have found a good home in its current iteration, with multiple staggered shows daily taking over 12 venues just a short stroll from each other in downtown Aspen. Settings include coffee shops, nightclubs, hotels, and venerated performance venues the Wheeler Opera House and the Belly Up. 

Artists performing over the four days include New Orleans quintet Galactic, organist Tony Monaco, Brazilian jazz pianist and vocalist Eliane Elias, the swinging Django Festival Allstars, funk and soul man Black Joe Lewis, jazz-funk revivalists The Greyboy Allstars with Karl Denson, and Grammy-winning former Rolling Stones back-up vocalist Lisa Fischer. The weekend closes with a New Orleans brunch featuring the Rebirth Brass Band. In addition to entry to most shows, VIP pass holders get access to a VIP tent with a full catered dinner, open bars, and a private show each night. General admission tickets can be purchased for each show, as can passes for each day and a two-day pass for Friday and Saturday. 

JAS Café

July 7–9; Aug 18–20 

The JAS Café’s six summer performances are clustered over two summer weekends. The series opens July 7 and 8 with Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Shelly Berg and his trio, plus special guests. Friday night features multifaceted blues, R&B, and jazz vocalist Billy Valentine while on Saturday, Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Catherine Russell joins Berg. The weekend closes Sunday, July 9, with Flamenco guitarist Jose Luis de la Paz and his trio, including flute and percussion.

For the August shows, vocalist Jacqui Naylor returns to JAS Café to perform a mix of jazz, folk-rock, and adult alternative on Friday night (August 18). On Saturday, feel the vibrations from Grammy-winning electric bassist Marcus Miller, whose repertoire includes funk, soul, jazz, R&B, and groove—plus a lot of social justice work. Closing out the weekend on Sunday night is Davina and the Vagabonds, a rollicking quintet with arresting vocals whose music lends itself to the Great American Songbook.

All shows are at the airy, modern Rooftop at the Aspen Art Museum, with two performances each night.

JAS Labor Day Weekend Experience

Sept 1–3 

From its beginnings high on a Snowmass ski slope in 1995, the Labor Day festival has been a perennial summer highlight. Artists who have performed at this event—held almost exclusively at Snowmass Town Park—regularly fill stadiums: From Ray Charles and Bob Dylan to Ziggy Marley, Sheryl Crow, and David Byrne (to name a few).

This year’s billing is no exception. Headliners are alternative folk band The Lumineers on Friday, contemporary country quintet Old Dominion on Saturday, and rockers the Foo Fighters on Sunday. Opening acts include singer-songwriters Grace Potter and James Bay, country rock duo the Brothers Osborne, the soulful Jade Jackson, and rock icon Billy Idol.

Friday’s show, featuring two acts, starts at 6 p.m., while on Saturday and Sunday, the first act goes on at 3 p.m. More than just a concert series, though, the Labor Day festival is indeed an experience—a gathering of friends for many regular attendees, who stake out their favorite spot on the lawn with tarps and camp chairs and dance the days and evenings away. VIP pass holders get access to a tent with a range of gourmet food options and open bars, while general admission tickets include multiple food and beverage vendors in the JAS Village, a side stage music lounge, and kids’ activities. Top-notch music and spectacular views—often including rainbows—are available to all.

Theatre Aspen

June 22–Sept 14 
theatreaspen.org

Like several other local arts and cultural institutions, Theatre Aspen’s location is a major part of the experience. Idyllically situated between the Roaring Fork River and Aspen’s largest park, Rio Grande Park, the Hurst Theatre seats 199 people in an intimate performance tent—appropriate for Broadway-caliber productions while surrounded by Aspen’s unique natural features. 
And like its venue, the nonprofit organization formerly called Aspen Theatre in the Park has grown—in its scope and offerings. This summer’s mainstage shows—Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (June 22–July 8), Doubt: A Parable (July 14–29), and Rent (August 4–26)—are all award-winning productions brought to life by top-notch talent. 

And there’s more. The Summer Cabaret Series, a chef’s dinner or brunch followed by a performance of Broadway and pop favorites, takes place at the Hotel Jerome on July 2, August 6, and August 13. Theatre Aspen partners with the Aspen Music Festival and School to co-present Terrence McNally’s play, Master Class (starring Phylicia Rashad), on July 9 and 10. And from September 7 to 14, Solo Flights festival gives theater lovers an up-close-and-personal look at one-person shows in development.

Snowmass Free Concert Series 

June 15–Aug 24 
gosnowmass.com/activity/summer-music-series

This series is undeniably a local favorite. For 31 years, Fanny Hill (a gentle ski slope in the winter) has been the place to be on Thursday evenings, when a spectrum of musical styles fill the mountain air, and families and friends, young and old, locals and visitors dance, lounge, chat, sing along, laugh, eat, drink, and enjoy this unique mountain town experience.

Shows start at 6:30 p.m., so make sure to plan dinner. Grab a bite before or after, to draw out the evening, or pack a picnic—many local restaurants offer takeout for the occasion. While food and sealed, non-alcoholic beverages are allowed in the venue, you’ll need to fill your reusable water bottle and buy beer, wine, or cocktails at the bars on site. 

As for the musical acts, event producers have three decades of experience choosing bands that know how to please the crowd and make people want to dance. This summer’s highlights: Don Chicharron (June 15), Peruvian chicha mixed with rock, psychedelic, and Western influences, a truly original musical experience; Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble (June 29), Creole soul with blues vocals led by an accordion; and Chicago Farmer (July 20), traditional good time country music.

Anderson Ranch Arts Center

andersonranch.org

Founded in 1966 by noted ceramist Paul Soldner, Anderson Ranch Arts Center today is one of the country’s premier art-making destinations. Every summer, this delightful campus of vintage refurbished ranch buildings hosts artists from all over the country—among them sculptors, painters, woodworkers, photographers, and ceramists—in a wide range of workshops to further their crafts. 

Long a hub for small events featuring artists in residence, in recent years Anderson Ranch has expanded its recognition of key figures in the art world. The organization’s Summer Series: Featured Artists & Conversation explores the works of major creators and curators, including thought-provoking dialogues that deepen our understanding of the meaning of art. This year’s summer series runs from July 6 to August 3 and features painter Rebecca Morris (July 6), mixed-media artist Mickalene Thomas (July 20), and sculptor, photographer, and video artist Paul Pfeiffer (July 27), among others.

During Recognition Week (July 10–15), visual and sound artist Christian Marclay and curator and patron Dana Farouki are honored in a series of events benefiting the Ranch’s educational programs. Highlights include the Recognition Dinner on July 13 and a longtime beloved tradition, the Annual Art Auction and Community Picnic—free and open to the public—on July 15.

Aspen Art Museum

aspenartmuseum.org

You can’t miss the Aspen Art Museum in downtown Aspen. Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Shigeru Ban designed the bold, woven-wood building at the corner of Spring and Hyman. Walk right in—admission is perpetually free when the museum is open Tuesday through Sunday—and enjoy the spectacular views of Aspen Mountain from the Rooftop Café, along with, of course, world-class art.

Twenty of Florian Krewer’s paintings are displayed throughout two galleries in the German artist’s first-ever solo museum exhibition in the United States. On view through September 24, everybody rise takes its name from a 2019 painting showing young people in a moment of embrace. Krewer, who studied under Peter Doig and now lives in New York, often explores the tensions between people’s private lives and social identities.

Multifaceted artist Jeffrey Gibson’s work incorporates garments, sculpture, painting, video, and performance—often in vibrant colors and patterns. Of Choctaw and Cherokee descent, Gibson’s exhibition and video performance (through November 5), The Spirits Are Laughing, evolved from Indigenous kinship philosophy, the idea that the land—and everything else in our surroundings—is an extension of oneself, an equal living entity. 

Aspen Ideas Festival

June 21–30 
aspenideas.org

Over 10 days every summer, the contemplative, Herbert Bayer-designed campus housing the nonprofit Aspen Institute springs to heady life, hosting some 300 speakers and 3,000 attendees for the Aspen Ideas Festival and Aspen Ideas: Health. This monumental convening brings today’s top thinkers and doers—political leaders, scientists, philosophers, artists, activists, and academics—to engage in discussion with each other and their audiences on important issues and ideas, making connections and ideally spurring action to further the Institute’s mission of realizing a just and equitable society. 

Program tracks for this year's Aspen Ideas Festival (June 24-30) include We the People and Life Well Lived, while the preceding Health festival (June 21–24) explores themes such as The Healing Economy and Science of Tomorrow. Speakers run the gamut: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases former director Anthony Fauci, actor Rainn Wilson, Brooklyn Nets owner Clara Wu Tsai, author Kwame Alexander, singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett, Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist John Mather, and the CEOs of Chevron, General Motors, Uber, and Patagonia.

It’s not cheap to attend: three-day passes to Health and each of the two Ideas Festivals are $2,200 and $5,000, respectively. But there are discounts for students and those under 40, and many sessions can be attended with individual public tickets, while free live streams of select sessions are offered. There is a way to get the big ideas for free, too: most sessions are recorded, so videos eventually become available on aspenideas.org, while select sessions can be heard in the Aspen Ideas To Go podcast.  

New this year is a public art project in conjunction with the City of Aspen. Local artist Chris Erickson is designing a pavement mural to be installed, with painting help from the public, by the Wheeler Opera House at the intersection of Mill and Hyman, on the opening weekend of Aspen Ideas Festival (June 24–26).

Aspen Words

aspenwords.org

Aspen’s literary nonprofit, now a program of the Aspen Institute, connects and inspires people through the power of stories. It brings writers, poets, and wordsmith professionals of all stripes to Aspen through several programs.

One of those is the Writers in Residence program, which, in conjunction with the Catto Shaw Foundation, invites writers to spend three weeks at a time in nearby Woody Creek, to focus on works in progress. Part of the deal is that the writers give free public talks. This year’s Writers in Residence events include fiction and nonfiction writer Gina Balibrera in July (date TBD) and Indigenous Metis writer and physician Brittany Penner on August 17.

During the Summer Words writers conference and literary festival (June 18–23), panel discussions and craft talks by faculty are ticketed events open to the public. This year’s faculty includes Luis Alberto Urrea, Ashley C. Ford, poet Major Jackson, novelist Katie Kitamura, and children’s author Erin Entrada Kelly, along with several agents and editors.

The Book Ball (June 20), Aspen Words’ summer fundraiser and gala, features literary icon Margaret Atwood, author of more than 50 books, including The Handmaid’s Tale and its sequel, The Testaments.

Aspen Film

aspenfilm.org

With its acquisition of the Isis Theatre in downtown Aspen in the fall of 2022, Aspen Film acquired a permanent home for its programming for the first time in the nonprofit’s 40-plus-year history. With its professional commercial film screens and sales of movie-watching staples like popcorn, the Isis is allowing Aspen Film to expand its offerings—a capital campaign is in the works to add a stage for live events, a creative lab, and other improvements to further education and community use—as well as audiences.

As for options to duck into a cool, dark theater this summer to be enriched, entertained, or transported to another world, Aspen Film is paying homage to favorite classic films with significant anniversaries, including The Big Lebowski, Grease, Hairspray, Rain Man, and The Birds. The monthly Indie Showcase spotlights independent films. A collaboration with Buccellati brings a four-film series of classic Italian titles to the Isis on July 12, 16, 23, and August 9, and a collaboration with Intersect Aspen brings a night of contemporary art and film to the Isis on Aug 2. 

Aspen Film’s signature event, Aspen Filmfest, brings dozens of the best films from around the globe to the Wheeler Opera House from September 19 to 24.

The Arts Campus at Willits (TACAW)

tacaw.org

Since the Arts Campus at Willits (TACAW) opened the doors of its brand-new, net-zero, all-electric performing arts facility in September 2021, programming has been ramping up and continually evolving in the midvalley nonprofit’s new home. Dubbed The Contemporary, the facility’s main performance space is a flexible, multi-use theater that can host 180 to 400 attendees for a wide range of events that include live music, comedy, film, talks, kids’ theater, Spanish-language programming, and more. Summertime brings the ability to use an expansive outdoor lawn area for performance space, and an all-electric catering kitchen adds the option of culinary arts programming, like its Supper Club, in conjunction with some events, to the mix.

TACAW’s lineup of events is constantly evolving. Summer highlights include salsa nights with live music and dance lessons (July 1 and August 12) and a slew of musical acts and comedians: The world-famous Glenn Miller Orchestra (June 16), a Pride Dance Party with a DJ and drag queens (June 23), Jenny and the Mexicats (a bilingual mixture of flamenco, jazz, folk, and cumbia (July 8), singer/songwriter Bonnie “Prince” Billy (July 15), New Orleans singer/songwriter Andrew Duhon (July 21), the jazzy Sullivan Fortner Trio (July 28), comedian Eddie Pepitone (August 26), indie rock band Wildermiss (August 28), and neoclassical Detroit pianist BLKBOK (September 22).

Thunder River Theatre Company

thunderrivertheatre.com

With its mission to explore the human experience through inspired theater and innovative artistry, for nearly 30 years Thunder River Theatre Company has been staging works ranging from classics to cutting-edge modern playwrights. An afternoon or evening out at TRTC’s downtown Carbondale black box will not disappoint. This season’s productions include The Lifespan of a Fact (June 9–25), a Broadway play based on the book of the same name; two productions by children’s performing arts company Sol Theatre Company: the musical Ride the Cyclone (July 5–8) and Beauty and the Beast Jr. (Aug 2–4); a cabaret series July 15 and 16; and original production Johnny Jane, written and performed by locals Finn Benham, Kim Nuzzo, and Valerie Nuzzo (Aug 5 and 6).

Dance Aspen / Aspen Santa Fe Ballet

danceaspen.org
aspensantafeballet.com

In the mood for dance? Ever since Aspen Santa Fe Ballet (ASFB) dissolved its in-house dance company in the throes of the pandemic, local dance performances have been irregular. But ASFB continues with its inaugural Fall in Love with Dance! festival at the Aspen District Theater, staging Ballet West on August 25 and 26, Compagnie Marie Chouinard on September 5, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet on September 23. Dance Aspen, founded and operated by former ASFB dancers, has a few events on the summer calendar, including dancing in the Aspen Music Festival’s free Fourth of July concert, its Bandstand Gala on July 14, and Solstice, featuring works by choreographers Matthew Neenan and Cayetano Soto (August 25 and 26) at the Wheeler Opera House.

HIDDEN GEMS

Snowmass is the place to be for a variety of events all summer long. In Snowmass Base Village, The Collective offers a robust lineup of events and activities, including comedy nights, art shows, storytelling, live music, outdoor movies, salsa dancing, Drag Queen Bingo Brunch, chess club, educational workshops, and yoga. Phew! 

Don’t have a Food & Wine pass? Snowmass hosts a few culinary events with better chances of getting tickets. Heritage Fire (July 29) showcases noted chefs engaged in the art of whole-animal cookery—and those tasty products. New this year, Snowmass Rendezvous organizers bookend the summer with Snowmass Déjà Vu (August 26), an homage to the defunct Chili Pepper and Brew fest with tastings from favorite Colorado breweries, activations, and more. And, in its 21st year, the Snowmass Wine Festival (September 15–16) features more than 30 tables of wines from around the world, food from local restaurants, live music, and a silent auction—all benefiting Snowmass Rotary’s scholarship and grants programs.

The Drishti Beats Yoga & Music Festival (July 7–9) explores the symbiotic connection between music, yoga, and the outdoors, with a lineup of live music highlighting downtempo electronic chill and house music and featuring some of the country’s most notable yoga instructors.

The Art Base, a community arts center in Basalt with a strong educational component, presents exhibitions of Colorado artists with an emphasis on those living in the Roaring Fork Valley. Two of note this summer are local oil painter Hannah Stoll (June 30–July 29), whose works are based on her own photography of daily life, and Carbondale’s Leah Aegerter (August 25–September 23), whose sculptures are abstract portraits of moments she captures and experiences in the landscape, mostly in the mountains and deserts of the West. A community favorite Art Base exhibition is the 10x10 Name Unseen Silent Auction (August 4–19), where guests bid on anonymous works.

On the last weekend in July, locals of all ages and strata of society descend on Carbondale’s Sopris Park for Carbondale Mountain Fair (July 28–30). This year in its 52nd iteration, Mountain Fair is a volunteer-run community festival at its finest—with live music, food and drink, vendors, contests (like wood-splitting), kids’ activities, and a whole lot of local soul. 

The Basalt Summer Concert Series runs most Wednesdays, from June 21 to August 30 at Triangle Park in Willits and on a new stage at Basalt River Park.

Intersect Aspen comes to the Aspen Ice Garden August 1–4. In addition to exhibitions, crowds converge here for the boozy brunches, happy hours and parties, and a plethora of events, including lectures and private home gallery tours of some of the valley’s most prolific art collectors.