Do you have an idea for an art exhibition? Carbondale Arts is always looking for fresh inspiration and new artists! We host art exhibitions featuring local and regional artists at The Launchpad in our award-winning R2 Gallery. The majority of our shows run from 4-6 weeks at a time and are invitational, juried, or open call. Exhibitions in the R2 Gallery are planned a year in advance. Proposal applications for 2023 available online and will be due May 2, 2022.

Join Santa at Weant Blvd & Main Street at 5:30pm to Light Up the Forest Service tree and Main Street tree lights. Holiday festivities continue at 4th & Main Street with free hot cocoa, cider, and sugar cookies with free sleigh rides with Santa 5:45pm - 7:45pm (line up at 4th & Main street).

Unanse a Santa en Weant Blvd y Main St a las 5:30pm para prender las luces Navideñas en el árbol del Forest Service y a lo largo de Main Street. Las festividades continuarán en 4th y Main Street con chocolate caliente, cidra y galletas de azúcar con los paseos gratis de trineo con Santa serán entre las 5:45pm hasta las 7:45pm

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! We love hosting Deck the Walls Holiday Market each year, featuring unique, handmade gifts from 50+ local and regional artists. Open daily through Christmas Eve (be sure to check for a couple of holiday closures/modifications). The best part? 70% of each purchase goes directly back to the artist! Your gifts won’t be stuck on cargo ships, and you’re supporting the local creative economy. WooHoo!

One of the valley’s largest and longest-standing exhibitions of work by local artists in a wide variety of media. The Valley Visual Art Show is a salute to the rich array of artistic talents in our area and venue for emerging artists, established artists, and everything in between!

Applications open through December 6.
*Must be a current Carbondale Arts member to be eligible.

The celebration starts on Monday, November 1st with the creation of a community ofrenda in front of The Launchpad. Please bring photos and mementos of those you would like to remember as the veil between the living and dying is thinnest during this week. The altar will remain up until November 11th.

The festivities continue on First Friday, November 5th, as Carbondale Arts celebrates the artists and community who helped create our latest mural at 4th and Main. Join us from 4-5pm on the side of the CenturyLink building for warm beverages and dedications.

The Carbondale Arts staff is heading to Steamboat Springs this week for the Colorado Creative Industries Summit, an annual event for Colorado creatives to connect, learn, and be inspired. More than 300 creative stakeholders from over 60 Colorado cities and towns attend the summit.

The office will be closed Thursday through Tuesday (9/30-10/5). Thanks to some stellar volunteers, R2 Gallery will be open 12-3pm Thursday and Friday, as well as 10am-2pm on Saturday. The gallery will not be open for October’s First Friday, and closed Monday-Tuesday (10/6-10/7). See you soon!

Carbondale Arts is launching the Youth Apprentice Program this fall, where youth are employed to gain creative skills and career readiness under the leadership of a professional artist. In this program youth will learn a series of skills needed to create zines, or mini-magazines.

This will include writing, editing, visual art and bookmaking techniques. There will be a series of outcomes from the program that will include an individual zine and a group zine that has content from the larger community. Weekly workshops will cover different creative skills from a variety of local artists. Youth will be asked to think critically about creating work for an audience, share their ideas in a group setting and engage with community residents in art making activities.

Applications now open for the 2021 Deck the Walls Holiday Market! Deadline to apply is October 8th. Every holiday season R2 Gallery is transformed into a magical holiday market featuring 40+ local and regional artisans and artists. The market will open November 19 through Christmas Eve.

A year in the works, through pandemic-logistic-obstacles, the community mural on the CenturyLink building is coming to fruition. The muralist team has been hard at work, and is excited to invite the community to help complete the mural, once installed at its new location of 4th and Main Street in early September. Learn more at carbondalecreativedistrict.com

Thank you to Brian Colley, Christie Interlante, Gabriela Mejia, Gayle Embrey, Lindsay Jones, Michael Stout, Sally Nicholson, Steve Keohane, Vanessa Porras for your time and talents!

This fabulous concert series will finish with a BANG, with two shows at The Orchard. Death of the Pugilist takes us on a journey to 1800s England to tell the story of a young man in a rough-and-tumble profession. This is an experimental musical ensemble paired with narration directly from author Daniel Mason’s story. Tickets are available HERE.

Our newest, and never been done before event, Convergent Circus, is coming up next month!! Inspired by the elements, this immersive art experience will be held at 13 Moons Ranch in alignment with the autumn equinox. Early bird tickets are available now through August 15. Full details on the Events page.

What makes a place what it is? What traditions and rituals strengthen the soul of a community? How do we discern what is worth bequeathing to the next generation? The story of the Carbondale Mountain Fair is one that answers these, and other important questions. While today's world is changing quickly, the Mountain Fair surviving and thriving for 50 years reminds us that some things are worth honoring and passing on. Tune in to KDNK.org or 88.1 on Tuesdays starting June 29th at 4:00 and hear the voices, the music, and the story behind Carbondale’s treasured summertime tradition. Additional episodes will air on Friday July 16 and Sunday July 18th for two full hours on the music of Mountain Fair. Learn More!

With much excitement we present the winning design for the 50th Mountain Fair happening this July. This eclectic and über-detailed illustration is by award-winning, local artist, Larry Day. Larry has illustrated for 25+ books and publications.

“Beginning at an early age, I drew everything around me. And what I didn’t draw, I observed. Art became even more meaningful to me after I flunked high school art class, I knew I was onto something bigger than learning macrame and decoupage. I was searching for the emotion of things. And I’ve been at it ever since.”

Talented Colorado muralist, Armando Silva will unveil his creation, co-designed by students of Stepping Stones for First Friday, June 4th at 4:00pm. Afterward he will join fellow artists as an extension to the R2 Gallery opening of “identidad Y Libertad” a group show telling the stories of the varied experiences of Latinx people in this country and of those south of the border curated by Gayle Embrey and Vanessa Porras. Learn More

Be sure to stop by the Willits General Store for a 2-day Flash Sale of Susanne Clark’s fun, whimsical and wonderful artwork. Proceeds benefit Carbondale Arts.

June 4-5
12-6:00pm

Because the Passport was so well received last year, we are thrilled to announce that we are doing it again in 2021. This year’s Passport will support the 50th Mountain Fair happening July 23 - 25, and other key Carbondale Arts programming.

This year's passport features OVER 35 businesses: restaurants, salons, wellness centers, craft breweries, retail, and more! Passports will be available starting June 1st, but you can preorder now! We also extended the usage time frame, passports can be purchased and used June 2021 through June 2022. Pick up from The Launchpad or we can mail to you!

We’ve missed the creativity, connection, and challenge of bringing the fashion show to life each spring. We plan to bring back the Extravaganza in March of 2022, but until then we thought let's let previous shows inspire and help us remember the magic of GITNB. We called on our dear friend Sue Drinker of Drinker Durrance Graphics, veteran fashion show photographer, to put a compilation together of the show over the years.

Curated by MinTze Wu, this series is designed to celebrate the rich diversity of artistic styles and cultural backgrounds in our place and time. Through innovative collaborations, we explore the layers of our stories and the composite of our passions. This thoughtfully curated series is comprised of four programs, each a different world created with its unique voice and narrative, sounds and expressions, ranging from baroque to folk, from minimalistic to classical, from poetry to modern novella. Concerts will begin at 6:00pm on the grounds of Thompson House Museum. Learn More!

Saturday, June 19th the first ever Carbondale Arts golf tournament, The Golden Putter, will be an “18-hole scramble” held at River Valley Ranch. There will be traditional and alternative scoring opportunities for ALL skill levels. Get ready for arts-themed holes, live performances, prizes and surprises! All proceeds will benefit Rosybelle, the Mobile Maker Bus, and our arts education programming. Early-bird pricing available through May 15, space is limited so don’t delay!

We believe that there is great value in fostering creativity and inspiration, which is why we are pleased to announce our 3rd Annual Artist Fellowship Program (AFP), consisting of one grant opportunity of two $1,000 grants from The Alleghany Meadows Fellowship. The AFP is for artists and creatives of any genre, who need some funding to help them further their career, their art, or their ideas. The criteria is fairly open for these grants, and any artist residing within a ZIP code beginning with "816" may apply. Learn More!