Green Box bringing 27 international artists to Colorado for residencies in 2023
Green Box arts incubator has announced its 2023 Artists in Residence lineup which will bring 27 internationally-renowned artists representing a variety of disciplines to Green Mountain Falls, Colorado. Each residency, between two and four weeks, 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. For the third summer in a row, Green Box will welcome one of America’s most influential and important dance companies as part of its residency program.
“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,” Scott Levy, Executive Director of Green Box, said. “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.”
Last summer, New York’s Ballet Hispánico, the largest Latinx arts organization in the United States, brought fourteen company dancers who took the stage and delighted audiences with their profound artistry that embodies the complexity of contemporary dance.
“It’s been spectacular to be here,” Eduardo Vilaro, Artistic Director & CEO of Ballet Hispánico, said of his time in Green Mountain Falls. “It’s amazing because you feel there are major centers of dance and the arts on both coasts, yet here we are in Colorado, in a small town, and there’s a real pulse happening. It’s a very special place, a little gem – and it should be really embraced and taken care of.”
The artists chosen for the 2023 residency program are of national and international stature and will be creating new works while in residence and engaging with the community in unique ways. Some of these works will be added to Green Box’s public art collection for residents and visitors to enjoy.
Announcing the 2023 Artists in Residence:
- STILLHOUSE JUNKIES: Arriving in just a few weeks immediately after the New Year, Durango, Colorado-based bluegrass trio, Stillhouse Junkies will be working on their next project while in residence, The Ballad of Charlie Avalon, a concept album about a Mississippi banjo player who travels to New York in search of new musical opportunities. This one-of-a-kind trio was born out of the collective passions of three individuals with very different musical backgrounds. Fred Kosak, Alissa Wolf, and Cody Tinnin share a common goal of bringing sounds and grooves to their fans that fall outside easy genre distinctions. You can catch them in concert at the University of Colorado/Colorado Springs’ ENT Center for the Arts in late January.
- AMIR AMIRI: Astounding music continues, as February bring us Amir Amiri, a composer and master of the Santur, a 72-string Persian hammered dulcimer instrument dating from approximately 500 BCE. Born in Tehran, Iran, Amiri lives in Canada and this residency will mark his first time in the United States. Amiri will spend the month composing works for two international ensembles and will also will explore playing and recording his music in the Green Mountain Falls Skyspace by James Turrell.
- ARVIN RAMGOOLAM & PAULA BOHINCE: March becomes Literary Arts Month at Green Box, as we welcome Crested Butte, Colorado-based novelist Arvin Ramgoolam and Pittsburgh-based poet Paula Bohince. Both will be working on their individual literary projects and engaging with the community through masterclasses, workshops, and pubic readings. Ramgoolam’s work focuses on otherness and place, especially minorities in the American West. Bohince is the author of three poetry collections and will be advancing her fourth poetry collection, Illume, which considers the role of artificial light on climate change and wildlife.
- BROOKE SMILEY: In April, Green Box welcomes somatic movement educator, licensed builder and dancer Brooke Smiley, who practices from both western and indigenous perspectives. Smiley’s passion for working with the earth comes from being born into a family of builders. She will work with the community to continue her series of earth-based public art projects EARTH.SPEAKS aimed at healing through community creation of earth markers, a sustainable practice of structure building. Smiley will spend her residency developing this new work with, by and for the community, which will be on display at next summer’s Green Box Arts Festival.
- NIKKI PIKE: In May, Denver-based visual artist Nikki Pike will create an outdoor sculptural work utilizing bark-skinned forms, also adding to Green Box’s public art collection, and installed in time for all to enjoy during the 2023 Green Box Arts Festival. Pike is an artist and activist committed to serving the community through her art practice and role as a professor at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. Through positive human experiences such as curiosity, music, surprise, and gifting along with the influence of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, she spreads values of empowerment, vulnerability, and connection in the form of experience. Throughout her residency, Pike will also develop a series of drawings related to the work and embark on community engagement workshops.
- PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY: Green Box is thrilled to welcome the Paul Taylor Dance Company as our headliner of the 15th Annual Green Box Arts Festival this summer! Transforming the landscape of modern dance since 1954, the New York Times calls them “one of the most exciting, innovative and delightful dance companies in the entire world.” 16 dancers from the company will give a series a public performances during their two week residency, but a special treat is in store for Green Box patrons ($250 donor level and above). Green Box co-founder Larry Keigwin has been commissioned by the company to create a new work that will premiere at Lincoln Center in New York Spring of 2024. Keigwin and the Paul Taylor dancers will be rehearsing daily during their residency in Green Mountain Falls, and patrons will have the opportunity to see a sneak peek of this work in process – before anyone else in the entire world – during the annual summer Green Box Patron Party during the festival, scheduled for Saturday, July 8th.
- EDWIN USHIRO: Following the height of summer activities, Autumn will bring Hawaiian artist Edwin Ushiro, who works in the entertainment industry as a Concept Designer, Storyboard Artist, and Illustrator. During his residency, Edwin will create paintings which explore the oral traditions, focusing on ghosts and legends, of the Pikes Peak region. The final result will appear as our Lake Street Display – just in time for the Halloween season!
- CAROLE D’INVERNO & BILL FRISELL: The final residency of 2023 goes to Carole d’Inverno and Bill Frisell, working artists who have been partners for decades, but have not had the opportunity to explore their disparate artmaking together – until now. d’Inverno is an abstract painter who grew up in Italy & Belgium, moved to the United States in 1979 and now lives in Brooklyn. Frisell is a Grammy-Award winning Jazz musician and considered one of the most significant guitarists alive today. He is the subject of a new documentary film entitled Bill Frisell: A Portrait, which examines his creative process in depth. We can’t wait to see what beautiful art they make together- and individually!
Past Green Box Artists in Residence include Ballet Hispánico, American Ballet Theatre, Mathew Jamal, Taryn Vanderhoop/Summation Dance, Jessica Kahkoska, Monica Frisell & Adam Scher’s Nomadic Photo Ark, Michael Krondl, Molly Rideout, Chad Mount, Irby Pace, Denys Drozdyuk & Antonina Skobina, 600 Highwaymen, and Sommer Browning.
Green Box
Green Box was launched in 2009 in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado and has grown into a year-round incubator of multidisciplinary visual and performing arts. The organization provides residents and visitors from Colorado and around the world the opportunity to participate in the creative arts in the natural beauty that awaits at the foothills of Pikes Peak. Anchored by an annual summer arts festival, Green Box also engages with community year-round through an active Artist-in-Residence program, arts education, and public art installations.
Renowned for its public art, the new, permanent Green Mountain Falls Skyspace by James Turrell, joined a selection of past installations that include 1.8 Green Mountain Falls by Janet Echelman; The Musical Swings by Daily tous les jours; Field of Light and Tepees by Bruce Munro; and Footprint in Green by Patrick Dougherty. Dance companies that have performed at Green Box include Ballet Hispánico, American Ballet Theatre and KEIGWIN + COMPANY, as well as Bridgman I Packer Dance, the Oklahoma City Ballet, and internationally-acclaimed ballroom duo Antonina Skobina and Denys Drozdyuk.
Green Mountain Falls and Ute Pass
At an altitude of 7,800 ft., Green Mountain Falls is home to various festivals and events year-round. Most notably, related to the arts, it is known for the year-round work of the nationally acclaimed Green Box Arts organization. Surrounded by the Pike National Forest, the town is located near popular area attractions including Cave of the Winds, Manitou Cliff Dwellings, Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak and the Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway. An extremely popular hiking destination, visitors also enjoy fishing, swimming, biking, tennis courts and, in colder seasons, ice skating, in addition to the town’s unique restaurants, pubs and shops. The town is just 20 minutes away from downtown Colorado Springs, and even closer to Manitou Springs, Woodland Park and other Ute Pass communities such as Cascade and Chipita Park.
By Chadd Scott