Founded in 1979, the Aspen Art Museum (AAM) is a leading contemporary art museum located in Aspen, Colorado, United States. It operates as a non-collecting institution, showcasing a diverse program of exhibitions spanning various mediums, such as drawings, paintings, sculptures, multimedia installations, performance art, and electronic media. Dedicated to fostering cultural exchange and transformative ideas, AAM serves as a hub for international artists, scholars, policymakers, and innovators, aiming to shape both the museum landscape and the broader field of art.

At its core, AAM is driven by a mission to support artists in cultivating bold concepts that challenge conventional norms and drive cultural evolution. Anchored in its values of inquiry, immediacy, and innovation, AAM actively pursues new initiatives, responds to current discourse with flexibility and adaptability, and invests in artists and thinkers to reinvent both the museum and the art field at large.

Admission to the Aspen Art Museum is free, courtesy of Amy and John Phelan.

Due to Aspen's stunning landscapes and remote location, and in no small part thanks to the efforts of Herbert Bayer, Ferenc Berko, and John Powers among other local luminaries, Aspen became “an outpost for avant-garde artists” including Ansel Adams, Buckminster Fuller, and Eero Saarinen. The Aspen Center of Contemporary Art (ACCA) established an artists-in-residence program from 1965-1970, which drew “many of the most important American artists of the day” including Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, and Christo and Jeanne Claude, among others.

In 1976, a City of Aspen vote led to the acquisition and development of an out-of-use building at 590 North Mill Street, which became the Aspen Art Museum's first home until 2014. Built in 1888, the Hunter Creek Power Plant initially served the city's silver mining operations and enabled Aspen to be the first city west of the Mississippi to have street lights powered by hydroelectric plant energy. The City of Aspen supported the rehabilitation of the disused structure, leading to the incorporation of the Aspen Center for the Visual Arts (ACVA) in November 1977. Philip Yenawine was selected as the first director in August 1978.

The ACVA opened to the public on June 16, 1979, with the inaugural exhibition "American Portraits of the Sixties and Seventies," featuring works by Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, Willem de Kooning, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Mapplethorpe, Claes Oldenburg, and Andy Warhol. Warhol's first visit to Aspen “transpired over the Christmas-New Year holiday of 1981-82.” In 1984, the ACVA was renamed the Aspen Art Museum (AAM) to better reflect its curatorial scope, established the AAM National Council, and received national accreditation through the American Association of Museums (now the American Alliance of Museums).

Previously housed in a converted hydroelectric plant at 590 North Mill Street, the Aspen Art Museum (AAM) opened its new facility to the public at 637 East Hyman Avenue on August 9, 2014, . The building is designed by architect Shigeru Ban, recipient of the 2014 Pritzker Architecture Prize. It is Ban's first US museum to be constructed. The 33,000-square-foot, four-level facility houses eight exhibition spaces: six gallery spaces, a rooftop sculpture garden, and an outdoor commons. There are five main architectural features within the building's design plan: Grand Stair, Moving Glass Room Elevator, Woven Wood Screen, Wood Roof Truss and Walkable Skylights.

Aspen ArtWeek is the Aspen Art Museum's annual program of exhibitions, artist talks, performances, and live events which has become a major convening moment of the U.S. art world in the mountains each summer. The week culminates in the longstanding ArtCrush fundraising auction and gala which sees works donated by major international artists and galleries sold in support of the museum's artistic and educational program that continue to benefit its local and international communities.

Each year, ArtWeek features headlining commissions and performances by renowned artists; recent highlights include: Ryan Trecartin (2024); Poncili Creación (2023); Korakrit Arunanondchai (2022); Jeffrey Gibson (2022); and Precious Okoyomon (2021).

Every year since 2005, the Museum honors one or more artists with the Aspen Award for Art. Previous winners include:

• 2024 — Shigeru Ban, Jacqueline Humphries, Jason Moran
• 2023 — Nairy Baghramian
• 2022 — Gary Simmons
• 2020/21 — Mary Weatherford
• 2019 — Lisa Yuskavage
• 2018 — Rashid Johnson
• 2017 — Lawrence Weiner
• 2016 — Gabriel Orozco
• 2015 — Lorna Simpson
• 2014 — Ernesto Neto
• 2013 — Teresita Fernández
• 2012 — Tom Sachs
• 2011 — Roni Horn
• 2010 — Marilyn Minter
• 2009 — Fred Tomaselli
• 2008 — Ed Ruscha
• 2007 — Jim Hodges
• 2006 — Tony Feher
• 2005 — Richard Tuttle

AAM prioritizes access, experimentation and support for the wider Roaring Fork Valley community through the experience of art and artists. Recurring programs include:

• Artist Fellowship Program, which began in 2018-2019, provides a mentored professional development opportunity for artists working in the region.
• The Youth Art Expo is a biennial community art program that encompasses a multifaceted exhibition of work created by K–12-grade students from the Roaring Fork Valley (and beyond) alongside dynamic artist mentors.
• The museum's Artist in Residence Program ran from 2006 to 2020.

The Aspen Art Museum is led by the Nancy and Bob Magoon Director, Nicola Lees (since 2020).

Former directors include Heidi Zuckerman (2005–2019), Dean Sobel (2000–2005), Mary Ann Igna (Interim Director, 1999–2000), Suzanne Farver (1992–1999), Susie Hojel (1991–1992), Susan Jackson (1989–1990), David Floria (Curator/Acting Director, 1989), Annette DiMeo Carlozzi (1986–1989), Laurel Jones (1982–1986), Philip Yenawine (1977–1982).

The Aspen Art Museum is governed by a Board of Trustees, which provides strategic oversight and supports the museum's mission and vision. The Board of Trustees includes notable figures such as Melony Lewis and Amnon Rodan (Co-Presidents), Jamie Tisch (Vice President), and Marcy Edelstein (Secretary), Sarah Arison, Sasha Bass, Barbara Bluhm-Kaul, Chris Brown, Janet Crown, Domenico De Sole, Bruce Etkin, Joe Felson, Christy Ferer, David Ganek, Steve Hansen, Toby Devan Lewis (In Memoriam), Nancy Magoon, Nicola Marcus, Susan Marx, Paul Pariser, John Phelan, Nancy Rogers, Gayle Stoffel, Mary Zlot.

The Aspen Art Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The museum is a member institution of the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), which represents directors of art museums throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In March 2009, the AAM joined other Aspen area businesses through becoming certified under a jointly run City of Aspen Environmental Health Department and Canary Initiative “ZGreen” program. Environmental efforts undertaken by the AAM through the ZGreen program include recycling, composting, and zero waste events.

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