Courtesy photo
Aspen Art Museum’s winter benefit event, The Slopeside Soirée, will be held on Saturday, Dec. 30, from 5:30-8:30 p.m., at the Rooftop Café and will be co-chaired by Alexander Hankin and Mackenzie Moon Phelan. Proceeds from the event support the museum’s ongoing educational and curatorial initiatives.
“Art has a healing power,” said Hankin. “I find that when I get stressed out and the world seems overwhelming, I go to a museum. I walk around; it calms me. Art is also so much of the human story – art is protest, art is history, and connects all of us on a deeper level.”
Hankin, who is a well-known arts philanthropist, said he has been working with Aspen Art Museum since 2015 when then-CEO and director Heidi Zuckerman approached him to create an event that would appeal to a new generation of art enthusiasts. He said they tried a few different experiential events that have led them to this year’s iteration.
“This is a rebirth of the winter benefit,” he said. “The point of it is to bring in a younger a newer audience to the museum. It’s also a fundraiser to bring the next generation of patrons and collectors into the museum. So Mackenzie and Jacqueline and I put our heads together, and we said, ‘Well, why don’t we do something that embraces the spirit of Aspen?’”
Themed “Western Chic and Frosted Peaks,” the soirée will treat guests to music, champagne, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and assorted desserts. The night will be soundtracked by a set from The Dare who brings a blend of dance-punk and electroclash from New York’s party scene to entertain revelers in Aspen, transforming the space into a fun, festive affair within the atmospheric surrounding backdrop of the Aspen Mountain.
The museum’s winter exhibitions, which include “John Chamberlain: THE TIGHTER THEY’RE WOUND, THE HARDER THEY UNRAVEL,” curated by Urs Fischer will be on view to guests for the first hour of the evening.
Special guest DJ Pete Tong will also make an appearance, made possible by The Snow Lodge Aspen.
“I think people my age are looking for an experience, for something a little bit different, but they’re also looking for connection,” Hankin said. “I think that connection is such a big thing. Human interaction is so important. Art has this perception that it’s supposed to be standoffish and stuffy, but I love the Aspen Art Museum because it makes art accessible to people. It brings people in and engages the community. And that’s really what art is meant to do.”
For tickets and further information, visit: aspenartmuseum.org/the-slopeside- soiree.
