Ray K. Erku/The Aspen Times
A new tenant for the Valley Fine Art space in the Wheeler Opera House is being recommended for Aspen City Council’s approval during Tuesday’s regular meeting.
DJ Watkins, best known for his Fat City Gallery located at 415 E Hyman Ave. in Aspen, has been selected as the recommended new tenant after Council directed staff to issue a Request For Proposal for gallery usage.
After an extensive interview process, the selection committee voted to recommend that Council award the Wheeler gallery space lease to Watkins for his proposal of a gallery named the “Aspen Collective.”
Wheeler Executive Director Lisa Rigsby Peterson said that Watkins’ proposal stood out to the selection committee primarily due to its focus on a rising issue of local artists and gallery owners being displaced from Aspen with rising rents and huge demand for commercial space in the downtown core.
“I think that’s why DJ’s proposal really resonated because his concept for the space is for it to be primarily a home to exhibit local and Roaring Fork Valley artists and gallerists,” she said. “With that focus and that invitation for local artists and gallerists to find a new home at the Aspen collective, I think it will fill a need that has become pretty clear as so many of the artists and gallerists have lost their spaces.”
In addition to his Fat City Gallery, Watkins has curated over 50 exhibitions over the past 10 years throughout various galleries and has produced three books on Aspen history: To Aspen and Back by Peggy Clifford, Artist/Activist by Thomas W. Benton, and Freak Power: Hunter S. Thompson’s Campaign for Sheriff.
“I am grateful and honored for the opportunity to continue representing and promoting local artists in the historic Wheeler Opera House,” he said. “I look forward to hopefully hosting and engaging exhibitions and partnering with local non-profits, arts organizations and curators to create a vibrant use of this important space.”
Additionally, Peterson said that Watkins’ proposal was appealing because of the inclusion of regular community events at the gallery intended to invite guests to learn about and discuss art and current local issues, resulting in the gallery becoming “a center of community engagement.”
Should Council approve the proposed lease, Watkins would then assume occupancy of the gallery space starting on May 1, 2024. Watkins has stated that if Council approves, he plans to be open to the public in time for the Memorial Day weekend, which will coincide with a celebration of the Wheeler’s 40th anniversary of its 1984 grand reopening.
The proposed tenant change comes after Mia Valley of Valley Fine Art has occupied the Wheeler gallery space since 2006. Valley has remained within the space over 15 succeeding years, in which time two separate leases were executed, with the final lease term expiring in November of 2021. However, in early 2021, City Council voted to approve a two-year lease extension due to the impact of the exterior masonry project at the Wheeler Opera House which completely obscured the view of the gallery’s storefront from the public.
“I just want to thank the City of Aspen for the time I did have in that space,” Valley said. “I loved being there, I loved having my gallery there, and I’m just eternally grateful to have had that time.”
Ironically, Valley now faces a similar situation that Watkins’ proposal addresses, gallerists being priced out of the commercial real estate space with new spaces running anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000 a month.
“It’s unfortunate but I really trust that the next chapter of my life is going to be the best ever, so I’m staying optimistic in moving forward,” she said. “We’ll just see what unfolds.”
Council can decline the lease with Watkins and either extend Valley’s lease beyond a proposed April 30, 2024 expiration or direct staff to reinitiate an RFP process to review additional applicants.
To reach Jonson Kuhn, email him at [email protected].