The inaugural Garden of the Gods Art Festival will take place at one of the most picturesque properties of Colorado Springs – Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site. This living history ranch shares the entrance road to Garden of the Gods park, a 1300 acre National Natural Landmark known for its sandstone rock formations. This new fine art and craft festival, hosted by Dash Events, will take place outdoors the 3rd weekend in May – May 18 & 19. 150 artists will be juried to show and sell their work. Admission proceeds will benefit Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site. Parking for vendors and attendees is free & plentiful.

Throughout human history, textile creations have been perceived as more avocation than art form. Weaving, quilting, knitting, crocheting, and embroidery were primarily performed by women, dismissed as ‘decorative’ or ‘craft’, and therefore excluded from the canon of fine art until relatively recently. Contemporary gallery venues have begun to recognize thread, yarn, and fabric for their expressive power: as a medium for code writing in wartime, declaring personal history and autonomy in the face of slavery, “yarn bombing” urban blight with a rainbow of knits, purls, and stitches.

We asked artists: what can you say with fiber that you can’t say with other mediums?

This call for entries invited artists to submit works that feature textile techniques as an art medium. All styles/mediums were considered, as long as some type of filament (thread, yarn, wire, rope, etc.) was used in an intentional way.

Photo credit: Naomi J Falk – Indigo Sea with Finger Rocks

We invite you to come experience this installation and enjoy two floors of open studios + galleries this
First Friday from 5-8 pm, and all month during normal business hours.