Aspen Arts Week: Tarot at Hotel Jerome and Auction at Anderson Ranch

The air in the Garden Room at Hotel Jerome is cool, but the energy is warm, charged with the quiet anticipation of strangers waiting to be told their futures. It starts with the shuffle of cards, a sound like dry leaves skittering across pavement, before the first tarot reader lays them out. This is the new Twilight Tarot series, launching June 4, where a local expert guides guests through personalized readings while servers pour cosmic cocktails designed to match the energy of the journey. It costs $75 per person for a 15-minute reading and one drink, a steep price for a glimpse into what lies ahead, but in Aspen, you pay for the atmosphere as much as the insight.

While the wealthy gather in the hotel’s exclusive spaces, there is a different kind of commerce happening on Owl Creek Road. Anderson Ranch has long held its weekly Lunchtime Auctionette, a tradition that feels less like a high-stakes art market and more like a community potluck where the currency is creativity. The next event kicks off June 5 and runs through Sept. 11, offering original artwork by faculty, visiting artists, students, and staff. It’s a direct pipeline from the studio to the collector’s wall, with proceeds supporting the ranch’s educational programs. The buffet lunch is $25, optional but recommended, served from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. before the auction begins at Schermer Meeting Hall. You can register at andersonranch.org/events/lunchtime-auctionette-42. It’s a reminder that art here isn’t just about what hangs on the wall; it’s about who gets to learn how to put it there.

Over at MOLLIE Aspen, the intersection of Main and Garmisch Streets becomes a stage for “Art in Motion” on June 5 from 5 to 7 p.m. Artist Joon paints in real time, accompanied by Tavon Boaman on cello. It’s a live painting experience, visible and immediate, set against the backdrop of Paepcke Park. Free tickets are available at shopmollieaspen.com/products/art-in-motion-live-with-joon-tavon. There’s a raw honesty to watching a piece come together, brushstroke by brushstroke, while the music swells. It’s not a static gallery visit; it’s a process you witness, a shared moment of creation that dissolves the barrier between artist and observer.

If you’re looking for something less participatory and more immersive, the Aspen Isis Theatre is rolling out its June slate. From June 5 through 11, the theater at 406 E. Hopkins Ave. is screening “Masters of the Universe,” “Backrooms,” and “Pressure,” along with “The Mandalorian and Grog” until June 10. “Disclosure Day” takes the screen on June 11. Showtimes run from matinees to evening programming, catering to the late-night crowd that prefers the dark of the cinema to the bright lights of the hotel bar. You can check showtimes at btmcinemas.com/our-locations/g01ie-btm-isis-theatre-aspen-com. It’s the kind of cultural infrastructure that keeps the town feeling like a place where stories are still told, even if they’re mostly blockbusters.

And for those with younger family members, or just a young heart, “Family Jam with Music Together” is happening June 6 at the Paul J. Gorman Center. It’s a chance to make noise, to let the music take over, and to connect with other locals in a space designed for shared experience.

There’s a rhythm to this week’s arts scene, a pulse that moves from the mystical to the mundane, from the exclusive to the communal. You can feel it in the way the tarot cards are laid out, in the clatter of the auctioneer’s hammer, in the scratch of Joon’s brush. It’s not just about what’s on offer; it’s about who’s there, watching, listening, buying, selling. The sun dips lower over the mountains, casting long shadows across the galleries and halls, and the night begins to hum with the promise of another story, another sale, another moment of connection.