Intersect Aspen Screens ‘Time and Other Materials’ at Isis Theatre

The Isis Theatre on South Galena Street in Aspen is about to get a lot quieter, and a lot more crowded. On the evening of July 30, locals and tourists alike will squeeze into the historic venue for a 6:30 p.m. premiere that has little to do with the usual high-art networking and everything to do with Colorado’s creative underbelly.

Intersect Aspen Art + Design Fair is partnering with Aspen Film to screen “Time and Other Materials,” a 60-minute documentary that doesn’t just show art — it dissects the obsessive, messy, and deeply personal processes behind it. This isn’t a glossy promotional reel. It’s an intimate look at five women who are currently shaping the state’s cultural landscape, and frankly, it’s the kind of thing you usually have to drive to New York or Los Angeles to see covered in depth.

The film follows filmmakers Amie Knox and Chad Herschberger as they track five specific artists: Rebecca DiDomenico, Stacey Steers, Martha Russo, Ana María Hernando, and Kim Dickey. You’re getting animation, ceramics, installation art, and large-scale sculpture all in one sitting. The press release promises themes of “discovery, mystery, femininity, and the vision of a better future.” That’s a lot of heavy lifting for a Tuesday night screening, but the subjects are substantial.

Take Stacey Steers. Her work isn’t just “art” in the abstract sense; it’s composed of thousands of handmade works on paper, appropriated from early cinema to build experimental narratives. It’s labor-intensive. It’s time-consuming. It’s the antithesis of the fast-consumption culture that usually dominates Aspen’s art scene. Then there’s Ana María Hernando, whose work questions why women’s art has historically been labeled “decorative” or “inconsequential.” She’s already had her work exhibited in Red Brick Center for the Arts, with installations in Wagner Park and Rubey Park that paired sculptural pieces with recorded poems. That’s not just gallery work; that’s public engagement.

Tim von Gal, CEO of Intersect Art and Design, says the fair is proud to create space for these artists during a week when the “international art world is looking toward Aspen.” On paper, that sounds like a nice sentiment. In practice, it means we’re getting a concentrated dose of high-level creative output in a town that often feels more like a showroom than a studio. The film won the Austin International Art Festival in May 2026 and was an official selection at the LA Femme and Montreal Women Film Festivals. It’s vetted. It’s recognized. It’s not just local fluff.

After the screening, Peter Waanders, president and CEO of Anderson Ranch Arts Center, will moderate a Q&A. You’ll have direct access to Knox and the five artists. That’s a rare opportunity to hear how a ceramicist constructs meaning through object or how an animator builds a narrative from thousands of individual paper pieces. It’s the kind of insight that doesn’t make it into a press release.

The logistical impact on the neighborhood is minimal. Traffic will be heavier around the Isis Theatre for an hour. Parking will be a headache, as it always is in late July. But the cultural impact is the point. We’re seeing a shift from art as a commodity to art as a documented process. The film highlights the “collective need to create and connect,” which is a nice way of saying these artists are fighting to be heard in a world that often ignores women’s work unless it fits a specific, palatable box.

For the folks in the valley, this is a reminder that the creative engine driving Colorado’s reputation isn’t just about ski resorts and luxury condos. It’s about the people in the studios, making things by hand, in the dark, with no guarantee of fame. The screening costs you a ticket and an hour of your evening. The value is in seeing the machinery behind the magic. That’s a fair trade.