A preferred resort in Utah shall be reworked right into a luxurious “skiable outside artwork museum” after being acquired by Reed Hastings, the billionaire co-founder of Netflix, who will set up works by James Turrell, Jenny Holzer and others all through the mountaintop.
With 8,484 skiable acres, Powder Mountain in Eden, Utah, is the most important ski resort in North America by complete acreage. Beginning in 2026, the 12,100-acre property shall be dwelling to a brand new artwork programme. Notable installations embrace a trailside gentle set up, Ganzfeld Apani (2011), which James Turrell initially created for the Venice Biennale. The resort stated it’s going to additionally set up a significant work by Nancy Holt from the Nineteen Eighties onsite. Items commissioned particularly for Powder Mountain will embrace a collection of textual content engravings on rocks by Jenny Holzer and an set up by Utah native Paul McCarthy rooted in American Western mythology.
“I grew up in Utah, and the affect of Utah and its mountains has been a essential a part of my work. I’m excited to have the chance to understand a piece in that panorama. and to be part of constructing one thing particular at Powder Mountain,” McCarthy stated in an announcement. He informed The New York Instances his work would take the type of an Alpine hut and be located someplace on the mountain that’s “visually distant”.
Ganzfeld Apani (2011) by James Turrell Courtesy Powder Mountain, photograph by Florian Holzherr
EJ Hill—who constructed a practical indoor curler coaster on the Massachusetts Museum of Modern Artwork final yr—has been tapped for a site-specific design for 2 of the mountain’s new ski lifts, and the artists Arthur Jafa, Nikita Gale, Gala Porras-Kim, Davina Semo and Raven Halfmoon are additionally finishing commissions for the resort, amongst others. All works shall be owned by a non-profit being arrange by Hastings.
The primary season of programming was conceived by Matthew Thompson, the director of Powder Mountain’s new arts programme, chief inventive officer Alex Zhang and Diana Nawi, curator of latest artwork on the Los Angeles County Museum of Artwork.
The event has been met with a frosty reception by some residents of Eden, who say they’ve been priced out of having fun with the slopes. Powder Mountain first opened to the general public in 1972, and for many years was identified for its “locals-only really feel”, in response to Deseret Information, a newspaper based mostly in Salt Lake Metropolis.
When Hastings acquired the resort final yr, he additionally inherited greater than $100m in debt. He moved to offset the invoice by sectioning off greater than 2,000 sq. miles of the mountain as soon as open to most of the people and setting it apart just for house owners of an on-site group known as Powder Haven. Plots begin at $2m with yearly membership charges starting from $30,000 to $100,000.
“You possibly can’t afford it,” stated Rick Bruce, a retired firefighter who additionally labored part-time as pro-patrol on the resort for greater than 4 a long time, in response to Desert Information. “The final really feel is that they’re pricing out the native guys.” (Grownup ski season passes for the general public part begin at $1,099 for the 2024/2025 season. Mountaineering and biking throughout summer season and fall is free.)
Hastings has defended his resolution, saying it is the one solution to hold Powder Mountain economically viable, as Powder Haven will underwrite enhancements for the remainder of the resort. Invoice Holmes, Powder Mountain’s chief membership and group relations officer, informed Deseret Information that earlier than the acquisition the resort was “shedding cash and piling up debt. The established order merely wasn’t sustainable.” He added that the brand new personal providing would stop the resort from having to hitch a ski resort megapass programme, which might result in crowds on the mountain.
