DJ Watkins
Daniel Joseph Watkins is a writer, curator, and director based in Aspen, Colorado. His first book, Thomas W. Benton: Artist/Activist, won the Colorado Book Award and his second book, Freak Power: Hunter S. Thompson’s Campaign for Sheriff, served as the inspiration for the documentary film Freak Power. His third book, To Aspen And Back is a republication of Peggy Clifford’s classic novel about Aspen updated with images curated by National Geographic photographer David Hiser. Watkins runs the publishing company Meat Possum Press and serves as director of the Fat City Gallery and Aspen Collective Gallery where he has curated five museum shows and over one hundred exhibitions with more than sixty artists. Watkins created the Aspen Art Walk and is writing a new book titled Dreams & Dilemmas highlighting the artists and intellectuals that make Aspen unique.
Marlena Chanel Host
Marlena Chanel Host is a curatorial design professional with over a decade of experience in development across the art, design, and luxury fashion industries. She is currently the Director of Sales at Hexton Gallery, a leading contemporary art gallery in Aspen, where she works closely with collectors, curators, and designers to shape forward-thinking exhibitions and acquisitions.
Chanel spent six years at R & Company in New York, a globally recognized leader in collectible design, where she led the launch of the gallery’s seasonal program in Aspen and helped position both historical and contemporary design within international markets. Her experience also includes a yearlong fellowship at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and VIP relations at Frieze.
Raised in Boulder, Chanel is the third-generation woman in her family to graduate from the University of Colorado, where she earned a B.A. in Art History and Literature. She completed her Master’s in Design History and Curatorial Studies at Parsons, Paris. Her academic and professional work explores the intersections of modern and contemporary design and art, with an emphasis on cultural communities.
Having lived and worked in both Paris and New York, Chanel brings a global perspective to her practice while remaining deeply connected to her Colorado roots. Known for her intuitive approach to collaboration and her cross-disciplinary network, she produces thoughtful, community-driven programming that connects people through art, design, and shared experience.
Eli Bucksbaum
Eli Bucksbaum is a facilitator, curator, and conceptual artist based in Los Angeles. He is the founder of Studio MAXIMA, where he designs conversations and experiences called Artist Assembly that anchor brands in culture and help artists, designers, and entrepreneurs find unique opportunities for success. He is also the co-founder of AUTOBODY autobody, a gallery in Mid City Los Angeles focused on collaborations in art and design.
Eli has led over 50 conversations between LA and Aspen, including programs at the inaugural 2024 Aspen Art Fair and on Aspen Mountain with Aspen One.
Much of his work is rooted in a lifelong connection to Aspen, where years of adventure, whimsy, and spirit helped shape his creative worldview.
He believes a conversation can take you anywhere and has devoted his career to creating environments that empower emerging creatives.
Sarah McLellan
Sarah McLellan is a creative strategist and technologist whose work bridges contemporary art, nonprofit development, and live broadcast media.
As Associate Curator at both Aspen Collective Gallery and Fat City Gallery, Sarah manages artist relations, exhibition planning, event production, press outreach, website maintenance, and social media strategy. She is deeply invested in creating spaces where art and community intersect in meaningful ways.
Sarah also runs social media for Gonzo Whiskey, a brand inspired by the wild spirit of Hunter S. Thompson and Aspen’s countercultural legacy. She crafts digital content that reflects the brand’s adventurous personality and strong sense of place.
Earlier in her career, Sarah worked at SportsMedia Technology, where she specialized in integrating real-time data into live sports broadcast graphics. As the motorsports specialist, she contributed to coverage of IndyCar, NASCAR, IMSA, Supercross, Motocross, NCAA Basketball, the NBA, and the PGA Tour. Her work supported high-profile broadcast launches including Amazon Prime’s Thursday Night Football and the CBS Golazo Network, the first 24-hour soccer channel in the United States.
Christina Roig
Christina Grace Roig is a Puerto Rican curator, art consultant, and ceramicist currently based in Aspen, Colorado. She serves as an Art Consultant at Hexton Gallery, where she works closely with private collectors, artists, and institutions to shape thoughtful, lasting collections. Prior to her move to Aspen, she directed an art gallery in Puerto Rico specializing in Latin American and contemporary art, leading curatorial programs and artist representation with a strong emphasis on material exploration and cultural context.
Christina holds a Master’s degree in Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London and brings nearly a decade of professional experience across the Caribbean, Europe, and the United States. Her background combines curatorial writing, market analysis, and design thinking, with a deep appreciation for the tactile and spatial language of art. She is particularly interested in collections that blend mediums such as painting, sculpture, textiles, and functional design.
In addition to her work at Hexton, Christina engages in curatorial writing for international projects, offering text-based support for exhibitions, artist portfolios, and institutional collaborations. She also maintains a ceramic practice informed by balance, material sensitivity, and a quiet fascination with process. Her love for design extends across disciplines, and she approaches each project with a refined eye, a collaborative spirit, and a belief in the emotional and visual power of form.
Andre "Myxz" Nichols
Myxz is a multidisciplinary artist, carpenter, designer, natural builder, and regenerative farmer based in the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica and Aspen. As the founder of RAMA (Regenerative Agroecology & Mindful Action), a syntropic agroforestry project and digitally disconnected immersive jungle program, Myxz weaves together ecological stewardship, land-based living, creative expression, plant medicine, and soul evolution. Through RAMA, he facilitates transformative experiences that connect people to nature, art, sustainable food systems, ancestral ways of building and being, but most importantly to the themselves and others vibrating at the same frequency.
With over a decade of experience in sustainable farming practices, natural building design, event production and large-scale art installations, Myxz brings a visionary and hands-on approach to both creative and ecological projects. His work integrates permaculture, syntropic agroforestry, sacred geometry, building with natural materials, and community-based collaboration.
Aside from being the Fun Facilitator for The Aspen Collective and Fat City Gallery, Myxz is also a founding member and the General Manager of AMAR, an artist residency program dedicated to land conservation, cultural preservation, and promotion of emerging local, as well as, international artists. Whether he's planting food forests, leading workshops, creating engaging events, making art, or building with earth and bamboo, Myxz is devoted to cultivating beauty, resilience, and connection at every scale.
His work bridges worlds—urban and rural, ancient and modern, artistic and ecological—always rooted in a deep reverence for the Earth.
Aggie Flores
Aggie Flores is a multidisciplinary creative whose work spans music, industrial design, and media production, exploring the intersection of identity, environment, and storytelling. Inspired by her Argentinian heritage and global experiences, she creates immersive installations, digital works, and music that invite audiences into narratives of place and transformation.
With over 12 years of experience in marketing and production, Aggie has led international teams, curated events, and directed creative campaigns for brands such as Guayakí Yerba Mate, Red Bull Argentina, and Live Nation. She co-founded New Paradigm Productions in Charleston, SC, and has produced immersive festivals and installations including Artcelium Fest and Buddha Beach at Woodlands Nature Reserve. As the founder of Visual Arts AF, she designs visual campaigns, stage sets, and interactive experiences for artists and venues across the Americas.
An accomplished singer-songwriter, Aggie fronts Aggie Flores & The Wildflowers, blending Latin American roots with folk and electronic textures. Currently based between Aspen, CO, and Buenos Aires, she continues to craft cross-disciplinary projects that unite music, design, and storytelling.
Hannah Badwan
Hannah Badwan’s background includes digital design, brand marketing, interior styling, and experience curation. After a decade in New York and Miami, she found herself back her hometown of Colorado teaching in higher education, dreaming up a karaoke bar and working with clients in cultural and hospitality realms. When she’s not looking for hidden meaning, you'll find her walking her dog or collecting chairs, lamps, and small objects for herself and others interested in relics of time.
Chris Erickson
Chris Erickson is an artist recognized for his captivating use of color through contemporary works that blur the line between sculpture and painting. His art encourages the examination of color as expression and its relationship to human behavior.
Born in Denver, Chris became inspired through city skate culture iconography and the concrete canvas. Yet, finding home in the mountains guided him into an applied art practice—one embedded in a sense of place. His bodies of work are informed through these experiences and exposes his ties to graphic design, graffiti art, and fine art techniques. Erickson’s art is often translated through the mediums of spray paint, acrylic, canvas, and panel, although often merging industrial design and fabrication into his creative process.
Chris continues to execute in a multidisciplinary fashion, which is evident through his recognized “Melting Gondola” sculpture set atop Aspen’s Ajax Mountain. He remains inspired to utilize art as a platform for conversation.
SuperULTRAmega is an interpretation of distilling the distracting noise of the modern technological world into a tenacious display of energy. His mole©ules are a series of character like icons that represent the magnification of various groups and beliefs, often speaking to systemic issues.
Jada Beacom
Jada Beacom is a writer, social media coordinator, and gallery assistant dedicated to making the arts accessible. She manages Instagram content for the Aspen Design Conference, Fat City Gallery, and Aspen Collective Gallery. Drawing on her passion for storytelling, she crafts thoughtful content that elevates each brand’s voice and fosters meaningful audience engagement.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Jada holds degrees in Health Promotion & Health Equity and Communications. Her academic background sharpened her skills in research, strategic communication, and community-focused messaging—tools she now applies to the art and design world. Beyond her professional roles, Jada is a contributing writer on Substack, where she explores themes of nostalgia, female agency, altered states of consciousness, and the human condition through essays and creative pieces.
In addition to her digital work, Jada serves as a gallery assistant at Aspen Collective Gallery, supporting exhibitions, events, and artist relations. She thrives at the intersection of art and community, using both her creative instincts and communication expertise to bridge the gap between artistic vision and public engagement.
Noelani Von Stocken
Noelani Von Stocken is a freshman at Aspen High School with a passion for both athletics and the arts. She actively participates in a variety of sports, including ballet, tennis, skiing, and swimming. A dedicated and creative student, Noelani has been involved in advanced art classes throughout her academic journey. She looks forward to using this opportunity to strengthen her ties within the community and to introduce others to the wonderful programs that have inspired her.