Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Over The River, Colorado, Art project

About OTR

Over The River is a two-week temporary work of art by the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The project’s plans call for 5.9 miles of silvery, luminous fabric panels to be suspended high above the Arkansas River along a 42-mile stretch of the river between Salida and Cañon City in south-central Colorado. Fabric panels will be suspended at eight distinct areas of the river that were selected by the artists for their aesthetic merits and technical viability.

Photo: Wolfgang Volz, © Christo 2008

Following nearly three years of analysis, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued its Over The River Record of Decision (ROD) on November 7, 2011. The ROD completed the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) permitting process and gave Federal approval to the artists’ original vision for this proposed temporary work of art. Christo is currently working to obtain the last remaining permits and, assuming the approval process runs as planned, Over The River will be exhibited for two consecutive weeks in August of 2015.

Through the sale of his original works of art, Christo funds 100-percent of costs associated with the permitting process, manufacturing, installation and removal of Over The River. This includes all direct expenses to create the temporary work of art, as well as costs that result from it (e.g. environmental analysis, traffic control, trash removal and sanitation). The temporary work of art will be created without public subsidy or taxpayer support, because Christo and Jeanne-Claude have never accepted viewing fees, sponsorships or outside investments of any kind.

Over The River will enhance Colorado’s growing prominence in the art world and provide a gift that all Coloradans can enjoy.

Click here to download a printable fact sheet about Over The River.

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