Reed Hastings’ Powder Mountain plans for an open-air art museum

Powder Mountain in Utah is best known as a ski resort, but the resort is also on the rise in the art world.

The mountain will soon be home to an outdoor sculpture and art park, the resort announced Friday. The addition of an outdoor museum is just one of many developments being undertaken by former Netflix CEO Reed Hastings since taking over the mountain last year. Select works will be on display during the upcoming ski season, while the grand opening is planned for 2026.

“At Powder, we want every experience – from the ski resort to the residential community to the outdoor art museum – to be intentionally designed, and integrating art into the mountain is an expression of that consideration,” Hastings said in a statement. “We want to transform Powder into a multi-season destination that combines recreation, art and meaningful connections for our entire community.”

The outdoor museum is being designed by landscape architect Reed Hilderbrand (who also designed the Storm King Art Center in New York), while the visitor center is being directed by Johnston Marklee (Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago). Curator Matthew Thompson is the director of the mountain’s art program and has joined several others to develop the opening plan for the outdoor museum.

Initially, only a few works will be on display, including a site-specific commission by artist EJ Hill. But over the next few years, more and more works will be on display on the mountain: well-known artists such as James Turrell and Jenny Holzer will be represented, as well as Nancy Holt and Paul McCarthy, the latter of whom is working on an immersive artwork inspired by the mythology of the American West.

“I grew up in Utah and the influence of Utah and its mountains has been a crucial part of my work, a central theme that sits in both my subconscious and my conscious,” McCarthy said in a statement. “I’m excited about the opportunity to create a work in this landscape and be part of building something special at Powder Mountain.”

After Hastings took over the mountain, he announced plans to convert half of the resort into a members-only ski club, with lift passes starting at $2 million. He also instituted higher prices for public lift passes, but the mountain will be free and open to the public during the summer and fall, as will the museum. In addition to world-class skiing, visitors to Powder Mountain can now enjoy world-class art.