What Happened to Failed Art Project in Colorado’s Fremont County?

Between the late 1990s and 2017, world-famous artist Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, better known by his first name alone, planned to create a massive art installation in Colorado's Fremont County on the Arkansas River between the towns of Cañon City and Salida.

However, Christo's plan was met with heavy resistance from a group known as Rags Over the Arkansas River or ROAR who argued that the installation would negatively affect the area's wildlife and overall ecosystem.

Christo had planned to install silvery fabric over the river spanning six miles, an art installation that would have only been present for about two weeks. However, after spending millions of dollars obtaining all the necessary permits and covering an array of court fees, Christo eventually abandoned the plan.

Read More: One Colorado Neighborhood is Devoted to Public Art Installations |

The installation was going to be named, "Over the River" and despite the short duration of time that it was to be installed, resistance from ROAR for roughly five years finally broke Christo's spirit in January of 2017.

In a statement, Christo said the following regarding his decision:

After pursuing Over the River, Project for the Arkansas River, State of Colorado, for 20 years and going through 5 years of legal arguments, I no longer wish to wait on the outcome. I have decided to devote all of my energy, time and resources into the realization of the Mastaba, Project for Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates which Jeanne-Claude and I conceived 40 years ago.

After abandoning the project, a spokesperson of ROAR issued the following statement:

We’re so happy to prevent the destruction that would have happened had the project been allowed to proceed.

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Many years earlier in 1972, Christo successfully built a similar art installation in Rifle, Colorado with the title of "Valley Curtain," a project that was hung for 28 hours prior to being destroyed.

On May 31, 2020, Christo passed away at his home in New York City at the age of 84.