Ask people in Denver what they love about their city, and you’ll hear the same answers again and again: the snow-capped Rockies draped across the horizon, 300 days of sunshine a year, a bustling downtown district and Denver’s outdoor-loving spirit.

Chances are, you’ll also hear one other topic mentioned: the arts. This region of more than 2.5 million has an ever-increasing appetite for all things artistic — and Denver is willing to put money behind that passion. A self-imposed sales tax raises more than US$ 38 million a year, which is distributed to more than 300 arts organizations and facilities. The result is a rich smorgasbord of artistic offerings concentrated in one beautiful region of the West.

The Denver Art Museum, for example, expands its complex on October 7 with the opening of the new Frederic C. Hamilton Building, which nearly doubles the size of the museum’s exhibit space. It was designed by acclaimed architect Daniel Libeskind, master-plan architect for the World Trade Center Memorial site in New York City. Libeskind’s design for Denver’s art museum extension is a soaring, geometric edifice clad in glass and titanium.

Pismo Fine Art Glass exhibits the works of both well-known and up-and-coming artists.

Founded more than a century ago, the Denver Art Museum boasts more than 60,000 works of art. In addition to a full schedule of world-class exhibits, the museum is renowned for its American Indian, pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial art collections.

Three diverse new exhibits will open on October 7, when the museum re-opens, following construction. They include the modern and contemporary works of “RADAR: Selections from the Collection of Vicki & Kent Logan,” “Japanese Art from the Colorado Collection of Kimiko & John Powers” and “Breaking the Mold: The Virginia Vogel Mattern Collection of Contemporary Native American Art.”

The Museum of Contemporary Art is also getting new digs, a 25,000-square-foot (2,323 m²) facility in LoDo (Lower Downtown) that’s scheduled to open in mid-2007. One of the largest Victorian districts in the country, LoDo is among Denver’s most popular neighborhoods — and for good reason. Century-old, red-brick warehouses have been restored and turned into thriving businesses, loft apartments, lively brew pubs, music clubs and award-winning restaurants.

The district is also home to some 30 galleries. Robischon Gallery, which offers a wide range of modern art, is within walking distance of Union Station, the town’s historic train station, and Coors Field, home to the Colorado Rockies baseball team.

Other galleries can be found near Writer’s Square, just a quick walk from Denver’s pedestrian-friendly 16th Street Mall. Among these galleries is Knox Galleries, which showcases monumental bronze sculptures. Nearby is Ernest Fuller Fine Art, which is known for its representational art, including sculpture and etchings by nationally acclaimed artists.

But all of this is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig a little deeper, and you’ll discover a wealth of independent Denver galleries offering everything from very affordable pieces to works by the world’s top artists.

Pismo Fine Art Glass, located in Cherry Creek North, an upscale neighborhood and shopping district, offers this diverse range. Among the works available are chandeliers by renowned American glass sculptor Dale Chihuly.

“Dale has elevated blown glass from a craft to an art, and is represented in museums around the world,” says owner Sandy Sardella. “[Italian] Lino Tagliapietra is another of the most-talented glass artists in the world. He is now in his early 70s, and continues to amaze us with his creativity and genius.”

Pismo also offers the works of up-and-coming artists. “It’s often difficult to bridge the gap between affordable art for the home and museum-quality work for the discriminating collector,” says Sardella. Yet Pismo can do just that.