Dates & times
All times are local to the venue · America/Denver
- 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Steve Fitch at the Denver Art Museum: Anderman Photography Lecture, March 16
In Steve Fitch’s photographs, motel signs, roadside attractions, drive-in theaters, radio towers and abandoned buildings are more than background scenery. Across more than five decades, the photographer and educator has used these features of the road to consider how the American West’s vernacular landscape changes.
A highway traced across decades
The museum describes Fitch’s work as attentive to the places people encounter on road trips and the marks they leave on the landscape. Its event page names works from different years and locations, including Snakepit Operator, Highway 66, Sayre, Oklahoma (1973); Dinosaur, Highway 40, Vernal, Utah (1974); and Highway 87, Plainview, Texas (2004). Those titles establish a broad geography and timeline without promising which photographs will be discussed during the lecture.
Two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships supported the project that became Diesels and Dinosaurs: Photographs from the American Highway and its accompanying photobook, published in 1976. Fitch has taught photography at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Princeton and College of Santa Fe. The museum also notes that he lives in rural New Mexico in an off-grid passive-solar house he built with his wife.
Further reading: Anderman Photography Lecture: Steve Fitch | Denver Art Museum ↗
What photographs can make a thing mean
The lecture is connected to What We’ve Been Up To: Things, an exhibition about the meanings photographs can attach to familiar objects. A thing in the show might remain an object, or suggest a symbol, memory, joke or fragment of a story. Its published selection ranges from Roman de Salvo’s Hydrant Fire to Sandy Skoglund’s Luncheon Meat on a Counter and Zeke Berman’s Measuring Cup.
The exhibition is the third in a series organized by the museum’s Photography Department, which has collected hundreds of artworks since its establishment in 2008. Earlier installments focused on landscape photographs and pictures of people. Fitch’s attention to roadside signs and structures offers a particular case for the exhibition’s larger question: how a photograph can make an ordinary part of the surroundings carry meaning beyond its practical use.
Further reading: Anderman Photography Lecture: Steve Fitch | Denver Art Museum ↗ · What We’ve Been Up To: Things | Denver Art Museum Exhibitions ↗
One lecture within a March photography program
Fitch’s talk is part of the Denver Art Museum’s 2026–27 Anderman Photography Lecture Series. Established in 2014, the series presents quarterly talks by creators and thinkers in photography; the museum’s Photography Department organizes it, with support from Evan and Elizabeth Anderman.
The lecture is also part of Month of Photography Denver, a biennial program of photography exhibitions and events across Colorado. The 2027 festival runs March 1–31, so the museum appearance falls within its month-long schedule rather than standing in for the festival as a whole.
Further reading: Anderman Photography Lecture: Steve Fitch | Denver Art Museum ↗ · Anderman Photography Lecture Series | Denver Art Museum ↗ · Month of Photography Denver | Denver's Biggest Biennial Celebration of Fine Art Photography ↗
The Anderman series and the festival
Fitch is the named speaker in this one-hour museum lecture. The event is part of the Anderman series and is also listed within Month of Photography Denver’s 2027 festival.
Tuesday, March 16, 2027 · Sharp Auditorium—Hamilton Building, Lower Level
- Anderman Photography Lecture: Steve Fitch
Plan the evening
Sharp Auditorium in the Hamilton Building
The lecture is Tuesday, March 16, 2027, from 6 to 7 pm, in Sharp Auditorium on the lower level of the Denver Art Museum’s Hamilton Building.
Anderman Photography Lecture: Steve Fitch | Denver Art Museum ↗
Ticket required; price not listed
The event listing says a ticket is required, with a discount for members and free admission for Museum Friends, CultureHaus and students. The lecture-series page specifies that students need valid ID. The event listing says tickets will go on sale soon but gives no price or sale date.
The event information does not clarify whether the lecture ticket also includes museum admission. The connected exhibition is included with general admission, so check what your ticket covers if you plan to visit the galleries.
Anderman Photography Lecture: Steve Fitch | Denver Art Museum ↗ · Anderman Photography Lecture Series | Denver Art Museum ↗ · What We’ve Been Up To: Things | Denver Art Museum Exhibitions ↗
Things is on view through April 25
What We’ve Been Up To: Things is on view November 22, 2026–April 25, 2027, in the Martin Building, Level 6, and is included with general admission. The museum lists Tuesday hours as 10 am–8 pm; its event listing does not say whether the lecture ticket grants gallery entry.
What We’ve Been Up To: Things | Denver Art Museum Exhibitions ↗ · Plan Your Visit | Denver Art Museum ↗
Museum-wide facilities and program services
The museum says all public areas are wheelchair accessible, with elevators throughout and power-assist doors at the main entrances to both buildings. Wheelchairs are available at no charge on a first-come, first-served basis at the Hamilton and Martin Building welcome centers; portable stools are available in the galleries. Wheelchair-accessible restrooms are on every level of both buildings.
Getting to Sharp Auditorium
Address and event building
The Denver Art Museum is at 100 W 14th Ave. Pkwy., Denver, CO 80204. The lecture is in Sharp Auditorium on the lower level of the Hamilton Building. The museum lists entrances at the Hamilton Building, Martin Building and The Kirkland.
Anderman Photography Lecture: Steve Fitch | Denver Art Museum ↗ · Plan Your Visit | Denver Art Museum ↗
Transit and bikes
The museum says RTD serves it from across the metro area. On the Free MallRide, get off at Cleveland Place and walk south through Civic Center Park. Bike racks are available on the museum plaza.
Accessibility at Denver Art Museum | Parking, Mobility & More ↗
Parking and drop-off
Street and metered parking is available nearby, and the museum lists several lots within walking distance. The Cultural Center Complex Garage is at 12th Avenue and Broadway; accessible parking spaces are on its second level. The museum also lists accessible parking on 13th Avenue south of Broadway and an elder and accessible drop-off and pickup area on 13th Avenue between Broadway and Bannock.
Plan Your Visit | Denver Art Museum ↗ · Accessibility at Denver Art Museum | Parking, Mobility & More ↗
Before you make a plan
Who can attend the lecture for free?
The event listing names Museum Friends, CultureHaus and students; the lecture-series page says students need valid ID. Members receive a discount.
Anderman Photography Lecture: Steve Fitch | Denver Art Museum ↗ · Anderman Photography Lecture Series | Denver Art Museum ↗
Does the lecture ticket include the Things exhibition?
The exhibition is included with general admission, but the lecture listing does not say whether its ticket includes museum entry. Confirm what your ticket covers if you plan to see the galleries.
Anderman Photography Lecture: Steve Fitch | Denver Art Museum ↗ · What We’ve Been Up To: Things | Denver Art Museum Exhibitions ↗
Location & Google Maps
Sharp Auditorium—Hamilton Building, Lower Level, Denver Art Museum
100 W 14th Ave. Pkwy., Denver, CO 80204
Map search by venue and address. Check the organiser’s entrance details before travelling.