As a noncollecting institution, the Aspen Art Museum presents contemporary art exhibitions that include drawings, paintings, sculptures, multimedia installations, and electronic media.

The Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising is Colorado State University’s historic costume and textiles collection. Its mission is the exploration of the aesthetic, social, cultural and physical significance of textiles, dress and interior furnishings. The collection originated in the early 1950s as a small faculty teaching resource in the former Department of Home Economics; until 2009, storage and exhibition space in the Gustafson Gallery were housed in the Gifford Building.