The enormous peaked white canvas roof of the Denver International Airport instantly reminds visitors of the nearby Rocky Mountains or, perhaps, of the tepees of Plains Indians who camped here a century ago. The terminal, concourses and even the train tunnels that funnel visitors from their gates to the baggage claim area feature 26 site-specific works (eye-catching sculpture, murals, photography and installations) created by 39 contemporary artists that give visitors a quick introduction to Denver’s vibrant art scene.

Denver’s primary art districts are Golden Triangle (Denver Art Museum area), the Broadway Corridor (south of downtown), Santa Fe Drive, Cherry Creek and Lower Downtown (“LoDo”). There are a good many small galleries and single-subject museums tucked into neighborhoods throughout Denver. ArtScape, a gallery guide, artist-studio directory and calendar of art-related events, is a great resource; check out its Web site (www.artscapecolorado.com) for the most current information.

Try to arrange your visit to Denver during the first Friday of the month since nearly all of the galleries and museums stay open from 5 to 9 p.m. for the popular First Fridays Art Walks. A free shuttle circulates among the art districts, stopping not only at art venues but also at bookstores, coffee shops and restaurants.

The perfect place to start any exploration of art in Denver is the Denver Art Museum, known primarily for its collections of Native American, pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial art and artifacts. The building, a concrete castle designed in 1971 by Gio Ponti of Italy, silhouettes against the sky like a fort on the frontier.

The Daniel Libeskind–designed $90-million addition—an explosive tangle of angular forms clad in titanium—will nearly double the museum’s size when it opens in the fall of 2006. “This building will be a landmark, a building of significance that will be important to Denver like the Sydney Opera House is to Sydney and, indeed, to Australia,” says Lewis Sharp, the museum’s director.

Denver Central Library, a few steps away, houses a fine Western history department, including Audubon and Edward S. Curtis prints, and paintings by the great triumvirate of Western art—Frederic Remington, Charlie (Charles M.) Russell and Albert Bierstadt.