STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Standard Gallery and Wine Bar, the newest art venue in downtown Steamboat Springs, is planned as a gathering place with tasty charcuterie boards, sculptures and walls covered with innovative artwork.

But when the gallery opens Nov. 6, owner Dustin Posiak-Trider has hopes that it will offer so much more.

“I want to be more of an advocate for the community and the art community,” Posiak-Trider said. “I’m looking to be an advocate for the art community to be a platform.”

Posiak-Trider said he was drawn to the space by architectural details, the character, the hardwood floors and skylights, and he is hoping to open the doors in time for the First Friday Art Walk on Nov. 6. He said the gallery will eventually serve beer and wine, but he is still in the process of getting his liquor license.

“I wanted it to be simple but also kind of contemporary,” Posiak-Trider said. “The gallery has this kind of Prohibition Era-aesthetic speakeasy quality.”

Posiak-Trider received a Bachelor of Science degree in applied economics from the University of Maine where he also studied design and photography. Posiak-Trider moved from Maine to Colorado in 2018 after finishing his first book project.

He is a commercial photographer, who enjoys working in medium and large formats, and he has worked locally for Laura the Butcher, Yampa Valley Kitchen and many other local restaurants.

Posiak-Trider, who had been working as gallery director at the Jace Romick Gallery, decided to branch out with his own gallery when he learned the space at 907 Lincoln Ave. was available.

“I do a lot of food photography in town. I do a lot of commercial work in town and a lot of commercial work in New York City, and I have built a pretty good portfolio,” Posiak-Trider said. “I want to show things that are important socially but also different than a traditional western gallery. I’m trying to challenge what a western gallery feels like.”

In addition to his own work, Posiak-Trider is working with several artists to show their work at the gallery, including sculptor Laura Buckman and painter Andrew Bolam.

“I want to bring a refresh to that aesthetic — both with curating and representing artists that align with the aesthetic that I’m trying to achieve,” Posiak-Trider said. “I’m a landscape photographer, and that’s what helps me pay the bills, because that’s what people buy. But there’s always that tricky balance between photographing stuff that you’re really into doing or photographing and producing work that sells.”

Posiak-Trider has introduced a concept that includes beer, wine and charcuterie boards in an effort to create another revenue source to help him expand the type of shows he can hang. He has partnered with his wife, Laura Posiak , who owns and operates Laura the Butcher.

“Part of the concept was to introduce the wine and beer and Laura’s charcuterie into the space to help me offset my revenue demands to afford the space,” Posiak-Trider said. “Then I can be a little more loose with showing stuff that I really believe in, in art that I really believe in, and I don’t always have to show work that I think is going to sell. That way I’m not looking for a transaction, I’m looking to create a really cool experience.”

Additionally, Posiak-Trider hopes to hold photography and other types of workshops in the space as well as “Moth” storytelling nights, where people tell their life stories in a five-minute format.

“This gallery is for the community,” Posiak-Trider said, “I’m going to show work that I believe in, and I want to have a venue for the community where they can come in and share their stories.”

John F. Russell is the business reporter at the Steamboat Pilot & Today. To reach him, call 970-871-4209, email jrussell@SteamboatPilot.com or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966.