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Home My WebLink About11-07-25 Correspondence - MT Arts Council - ARTeries_ News from the Montana Arts Council for Early November 2025From:Montana Arts CouncilTo:Bozeman Public CommentSubject:[EXTERNAL]ARTeries: News from the Montana Arts Council for Early November 2025Date:Thursday, November 6, 2025 4:49:52 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. ARTeries - The Lifeblood of Arts In Montana White Divider Art brings people together, as humans have known for thousands of years, and as Gerrit van Honthorst reminds us in “The Concert” (1623). “Music transcends all boundaries, and speaks directly to the heart,” my friend Bob Packwood said this week. “That’s the holiness of it.” Bob has been a piano and keyboards player—in rock bands and jazz ensembles, and on dozens of CDs and special projects—his whole life. In a world where “the arts” are perceived as entertainment or decoration, Bob and I were talking about the ways art is critical to the soul, to our health, to our connections with one another. So here’s your assignment for the week, all you artists and art instigators: Take a pause from your worries about the world. Step away from thinking about the work of your work. Look out the window and think about how your work brings light and life and the fuse of connection into the world. Take some joy in that. Be brave. Make brave art. -Krys Holmes Krys Holmes Executive Director krys.holmes@mt.gov Spotlight Montana filmmaker Brooke Pepion Swaney has been awarded the 2025 SHIFT Award from Native Arts + Culture Foundation. In her project, called Maltá u Lusí, Swaney will produce a series of short films featuring language, story and cultural important lessons from her Sqelixʷ (Salish) heritage. The project is all in collaboration with the Nk̓ʷusm – Salish Language School in Arlee. Swaney produced the award- winning feature documentary Daughter of a Lost Bird, and the short documentary Lily Gladstone: Far Out There. The SHIFT program awards artists and collaborators who drive social change through a Native lens. Learn more about it here. Montana filmmaker Brooke Pepion Swaney is one of six SHIFT awardees this year, using their art to effect change in Indian Country (which is… well, everywhere). Grantee Spotlight Grants for teaching artists: For many artists, teaching classes and workshops expands revenue streams, and also benefits their communities. Today we’re spotlighting two artists who received Strategic Investment Grants (SIG) from the Arts Council, and who demonstrate how grant funding can improve the experience of students and diversify arts businesses too. Metalsmith and jewelry maker Beth Aimee (Bozeman) has long taught metalsmithing classes using simple folding tables. This year Beth used her SIG award to invest in sturdy work benches, lighting, and tools. After holding a couple’s wedding band workshop this fall, she reported increased convenience, efficiency, and professionalism of the setup—and she plans to expand her offerings. Beth Aimee’s Couples Wedding Band workshops—and other classes—will be a higher value with her new professional setup partly funded by a Strategic Investment Grant. Check out her art and full offerings here: Beth Aimee Jewelry Painter, potter and mixed media artist Sheri Jarvis (Virginia City) recently began teaching pottery classes out of her studio in the Virginia City Schoolhouse building. With over 20 year of experience as a professional potter, Sheri was ready to incorporate classes into her practice as a steady income-generator. By investing in clay and glazes, she was able to launch a class-series that has so far served 8 students. Beyond a business investment, Sheri sees the positive impact of the classes on her rural community, and reports that most of the students are excited to sign up for future offerings. Strategic Investment Grants provide up to $1,000 for expenses related to opportunities for professional development, market expansion, and art events for individual artists and small arts orgs. Sheri Jarvis used her SIG award to invest in supplies to launch a series of pottery classes in Virginia City. Check out her work here: Sheri Jarvis Art For Artists White Divider Craft a better bio and artist statement: Creative West is offering a free workshop called Storytelling for Impact (Artist Statements & Bios) next week, Nov. 11th. It offers artists tips and strategies for crafting bios and origin stories that really connect with your audience. Learn more about Creative West’s capacity-building webinar series— equally valuable for artists and nonprofits—with sessions on fundraising, grants for artists, planning, and many other topics. We said this before: Open AIR is accepting residency applications for 13 residency sites across the state, from remote wilderness areas to historic cultural landmarks. Learn more here. Deadline is Dec 17. Open AIR, Montana’s statewide artist residency program, finally settled into a permanent home in October, at 300 Evans Ave. in Missoula. Stop by with a loaf of bread and some salt. Helena artists: Dec 12 is the deadline for applying for Helena Public Art Committee’s $5,000 community collaboration grant. Do you have a public art project that will make Helena more vibrant? Go here for more info. Apply courageously! Artwork by David Goodson and Amanda Reese livened up the JE Allen Livery Stables building in Helena in 2021. What public art idea do you have? Montana artists: MSU in Bozeman is seeking submissions from professional and student artists for a Student Memorial public art opportunity. Go here for project details. Deadline Dec. 13th. For Arts Organizations Americans for the Arts logo, with colorful star-shaped banner Did your org lose NEA funding this year? Americans for the Arts has opened the National Arts Relief Fund, a rapid-response grant program to support nonprofits whose NEA grants were withdrawn, with one-time grants up to 50% of withdrawn award. The NEA Notice of Withdrawn Funding is required. Go here to learn more. Deadline Nov 18th. Are you advocating for the arts? Because there are powerful voices advocating against you. Learn more about how we can tell the story of the power of the arts to improve society in this blog: Lobbying vs. Advocacy: A Nonprofit Primer. It has guidance, tips, pitfalls to avoid, and other useful info. You’re welcome. Montana Nonprofit Association Logo Get or provide mentorship support from peers in Montana Nonprofit Assoc.’s new Nonprofit Mentorship Program, designed to grow the skills of individual leaders, spread knowledge across the field, and build community among nonprofits. Click on the link to learn more, and apply by Dec 12th! Nonprofits comprise 12% of Montana’s economy. Let’s flex some muscle together. Rural community leaders: you can apply for MNA’s Rural Ambassadors program, providing local capacity-building support to rural and under-resourced communities. It’s a contract position (with pay!) Ambassadors work on maintaining and growing relationships with community leaders to learn about community needs and strengths, facilitating training opportunities with MNA, and hosting networking events. Deadline Dec. 12th. For Arts Educators The Story of Us type, in Montana state outline over faded painterly colors All Montana educators should know about the Montana-made history documentary series, The Story of Us: The Women Who Shaped Montana, now launching its third half-hour episode. View it on Montana PBS November 13th at 7:30 pm - then go to the PBS website to check out the first two episodes and a great collection of educational materials. The filmmakers will host screenings in several Montana towns in the days to come. To schedule a screening in your town, email the Extreme History Project: crystal@extremehistoryproject.org. The Story of Us, produced by filmmaker Kim Hogberg (Helena) and Extreme History Project (Bozeman), features little-known women who have had a remarkable impact on Montana. The art of history: National History Day of Montana is recruiting student-teacher teams across Montana to participate in the 2026 Young People's Continental Congress—a weeklong educational experience held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A team from Harlowton, MT participated in the 2025 YPCC program and returned with th glowing reviews. Go here for more info. Deadline Nov. 14 . Good Things Welcome John Knight, the interim director at Humanities Montana, stepping into the space so capably run by Jill Baker these past few years. You’ll recognize John: he formerly led Montana Conversations, Speakers in the Schools, the Montana Center for the Book, and other HuMT programs before the nationwide funding collapse earlier this year. We salute John’s courage and competence, and look forward to working with HuMT in this important year to come. And many heartfelt thanks to Jill Baker, for her dedication to Montana’s humanities and culture. As former President Ronald Reagan said, “The arts and humanities define who we are as people. That is their power.” Welcome, John, to this important position in this critical time. In Virginia City, the Elling House Arts and Humanities Center is seeking volunteers to create décor for their Splendid Feast holiday celebration in December. Workshops are Nov 15 for ornament making, and Nov 22 for wreath making. For more information call 406-843-5454 or 406-843-5507. “We’re only alive right now,” writes former Montana Poet Laureate Mark Gibbons in this wonderful substack essay that meanders through art, film, and music, and includes a beguiling Youtube video about the artist Carmel Cicero plus three poems by Gibbons himself. It’s good to read inspiring words. Then go on, “And don’t forget to pay attention.” Thanks, Mark. Looney Tunes, 2023, by Carmen Cicero (courtesy Westood Gallery). What? You haven’t watched his interview yet? Go here. Routes to Roots: New research shows the Blackfeet have been present in this region for at least 18,000 years. The Sqelixʷ people say they were created here. Just about everyone else has a migration story at some point in their heritage. To be human is to move around, as we are reminded in this 5-episode podcast rom Rural Remix that explores immigration in rural America. Check it out. Rural life is a fascinating life. The U.S. currently has 4.1 million immigrants, according to this interactive map published in The New York Times State of the Arts Banner It’s free, statewide, and fun to read. You can subscribe here to get one in your mailbox. Cool Quotes “This time, and this struggle, feels like a golden age of creativity in response right now.” Bob Packwood, piano player. Rectangular horizontal shape in red-purple color Manage Subscriptions | Unsubscribe All | Help Montana Arts Council | 830 N. Warren Street | Helena, MT 59601 | art.mt.gov This email was sent to comments@bozeman.net using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: MontanaArts Council