HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-27-26 Correspondence - MT Arts Council - ARTeries_ News from the Montana Arts Council for Late January 2026From:Montana Arts CouncilTo:Bozeman Public CommentSubject:[EXTERNAL]ARTeries: News from the Montana Arts Council for Late January 2026Date:Thursday, January 22, 2026 7:10:18 PM
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The latest from Montana's state arts agency
ARTeries - The Lifeblood of Arts In Montana
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Artists Thrive 2026, with multicolored exclamation points over images of locations
Registration is now open for the Artists Thrive Summit in Billings (and five other cities), March 24-26. Artists Thrive is
a presented by the Tremaine Foundation, in partnership with the Montana Arts Council and MSU Billings.
You asked for it, you got it. One of the things we’ve heard a lot at MAC is how
urgently the arts field needs more opportunities to gather together in person to
network, learn, develop new skills, be inspired, and energize your work. Announcing
the 2026 Artists Thrive Summit, March 24-26. Artists Thrive takes place in six
American cities—you can take your pick—including Billings. Register now. You can
register for the Billings event here. Cost: $200, which includes six free meals. But
wait: If you’re a Montana artist or arts organization, you can apply for a scholarship.
Email krys.holmes@mt.gov, and we’ll tell you how.
The conference includes some time on Zoom with all participants nationwide, and
some live sessions, tours, workshops and activities on the ground, face to face. Each
location has a theme; Billings' theme is “Rooted in Place: Arts and Community in
Conversation,” and sessions will focus on building community in remote places, and
how art helps communities thrive. Come thrive with us—and with each other.
Hope to see you there.
Krys Holmes
Executive Director
krys.holmes@mt.gov
Advocacy Works
On January 8th, the U.S. House passed a budget package that included consistent
funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the
Humanities (at $207 million each)—in a landslide vote of 397 to 28. This budget bill
now sits with the Senate, and with that strong an approval rating is not expected to
face headwinds. Two things to know: This major victory came after thousands of
supportive contacts from communities like yours, who educated their delegates on the
power of art to heal veterans’ wounds of war; to boost health outcomes; to make
life better for seniors and retirees; and to dramatically enhance educational
outcomes to give students a leg up in workforce preparation. And this public
investment is particularly important to rural states like Montana, where needs outpace
resources and private funding is scarce.
Keep it up, Montana. The benefits of art are for everyone. Keep talking to your
leaders and lawmakers about why art is important to you, your community, and to
preserving the Montana way of life.
Spotlight
“Food Tastes Better This Way,” (acrylic and stain on wood panel, 2023) by April Werle
Montana artist April Werle is one of 29 artists across 17 states selected for the
national Foodstories: We Are What We Eat art project. Check out April’s website
here, and if you run into her on the streets (or in the kitchens) of Missoula, tell her hi.
April is a narrative painter exploring cultural identity whose work has been featured at
the Montana Museum of Art and Culture, The Holter Museum of Art, and Missoula Art
Museum, as well as many other places.
For Artists
Teaching artists: Expand your impact by
working with dementia patients. Arts &
Minds, a NY-based nonprofit working in the
intersection between dementia and the arts,
offers trainings for artists working in
museums, arts organizations, and community
centers, boosting your skills to work with
people with dementia and their caregivers.
They’re now offering a self-paced,
asynchronous virtual training—first session
launches Jan 28. Cost: $350. Learn more
here.
Another artist opportunity: Art conservation—the preservation and restoration of art
and artifacts—offers a fascinating career path for those with the right skills and
training. Learn more from the Emerging Art Conservation Professionals Network
of art conservationists in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.
Performers ready to showcase: Next Thursday, Jan. 29, the Montana Performing
Arts Consortium (MPAC) offers a free info session for artists and agents. It
includes tips & advice when you apply to showcase (applications open Feb 1).
MPAC’s October showcase is the best way to book a Montana tour of theaters and
performing arts centers and boost your career. Check it out.
Call for art: The Holter Museum of Art (Helena), is seeking artwork inspired by or
related to a Nolan Salix painting, “Golden Sunlight,” for a juried exhibition scheduled
for August-November 2026. Submission deadline is May 8. Learn more here.
“Golden Sunlight,” by Nolan Salix, uses tar-encrusted paint under gold leaf in this painting “man’s lust for the beauty
of gold” and its conflict with love of the beauty of the intact landscape.
MSU is seeking an artist to create an interactive exterior art installation for MSU's
Student Memorial, an outdoor gathering space located between the west end of
Centennial Mall and the Duck Pond dedicated to commemorating students that have
died while attending MSU. Total budget: $20,000. Deadline to submit: March 6. Find
out more here.
Colossal is an art e-zine, based in Chicago, that celebrates contemporary art and
visual culture across a wide range of creative disciplines. They focus on all the ways
contemporary art brings about change and human connection. They also host a
robust calendar of artist calls and opportunities. Check it out here. They’ll even
email you a work of art every day, which is fun.
“Northern Lights in Bossekop on 21 January 1839,” published in ‘Under Nordlysets Straaler. Skildringer fra
Lappernes Land’ (1885). From the Colossal website.
The National Artist Safety Survey wants to hear from artists: Are you facing
growing challenges, financial strain, shrinking access to spaces, even the struggle to
freely create? Take this anonymous survey from the Craft Emergency Relief Fund
(cerf+), and help them better understand what artists are up against these days. Then
check out the cerf+ website for more opportunities.
Do you need a lawyer? The Creative Capital Artist Lab offers a free webinar for
artists, “How to Speak With a Lawyer,” next Tues Jan 27th. What should you say, and
ask? How do you know if it’s a good fit? Click here to register.
Grant opportunity for young artists aged 10-17 in Montana, Idaho or Wyoming is
offered by the Kaj Seifert Foundation for Aspiring Young Artists. Named in honor of
Kaj Seifert, a Bozeman musician, Foundation provides encouragement and financial
support to youths interested in pursuing a new or continuing form of artistic
expression. Learn more here.
For Arts Organizations
Framed artworks and three-dimensional art on tables at Mondak Heritage Center
Little museums across Montana, like the Mondak Heritage Center in Sidney, preserve our history and tell the
authentic story of life in Montana.
The Museum Association of Montana conference will be one of the first
conferences held at the new Montana Heritage Center in Helena, March 11-13.
Workshops, tours and conference sessions, all about preserving Montana’s cultural
heritage and historic treasures. Register here.
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The Business Behind the Curtain is a 3-part virtual professional development
series designed for arts leaders across various disciplines. Even though it was built
with performing arts organizations in mind, the topics are relevant to anyone
navigating pricing strategy, audience engagement, internal culture, and sustainable
organizational structures. Cost: $150. Learn more here. And if you’re an MPAC
member, ask Emily for a 15% discount code: info@mtperformingarts.org.
Safety and security for nonprofits is on many minds right now. Join Catalyst
Montana for a walkthrough of their new safety and security toolkit—practical tools,
templates, and assessments to strengthen digital, personal, physical, and even
safety. It’s Feb 16, and free. Learn more here.
Good To Know
Montana’s Crow Fair was awarded a $50,000 Walking Together grant from Creative West.
Walking Together Grant from Creative West: Congratulations to the Crow Fair
Powwow on a $50,000 Walking Together grant from Creative West to support the rich
culture on the Crow Reservation. This grant will help ensure the cultural traditions of
the Crow people continue for generations. The Walking Together grant program will
support 22 grantees across the West and Pacific as they preserve and celebrate
cultural traditions—ranging from Indigenous art and storytelling to traditional dance,
drumming and more.
One school bus controls everything. How has consolidation changed the world of
arts and culture? Read this blog post by music and culture critic Ted Gioia. Four
movie studios now control Hollywood. Three major record labels own most of the hit
songs. Five companies publish 80% of the US book market. The CEOs of these
mega-corps—fewer than fifty people—could fit in a school bus. In a nation of 342
milion people, all with access to each other, those fifty people now control what gets
published, played, screened, and experienced in today’s arts and culture world. But,
Gioia says, those people don’t love art or creativity… they love profits. This is where
indies come in. Make your own art. Buy each other’s creations. Invest in what you
love. Be brave. Be ferociously your own genius self.
Do you receive the State of the Arts newpaper?
It’s free, statewide, and fun to read. You can subscribe
here to get one in your mailbox.
Subscribe Now!
Cool Quotes
"In time of need the artist, no less than the manual worker, is entitled to employment
as an artist at the public expense and that the arts, no less than business, agriculture,
and labor, are and should be the immediate concern of the ideal commonwealth."
—From Federal Project Number One of the Works Progress Administration
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