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Home My WebLink About02-05-26 Correspondence - MT Arts Council - ARTeries_ News from the Montana Arts Council for Early February 2026From:Montana Arts CouncilTo:Bozeman Public CommentSubject:[EXTERNAL]ARTeries: News from the Montana Arts Council for Early February 2026Date:Thursday, February 5, 2026 3:05:32 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. The latest from Montana's state arts agency ARTeries - The Lifeblood of Arts In Montana White Divider Image of "art saves lives" type on t-shirt, with poll data bullet points Even 9 years ago, there was strong support for incorporating the arts into physical and mental health care. MAC is helping bring those benefits to Montana. A quiet movement is afoot: Cancer treatment centers are finding that singing reduces cortisol among patients whose anxiety spikes during chemo. Singing also boosts cognitive health, respiratory function, and immune responses. Heart centers are looking at ways dance can help mitigate cardiovascular disease. In Florida, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare saved $567 per procedure by inviting a musician to play for pediatric patients while they prepped for CT scans. As of 2024, more than 50% of U.S. hospitals had arts programs for patients—and 55% have arts activities geared for healthcare staff. Here at MAC, we’re working with St. Peter’s Hospital and Lewis & Clark Public Health to develop new arts in health programs—and will be reaching out to other communities as well. Prodigious research shows that folding arts activities into healthcare programs improves outcomes, lowers costs, gives patients and caregivers new skills—and makes people happier. Stay tuned for more info as this new MAC program develops. Krys Holmes Executive Director krys.holmes@mt.gov Registration is now open for the Artists Thrive Summit in Billings (and five other cities), March 24-26. Artists Thrive is presented by the Tremaine Foundation, in partnership with the Montana Arts Council and MSU Billings. A statewide arts conference that offers relevant content, thoughtful discussions, opportunities for individual coaching, food, music, field trips, and opportunities to reflect alone and with colleagues? Bring on Artists Thrive Summit 2026, March 24- 26 in Billings (and five other towns across the country.) If you are a Montana artist seeking free registration, email krys.holmes@mt.gov for a free registration code. (We have a limited number, so get on it!) Spotlight “Poetry endures in the heart forever,” 107-year old Nina Sills said as she recited a James Whitcomb Riley poem she’d learned as a five-year-old. (Nina was Krys’s great-aunt.) This week we’re spotlighting Montana’s Poetry Out Loud coordinator, Kaisa Edy, as she works with teachers to help prep high-school students across Montana for regional poetry recitation competitions next week. Among the multitude of things she's doing, check out Kaisa's work on social media. Why Poetry Out Loud? Participants deepen their experience with poetry, learn public speaking skills, and sometimes discover their own voices in new ways. Oral history is not only our oldest communication form; it’s also workforce development in many subtle and surprising ways. On the afternoons of Monday, February 9 -12, regional events are happening on Montana college campuses. Next week’s regional finalists go on to the state Poetry Out Loud competition, March 7th in Helena. It’s very moving and inspiring. Please come. Montana poet, editor and educator Kaisa Edy, coordinator of Poetry Out Loud 2026, has been recruiting and supporting high-school students across Montana to participate in Poetry Out Loud. For Artists Performing artists—in music, comedy, theater, dance and other genres—who are tour-ready can apply to showcase at the Montana Performing Arts Consortium conference and showcase in Helena Oct 16-18. $30 fee for Montana artists. Deadline: April 24, but you get $10 discount if you apply before March 15. Info and application here. While you’re at it, you can also apply now to showcase at the Arts Northwest conference in Boise, ID, Oct 19-22, right after the Montana conference. $100 showcase application fee. Deadline April 13. Info and application here. Montana singer/songwriter Mike Murray showcased last year at MPAC. Showcasing artists book tours, entice presenters, and build relationships across Montana. Writers, playwrights, and actors might want to check out the virtual winter workshop series offered by Anaconda Ensemble Theatre. Workshop topics include: how to launch your acting career; elevating your audition; and story development using the Five Sentence Story technique. Find out more here. To register, email jackie@anacondaensembletheatre.com Traditional artists like tradition keeper Tim Ryan, who was inducted into the Montana Circle of American Masters in 2025, are eligible for the NEA National Heritage Fellowships. Our traditional arts are the most lasting way to share who we are with future generations. Folk and traditional artists carry our cultural heritage in their creative hands. The National Endowment for the Arts awards National Heritage Fellowships annually to folk and traditional artists whose exemplary achievements contribute to our nation’s distinctive cultural heritage. Fellowship nominations are open now. Deadline for step 1 is May 11th, but it’s a complex process. Go here to learn more. The Myrna Loy Grants to Artists are open, and available to artists working in any genre who live in Jefferson, Broadwater, or Lewis and Clark counties. Up to $1,000 for projects that result in a body of work—an exhibit, an album, a collection, a single work. Deadline March 13. Learn more here. The Myrna Loy, Helena’s community-fired arts activator, has been awarding grants to support individual artists’ work since the 1970s. The NEA's Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) enable Americans throughout the nation to experience the arts, foster and celebrate America’s artistic heritage and cultural legacy, and benefit from arts education at all stages of life. They also support arts and health programs, including creative arts therapies, that advance the well-being of people and communities. The NEA welcomes applications from first-time and returning applicants; from organizations serving rural, urban, suburban, and tribal communities of all sizes; and from organizations with small, medium, or large operating budgets. Deadline: February 16. More information here. Also, the NEA is sharing another grant opportunity, “Celebrating the Nation’s 250th Birthday with Music from U.S. Military Bands”. This grant program recognizes the role military bands have played throughout American history, celebrating the nation’s spirit through a wide range of musical styles and genres. Eligible organizations are invited to apply for a grant ranging from $10,000 up to $20,000 each (no cost share required) for arts projects that feature performances and/or educational programming with a U.S. military band to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence. Applications are due on February 23, 2026. Learn more here. For Arts Organizations Teams of creative people interested in revitalizing a community space can apply for the Activate Rural Learning Lab before Feb 20. Let’s bring this program to Montana. The Activate Rural Learning Lab comes to Montana this spring. Activate Rural is a 2-year cohort experience for teams of creative people in rural towns to develop and create a project to revitalize their community by developing a community space. The project comes with $50,000 in grant funding plus curated assistance. Towns with less than 20,000 people can apply; 10 projects will be awarded. Here is a link to the info session recording on Youtube. Deadline Feb 20. Learn more and apply here. Deadlines and Opportunities Come work with MAC! The Montana Arts Council (Helena) is hiring a full-time accounting tech and office manager, responsible for making all our operations and grants run smoothly. Have some fun in a full-time job, with state benefits. Job description and link to apply here. More jobs for Montanans in the arts! Glacier Symphony (Kalispell) is hiring an operations manager. Full time, $50,000- $70,000 DOE. Job description is here. Send cover letter, resume, and application to tony@gsocmusic.org. Montana Youth Symphony also seeks an operations manager. This contract position runs March 1-Aug. 30th, and pays $3,000/month. Learn more here. Museums Assoc. of Montana is looking for board members to help their organization in their work to strengthen all of Montana’s museums. Be part of preserving Montana’s heritage. If you’re interested, contact executive director Kristi Scott before Feb 10 at museumsofmt@gmail.com. Open AIR (Missoula) is hiring an Indigenous Initiatives coordinator. To get a job description, salary, and other details email director@openairmt.org. Preserve Montana (Helena) is hiring an office coordinator to make their statewide preservation work run smoothly. Part-time 1-year contract, $20-$22/hour. Apply before Feb 23. Information and application here. The Foundation for Montana History (Helena) is hiring an Education and Events Coordinator. Full time, $48,000-$55,000. Email your resume and cover letter explaining how your education and experience make you the ideal candidate for this position: charlene@mthistory.org. Creative West is recruiting grant application reviewers for their new Native Arts + Heritage Fund program. Reviewers will play a vital role in selecting projects that will have a meaningful impact on Native arts and culture—and will be paid. Apply here. White Divider Good To Know A mural featuring prickly pear cacti on a brown background across a building's wall This mural in progress, created by the Cougar Creek 4-H Club out in Terry, is just one of dozens of murals across Montana featured on Main Street Montana’s mural map. Is your town a member of the Montana Main Street program? If so, join the statewide celebration of murals on the Main Street Mural Map, showcasing public mural projects in the 38 member towns. Check it out here, and if your town is listed you can submit photos and information about your local public murals here. Montana International Choral Festival gathers people from all over the world to share in the power and beauty of the human voice in song. They’ve just announced their Summer 2027 dates: July 28-31, in Missoula. Recruiting international choirs to come to the US is increasingly challenging, the staff reports. Yet the work of connecting people through music is increasingly urgent. Wouldn’t it be nice if we all put this festival on our calendars? “Five milliliters of metaphor, two tablets of iambic pentameter, and a spoonful of symbolism: That might be the prescription you pick up at the The Poetry Pharmacy, a London bookstore centered on the power of verse to heal all manner of emotional afflictions.” So reads this article about how one indie bookstore is dispensing poetry as an analgesic for personal woes. They even have vials of “Poemcetamol” capsules containing little poetry scrolls to treat sorrow, angst, or fear. Montana’s indie bookstores, take note! London’s Poetry Pharmacy dispenses poetry to soothe, to energize, to inspire—even some of “the hard stuff” in a locked cabinet. “There’s something that poetry does that no other art can quite do,” says bookstore owner Deb Alma. Photo courtesy of the Poetry Pharmacy Instagram. Do you receive the State of the Arts newspaper? It’s free, statewide, and fun to read. You can subscribe here to get one in your mailbox. Subscribe Now! Cool Quotes "A work of art is good if it has arisen out of necessity." —Rainer Maria Rilke 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