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Home My WebLink About02-19-26 Correspondence - MT Arts Council - ARTeries_ News from the Montana Arts Council for Late February 2026From:Montana Arts CouncilTo:Bozeman Public CommentSubject:[EXTERNAL]ARTeries: News from the Montana Arts Council for Late February 2026Date:Thursday, February 19, 2026 4:22:13 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 Strength, when used with control and purpose, helps us forge new art. Glenn Gilmore crafts a fire poker in his Bitterroot Valley smithy. Lent is a good time to give things up: alcohol, chocolate, yelling at people. My oldest brother once quit eating standing up for Lent—a lifelong practice for him—and those 40 days (plus the Sabbaths) changed his relationship to time and food. Lent is both discipline and discovery. So is art. What I’d like to see humans worldwide do this Lent is to give up destroying things, and discover what’s possible when we get back to creating. It’s too easy to knock things down—institutions, constitutional rights, human services, people—and much harder to create. Genesis 1:27 says that humans were made in the very image of God, the Creator. When we imagine and discover by creating things, we engage the divine within our humanity. We are made whole. The medical field is now turning to artists and art-making to address physical, mental, neurological, and addiction issues. When we create we are restored to ourselves. This is but one reason the work you do is so important to our world right now. Be brave. Make art. Krys Holmes Executive Director krys.holmes@mt.gov Poetry Out Loud Program Logo 2025-26 Congratulations to fourteen top-finishers and four alternates in the four regional semi-finals of Poetry Out Loud, the Arts Council’s statewide poetry recitation competition. Poetry Out Loud is a nationwide program boosting students’ public speaking, onstage confidence, and understanding of American poetry. Say congrats to Aaron Miller (Missoula) Ellette Whitcomb (Missoula), Samantha Symington (Big Sky), Nora Slovarp (Missoula), Vannie Urick (Belt), Zaine Firestone (Simms), Addison Lassu (Helena), William Shropshire (Helena), Amy Thoft (Polson), Daisy Anderson (Polson), Ryvr Wood (Polson), Eva Murray (Anaconda), Megan Donnelly (Butte), and Audrey Woessner (Bozeman). The four alternates are Mia Chatriand (Butte), Jasper Chisholm (Whitefish), Anna Johnson (Missoula) and Livie King (Belt). We’re eager to see all these regional finalists at the State Poetry Out Loud Finals in Helena on Saturday, March 7. Everyone’s welcome to this inspiring event. Find out more here. Join the Arts Council tomorrow at 10am for a great informational session covering our arts education grants. Filling out grant applications can be a daunting prospect—but it doesn't need to be, and this session is designed to help take the mystery out of the process. It's your chance to listen in, ask questions, and learn how to build strong grant applications with help from MAC staffers and your fellow applicants. Join us Friday, Feb. 20 at 10am via Zoom. We'll see you there! Registration is now open for the Artists Thrive Summit in Billings (and five other US cities), March 24-26. Artists Thrive is presented by the Tremaine Foundation, in partnership with the Montana Arts Council and MSU Billings. Register now for that statewide arts conference you’ve been asking for. The Artists Thrive Summit 2026, will offer relevant content, thoughtful discussions, opportunities for individual coaching, food, music, field trips, and opportunities to reflect alone and with colleagues. It’s 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 about 4 scholarships left, so get on it.) Spotlight A compelling idea, a playwright, supportive partners, and a stage. That’s how small wonderful things can turn into big wonderful things. This week’s example: Montana Repertory Theatre’s production of Can’t Drink Salt Water, which ends its premiere run this Sunday. (Stop reading and get tickets now.) The play, by Missoula’s Kendra Mylnechuk Potter of the Lummi Nation, takes on the issue of Murdered and Missing Indiginous People. It started, she said, with a flicker of an image: a woman underwater, breathing with gills, who knows that someone on dry land is looking for her. Read more about it here. This is the beauty and the heartbreak of art: It may not change the world. But it could. In Missoula this weekend? Check out MT Repertory Theatre’s “Can’t Drink Salt Water,” on the UM campus. For Artists Early-career Indigenous artists are invited to apply for the LIFT program, from the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation, providing early career support for Native Artists. The program offers a suite of services, including a $15,000 award. Learn more here. And here’s a special bonus: Applicants can receive one- on-one support building their application! Just book an appointment with an NACF team member, here. Early-career Indigenous artists, check out the LIFT program at the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation. This opportunity is too exciting to miss, if you qualify. Taxes for Artists mystifying you? Creative Capital offers a 7-module online course called “Taxes for Artists,” so you can approach tax season with more clarity and less stress. Learn essentials for managing taxes as an artist, including filing requirements, income and expense tracking, common deductions, and when to work with an accountant, in this 7-module course. Register online here. Artists K-8th grade are important to democracy too! Young creatives are invited to submit a bookmark design to the National Endowment for the Arts celebrating America 250 and the Declaration of Independence. Each design should reflect “What American means to me.” Three national winners will have their designs featured during major 2026 commemorative events, and will be invited to Washington, DC, with a parent/guardian. Four armed hands, some beer and a card game out on the prairie—what could go wrong? This 1904 photo by Charles E. Morris surely sparks a short story in you. Write 650 words or less and submit to the Montana Historical Society’s short story contest before Feb 27. The 6th Annual Historic Picture Short Story Contest seeks short fiction (650 words or less) prompted by any photo in the Montana Historical Society’s Portal Collection. Pick a compelling photo, write a short story, and submit by February 27th. There are categories for every age group from 3rd grade to adults. Click here for more info. Indigenous artists are also encouraged to apply for the Native Arts + Heritage Fund program, a community-rooted award program to support Native American and Alaska Native artists, culture bearers, and cultural practitioners across the West. The program includes a 3- month virtual cohort experience among Native artists, plus a $2,500 stipend. Learn more and apply here. Detail of a willow basket made by Tim Ryan of Salish-Kootenai college. Tim says that the first basket he made fell apart after six months because he'd used green twigs—and that the willows were teaching him how (and how not) to use the material. For Arts Organizations The tail end of COVID didn't keep MAGDA attendees from cutting a rug at the group's 2021 conference at Chico. An art museum meetup in Billings, for all MAGDA members, is scheduled for Saturday, April 11th at the Western Heritage Center. Visit the Center’s exhibits, chat with MAGDA board members, and enjoy light apps. Contact MAGDA for more information. 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. White Divider 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 "The enemy of art is the absence of limitations." —Orson Welles 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