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Home My WebLink About09-17-26 Correspondence - MT Arts Council - ARTeries_ News from the Montana Arts Council for Mid September 2026From:Montana Arts CouncilTo:Bozeman Public CommentSubject:[EXTERNAL]ARTeries: News from the Montana Arts Council for Mid September 2026Date:Thursday, September 17, 2026 3:01:11 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 A canoe with human and dog floats across Lindbergh Lake Nothing could be clearer than the waters of a Montana lake on a September afternoon, especially with a canine friend like George. Photo by Paul Porte Clarity Fall opens us. The sky turns a more cerulean blue, trees shed their accessories, the air gains an edge that enlivens. We northerners know September brings clarity: we pack up the shenanigans of summer and turn our shoulders to the work of seasonal change. Summer is for visitors, but in the fall Montana speaks directly to us, reminding us who we are, who we came from, and who we strive to be. Across Montana we see new arts education projects beginning; fall festivals and pow wows that feature music, community, and food; new art exhibits in museums; innovative heritage projects at our culture centers. For the Arts Council, the work ahead is clear: to refine and strengthen our programs, to build the muscles of change to better serve Montanans, and sometimes to answer hard questions in these challenging times. This is what art does. Art serves everyone. It responds to the present moment. And like a crystal Montana mountain lake, art supports an entire ecosystem of commerce, community vitality, education, and joy. This is the work you do, and that MAC supports. Let’s all be clear about its importance to the people of Montana. Krys Holmes Executive Director krys.holmes@mt.gov What concerns you right now? MAC has teamed up with Montana Performing Arts Consortium (MPAC) and the Montana Art Gallery Directors Assoc. (MAGDA) to strap on our listening ears and ask you all about your needs and priorities right now. We’ve launched a simple three- question survey giving you lots of space to tell us what you need, struggle with, hope for, or are thinking about. Please click on the bold text, or use the QR code above to participate in the survey! Announcing your fall season? Promote your events to thousands, across Montana and outside the state, at the VisitMT.com events calendar. It's Montana's official events invitation for visitors from far and wide as well as those right here in the state. Add Your Event Here Artists Spotlight A row of children on stage wearing simple country clothing, bathed in red light “I Never Saw Another Butterfly,” presented by Hamilton Players in their Youth Summer Theater Camp. L to R: Lily Weingart, Kai Anderson, Ike Pruitt, Irene Matteson, McKayl Nisly, Kiah Nisly. Photo by denise rose for Hamilton Players. Used by permission. Hamilton Players: Theater deepens understanding For the young performers in “I Never Saw Another Butterfly”, staging a play became much more than learning lines, blocking scenes, and putting on a show. The play tells the story of the 15,000 children who passed through the gates of Terezin concentration camp in Poland in the 1940s. The production was part of the Youth Summer Theater Camp, put on by Hamilton Players. Executive Director denise rose reports the play allowed the cast and crew to explore moral dilemmas such as hatred, prejudice, bullying, and complicity, which followed them off the stage and into everyday conversations and life. “This camp gave these students and their families a safe place to wrestle with humanity’s hardest history, created a personal connection to that story, and showed what it takes to respond to hatred and bullying with empathy, courage, and action,” rose says. “For these students, theater has become a place for them to learn life lessons, ask hard questions, and see their world and other cultures in new ways.” Through the Public Value Partnership grant, Hamilton Players can continue offering youth theater programs that help grow students into confident and compassionate people. Three artists of the Montana Born collective, in front of a booth displaying their work. The Montana Born arts collective: Allison McGree, Hanah Uhde, and Kelley J. Sullivan Montana Born Collective rocks the Western Design Conference Montana Born is a collective of Bozeman artists Allison McGree, Kelley J Sullivan, and Hannah Uhde. This August, when the prestigious Western Design Conference relocated from Jackson Hole to Bozeman, these three artists saw a big opportunity. Using Strategic Investment Grant funds from MAC, they paid for professional photography of their work and the production of brochures, postcards, signage, and an advertisement in the event catalog. At an event the size of the Western Design Conference, it can be easy for debuting artists to get lost in the shuffle. The artists found that their preparation and investment in marketing materials allowed them to stand out and connect with future customers from across the country. If you’re an artist looking to maximize the impact of a “new-to-you” show or festival, consider applying to the Strategic Investment Grant. It’s a $1000 reimbursement grant with a deadline on the 15th of each month. Deadlines and Opportunities National Arts Futures Fellowship opens Looking to expand your career as an artist or arts professional? Creative West has launched its 2026 National Arts Futures Fellowship, a 6-month leadership development program for early and mid-career arts and culture professionals. Fellows will work together to build skills, networks, and vision for their careers, and have access to funding to enact the plans they create. Learn more and apply here. Free workshops for artists Springboard for the Arts (Minnesota) offers a string of free virtual workshops for artists this fall. Saturday, Sept 26 it’s Website Basics for Artists and Saturday, Oct 3 is Artists Working in Community. Both come with resources, tips, and probably new connections too. News Heavy metal music to withstand pain? Heavy metal music fans may handle pain better than others, according to a recent study by German neurological researchers and published in the journal Scientific Reports. Heavy metal music is often associated with anger and other negative emotions. But what researchers found is that people attending a German heavy-metal festival (who were not drinking alcohol) actually built pain tolerance. The study says that, even considering factors like anticipatory joy and the oxytocin of live music festivals, thrashing to head-banging music made it easier to withstand pain. Read about it in Popular Science and next time you have a bad day, ramp up the Metallica. This research supports our mantra at MAC: that art helps everything go better. Fire in the Mountains heavy metal music festival on Montana’s Blackfeet Reservation, where organizers know “heavy music does not avoid pain, it engages it directly”—according to SPIN Magazine. The festival’s Montan partner, Firekeepers Alliance (Browning), is one of four Arts in Health grant recipients from the Montana Arts Council this year. Their project teaches teens music, production, and recoding skills through heavy-metal music that expresses Blackfeet teens’ experiences of anger, joy, and togetherness. Photo by Jay Nel-McIntosh, SPIN. Stack of Montana-based books with Montana The Magazine of Western History Log Literature shapes our understanding of ourselves and our land. Montana Historical Society Press is in the home stretch with their “Best Books about Montana” poll. You have till Oct. 1 to vote for the books that have meant the most to you. Go here to name your top five picks. Or use the QR code in the image. White Divider "What's the Latest?" written in hand-brushed type inside cartoon speech balloon The Fall issue of State of the Arts newspaper is coming soon to a mailbox near you. Keep up on news, ideas, and people in the arts world across Montana. It’s free, statewide, and fun to read. You can subscribe here to get one in your mailbox. Subscribe Now! Cool Quotes "[Art], when done well, creates empathy." —Mary Gauthier 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 Granicus Communications Cloud on behalf of: MontanaArts Council