Montana Arts Council

10/30/2026

A few words from Sir Patrick Stewart on art's necessity for humanity, on the occasion of an address to the Oxford Union in 2013. The full address can be seen at the link below. Godspeed, Captain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSQw2C1CoeQ

10/22/2026

Bootmaker and Montana Circle of American Masters honoree Mike Ryan is the subject of a great feature on KPAX-TV. The last shoe repairman in Helena, Mike has spent four decades making old footwear good as new, and making new footwear out of raw materials. Watch the segment below, and learn more about the Montana Circle of American Masters at our website.

https://www.kpax.com/news/helenas-last-shoe-repairman-carries-on-decades-long-bootmaking-tradition

https://art.mt.gov/mcam

More than four decades ago, Mike Ryan learned how to make a pair of boots in just five and a half days. Today, he has made over 5,000 pairs and is the last shoe repairman in Helena. Details below:

10/06/2026

What is it the Montana Arts Council actually does? Read all about it—in the Fall issue of State of the Arts. In this issue, we talk about many of our programs and how they help support artists and Montana's creative economy. Among the stories:

We discuss what the Montana Arts Council does, day in and day out, and how the arts contribute to our state's economy.

We look at the Montana Folk Festival and they ways in which traditional arts keep Montana's cultural heritage alive, functional, and often amazingly beautiful.

The Arts Council's Creative Aging program contributes to lifelong learning, which contributes to better health and quality of life for older Montanans.

We sneak into a session of Art Works, which teaches working artists the business side of earning a living through creativity,.

Strategic Investment Grants help arts organizations do all the mundane stuff around making art.

The Governor's Arts Awards? They're like the Oscars for Montana's creative community. See who's honored in 2026.

Poetry Out Loud is back for another year of exciting competition, as Montana's high school students learn and recite poetry on stage, for a chance to go to Nationals in Washington, DC.

Also, there's a full slate of arts events in the spring calendar, plus book and music reviews and more. Read it today at https://art.mt.gov/soa

09/29/2026

This Friday in Bozeman, a unique cross-section of words and music celebrating the Black Ram Guitar, commissioned by Jeff Bridges’ “All in this together” sustainability campaign, is happening at the Willson Auditorium. Created to support protecting wild lands in Montana’s Yaak Valley, the event will feature paintings by Clyde Aspevig, Monte Dolack and Linda Foy, sculpture by Jack Schwarze, poetry by U.S. poet laureate Ada Limón, and comments and song by Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe speakers and singers.

Emceed by Bill McKibben, the night will feature music by Ruth Moody of the Wailin' Jennys and a host of Montana musicians. A great chance to to see and hear some of Montana's best art! blackramguitarfest.org

09/16/2026

Tonight in Livingston, join author Gretel Ehrlich in the season opener of Elk River Arts & Lectures' Autumn lecture series. An acclaimed essayist, poet, and travel writer whose work has shaped contemporary understandings of the American West, Ehrlich's body of work spans more than a dozen books which has garnered honors from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Whiting Foundation, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Celebrating her acclaimed collection of essays, The Solace of Open Spaces, Ehrlich writes with a rare blend of lyricism, ecological insight, and cultural attentiveness. Her lecture begins at 7pm at the Shane Lalani Center for the Arts.

09/11/2026

This day is always a chance to reflect on who we are as a people and how we help one another, in good times and terrible times. It's our 250th year as a nation, and 25 years since one of our darkest days. May we continue to join together, one from many, to celebrate the good and to honor the goodness found even in the worst of times, on this day and on every day.

Image: Raising the colors at Red Ants Pants in White Sulphur Springs, July 2026

08/19/2026

Tomorrow evening in Helena at the Montana Historical Society's Heritage Center, join Chris La Tray, Alisa Herodes, Mike Jetty, and Aaron Parrett for an informative discussion oNicholas C.P. Vrooman's seminal work "The Whole Country Was 'One Robe.'" It's an irreplaceable history of the Little Shell Tribe and the Métis people and is finally back in print for the first time in decades. Hear lively discussion, pick up a copy for yourself, and learn about the amazing odyssey of one of Montana's most significant cultural stories. The event kicks off at 5:30!

08/13/2026

With a Montana Arts Council grant, Lewis and Clark Public Health is combating stress and trauma in the Helena area with the healing power of art. Using movement, theater, and traditional skills, more than a dozen area health care providers are supplementing other forms of therapy with art to address these issues.

"We know art is not going to solve all the problems of burnout, but the social support of doing art in a group is a great opportunity,” says Jessica Dorrington, a behavioral health systems improvement specialist with Lewis and Clark Public Health.

Watch the whole story on KTVH to learn more about how art assists in healing:

Now, Lewis and Clark Public Health is using an around $8,000 Montana Arts Council grant to explore how creative practices can support the people caring for our community.

08/04/2026

There's much ado about something all across the Big Sky each summer as Montana Shakespeare in the Parks brings the Bard to every corner of the state. Here's a short bit of dramedy from last night's performance in Helena; check the troupe's website for a full schedule of upcoming performances.

https://shakespeareintheparks.org/

07/21/2026

The new issue of State of the Arts is in mailboxes and inboxes. Read yours now and learn about America's big birthday, art at the end of Montana's backroads, our long tradition of folk arts (including at the Montana State Prison), and what's happening in the two-thirds of Montana that isn't mountains!

Check out the new issue now! https://art.mt.gov/soa