By TOM BENSEN
The Missoula Cultural Council is now accepting applications to participate in the Last Best Solstice: Art on the River. The event will be held on June 21, from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Artists are needed to create art throughout the day or provide a demo of their specific process. Visual artists working in all disciplines are encouraged to apply. The event will be held on the Clark Fork Riverfront Trail. Participating artists and galleries will be provided with space to create and sell art throughout the day. MCC will handle sales in order to provide artists with more time to create art and engage the public. Deadline for applications is April 30.
The Missoula Art Museum presents Theo Ellsworth: Thought Clouds through June 26 (pictured here); Renée Brown: Profusion through June 20. Four Decades Of Collecting: Selections From The Permanent Collection through April 18; Big Sky High School Art Club through May 29. Jeneese Hilton: Raven Reviewing Modern through August 22. The Andy Warhol Collection from Museum Of Art at Washington State University begins April 9, with a Preview and Talk April 8 at 5:30, followed by a 7:00 film at the Roxy Theater.
Throwing In the Towel, a special benefit for the Northern Plains Resource Council, will be displayed at The Buttercup Market and Cafe for the month of April. The display comes from the personal collection of Bonnie Tarses. Enjoy the beautiful towels from around the country Monday-Friday 7:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. and weekends from 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. at 1221 Helen Ave.
The Montana Museum of Art & Culture presents Art of the State: 120 Artworks for 120 years, an exhibition celebrating the 120th Anniversary of the Permanent Collection, now through May 23.
The University of Montana School of Music presents the Student Recital Series: Jordan Wiegert, Percussion, April 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the UM Music Recital Hall; Carly Beadle, Soprano, April 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the UM Music Recital Hall; The University of Montana Chamber Chorale with a concert titled “As Waves that Seek the Shore,” April 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Music Recital Hall.
The Clay Studio of Missoula presents POTSKETCH, the 2015 Gala fundraiser, Saturday, April 18, from 6:00-10:00 p.m.
at the University Center North Ballroom, University of Montana. For more information, call 543-0509.
The University Center Gallery at the University of Montana is issuing its annual art call for the gallery’s 2015-16 exhibition calendar. The artwork displayed in the gallery comes from local, regional and national artists. The UCG is a nonprofit, dynamic, student-run space that allows students, faculty, staff and community members to visit and experience contemporary art exhibitions throughout the academic year. The exhibitions are carefully selected based on criteria focused on diversity in origin, media, content and style. Applications can be downloaded online or picked up and returned to the gallery on the second floor of the UC. A $15 application fee is required, though UM students, faculty and staff may apply at a discounted rate of $10. Fees collected are used to support the UC’s art initiatives and to help provide student-focused programming and space centered around the arts. The deadline for art call applications is 4:00 p.m. Thursday, April 9. Applications are available online here. To learn more about the art call, email Gwen Landquist, UC marketing and art manager, or call 406-243-5555.
The Montana World Affairs Council presents “Geopolitics, Geoeconomics and Globalization” with Richard Erb, PhD in economics from Stanford University. During his career, he worked on economic, monetary and financial sector issues at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the White House, and the US Treasury Department. April 9 from 12:00 noon-1:00 p.m. in the Governor’s Room in the Florence Building. Call 728-3328.
Master of Fine Arts graduate students Crista Ann Ames and Tyler Nansen will present their thesis exhibitions April 9-23 in the Gallery of Visual Arts, located on the first floor of the Social Science Building at the University of Montana. The opening reception for the exhibition will be from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 9. The event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.
The Dana Gallery presents the 4th annual “Icons of the West” show, giving artists the chance to uniquely interpret what it means to be a Western Icon. Our goal is to bring a diverse collection of artists together to help redefine Western Art. Deadline: April 9 at 12:00pm (MST) with a submission fee of $35. Click here for more information.
Turning the Wheel Missoula presents Tapestry Thursdays beginning April 9 (This Thursday) through June 4. A deep and playful dive into movement and community improvisation, at Headwaters Dance Studio. Registration required here. $10. per class, $80. for the session
The Friendship Force of Missoula – Western Montana is having a Member Social April 9 at 5:00pm at Repertoire Art & Design at 113 W. Broadway.
Daly Jazz presents Catharsis Thursday April 9 at 7:00 p.m., featuring Ryan Keberle – featured in Jazz Times last month as “One of 5 Trombonists You Need to Know” – along with Jorge Roeder (bass), Mike Rodriguez (trumpet), and Eric Doob (drums). Visit here to RSVP.
The Downtown Dance Collective presents Second Saturday Tango April 11. 8:00 pm – Introductory Tango Lesson. 9:00 – 12:00 pm – Tango Dance. Call 541-7240.
Award-winning author and conservationist William deBuys will deliver a nonfiction reading at 7:00 p.m. Friday, April 10, in the Turner Hall Dell Brown Room at the University of Montana. The reading, which is free and open to the public, will conclude the UM Creative Writing Program’s spring Visiting Writer Series. For more information call Creative Writing Program Coordinator Karin Schalm at 243-5267 or email here.
The Radius Gallery presents a Fresco Demonstration and Artist talk April 10 at 5:30 p.m. with a conversation and demonstration by LeAnn Boyd. Her pieces in the current exhibit of abstract art are inspired from the vestiges of the city of Pompeii, preserved by ash from the explosion of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Using the same trowel and plaster technique and only natural pigments, Boyd recreates the aura of antiquity, which raises questions about time and history in artistic representation. Call 541-7070.
The Captain Wilson Conspiracy plays at the Loft of Missoula Friday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Zootown Arts Community Center presents Contemporary Art History class, Sunday, April 12 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. $20/FREE to Members.
The Ed Norton Big Band plays the second Sunday every month at the Missoula Winery, 5646 West Harrier. That’s this Sunday, April 12, at 6:00 p.m.
The Art Associates of Missoula monthly meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 15, at 10:00 a.m. in the Education Center of the Missoula Art Museum, 335 N. Pattee St, Missoula. Kathi Olson of the City of Missoula Public Art Committee will share project details about Missoula’s artistically decorated Traffic Signal Boxes. Art Associates meetings are free and open to the public. For more information please call Susie at 544-0891.
The 38th International Wildlife Film Festival begins April 18 at the Roxy Theater. For the full schedule of events, visit here.
The International Choral Festival, KPAX-TV and Southgate Mall are presenting “Raise Your Voice,” a live on-air fundraising telethon to benefit the 2016 International Choral Festival April 18 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. The broadcast will be aired on Channel 8 and will be live from the JC Penney Court of the Southgate Mall. Local choral groups including Missoula Mendelssohn Club, Sweet Adelines, Hellgate Chevaliers, Missoula Kid’s Choir, Choral Festival Octet and the University Choir will perform during the hour-long Telethon. The broadcast will be hosted by KPAX’s Mike Powers, Jill Valley and Erin Yost, who will present entertaining commentary about Missoula’s Festival, interviews with Festival organizers, and pre-recorded interviews with key community supporters for a perspective on the Festival’s impact on Western Montana. Sponsors of the 2016 Festival will also be featured during the broadcast. Come watch the Telethon live at the Mall, or tune into KPAX Channel 8 from home on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m., or watch the broadcast streamed on www.KPAX.com.
The Historical Museum at Fort Missoula is pleased to announce that it is now accepting applications for the annual Preserving Missoula County History Grant program. This program is open to all Missoula County non-profit organizations involved in historic preservation and interpretation projects in Missoula County. A total amount of $10,000 is available for one-time projects with a demonstrable long-term impact for local history; individual projects are limited to a maximum grant of $5,000. For details and applications contact Matt Lautzenheiser, Executive Director, Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, 3400 Captain Rawn Way, Missoula, MT, 59804; 728-3476, extension 1; or e-mail here. Application deadline is June 15, 2014 (earlier submission is recommended).
For more information about arts events in the Missoula area, visit our website
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Tom Bensen has lived in Missoula since 1986, and has been the executive director of the Missoula Cultural Council since June 2004. He has directed First Night Missoula each New Year’s Eve since 1997. He is a member of Missoula’s choral ensemble Dolce Canto, and enjoys being outdoors, whether it is hiking, biking, skiing, walking the dogs, or mowing the lawn. His wife Susan works for Montana Public Radio, and their son Peter attends Hellgate High School.