By TOM BENSEN
MCC Awards Luncheon
This Tuesday, our annual awards luncheon will honor those who have made significant contributions to the arts community this year in Missoula! The luncheon takes place on Tuesday, March 29, at the Doubletree Hotel from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM.
This year’s awardees are:
– Cultural Achievement: John Driscoll, Missoula Symphony Association
– Individual Artist: Kendahl Jan Jubb, Watercolor Painter
– Arts Educator: Dorothy Morrison, K-5 music teacher at Lewis and Clark Elementary School
– Business Support for the Arts: Flanagan Motors
– Cultural Vision: The Clay Studio of Missoula
MAM Features Art Installation That Will Evolve Daily
Visitors to the Missoula Art Museumwill experience art in the making this week! Beginning March 28 through March 31, Billings native and up-and-coming artist Abbie Miller will share her talent and creative process as she creates an exciting, site-specific sculptural installation in MAM’s Aresty Gallery.
Entitled Exit Strategies, Miller’s installation will draw inspiration from and interact with the large, multi-level space. Miller’s unique and honest approach draws equally from her art education and passion for fashion design. Her signature sculptural forms are architectural in scale and express figurative movement.
The Missoula Art Museum is always free admission, and is open Tuesday – Saturday from 10 AM – 5 PM. The opening reception for Abbie Miller’s installation Exit Strategieswill be from 5 – 8 PM on Friday, April 1.
Media should contact Brandon Reintjes, MAM Senior Curator, by email or 406.728.0447 x230, if they would like to attend the site-specific installation or request an interview with Abbie Miller.
Why Didn’t Anyone Tell Me?
Tell Us Something is a celebration of storytelling, of the Missoula community, and of each other.
“Things might have turned out differently if only someone had told me!” How many times have you said this? Come listen to nine storytellers share their true personal stories on this theme from memory, March 29 at 7:00 PM at the Wilma Theatre. Call 546-3855 or visit their website for more information. Tickets are $5.You can subscribe to the podcast using your favorite podcast app.
UM School of Music Faculty & Student Performances
Student Ensemble Series:
Monday, March 28: UM Chamber Chorale will perform at 7:30 PM in the UM Music Recital Hall. Tickets cost $11 for general admission, $6 for seniors and $5 for students.
Faculty and Guest Artist Series:
Tuesday, March 29: Faculty Chamber Recital is held at 7:30 PM in the UM Music Recital Hall. Tickets cost $12 for general admission or $8 for students and seniors.
Student Recital Series:
Wednesday, March 30: UM School of Music presents Claire Robertson, soprano, in a recital at 7:30 PM in the UM Music Recital Hall. Free and open the public.
Friday, April 1: UM School of Music presents Mack Gilcrest, composition, in a recital at 7:30 PM in the UM Music Recital Hall. Free and open the public.
For more info, contact the School of Music at 243-6880, or visit their website.
National Take a Walk in a Park Day
Meet at the Griz Statue on the UM campus, Wednesday, March 30 at 4 PM, for a casual stroll to celebrate National Take a Walk in a Park Day. Bring a snack or a picnic lunch. Free and open to the public. For more information, call Sandra Broadus at 243-4599.
Film & Discussion: People of a Feather
“People of a Feather” will show from 7 – 9 PM at the University Center Theater on Monday, March 28. Watch this award-winning documentary that depicts the relationship between the Inuit on the Belcher Islands of Canada’s Hudson Bay and the eider duck, upon which the Inuit depend to survive the harsh Arctic winters. The eider duck and the Inuit are both threatened by the development of massive hydroelectric dams, and this film acts as a call-to-action for sustainable energy solutions that work with nature, instead of disrupting it. The film will be followed by a discussion led by Rosalyn LaPier, UM environmental studies assistant professor and Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History research associate.
MCT Kids’ Spring Break Day Camp
If you haven’t made plans yet for your child’s spring break, have no fear! The Missoula Children’s Theatre has limited spots available in its spring day camp production of The Amazing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, April 4 – 10. MCT gives your child a full, fun theatrical experience. Each K-12 kiddo participates in an audition, receives a role in the show, rehearses, acts, sings, dances, and performs on the MCT Center for the Performing Arts stage.
Robinson Crusoe Day Camp runs April 4 – 8, from 9 AM – 4 PM. You choose a Saturday or Sunday performance date when you register at MCTinc.org.
The Amazing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe performances are April 9 and 10 at the MCT Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are available online or by calling 728-7529; or at MCT’s Box Office.
ZACC Spring Break Day Camps
WILDWALK COSTUME MAKING CAMP
Make a costume for the Missoula WildWalk parade. Learn the art of mask-making and costume assembly. Either make your own or participate in constructing a large scale costume to be carried by the group in the Missoula WildWalk Parade on April 17! This is a Half Day Spring Break Camp, which runs 9 AM – 12 PM, April 4 – 8.
TEEN ROCK CAMP
In this camp, teens will work together through music exploration. Regardless of musical experience, campers will receive instrument instruction, form a band, write an original song, and perform at Family Friendly Friday at the Top Hat Lounge. They will also learn about music history, attend song-writing clinics, talk about stage presence, create flyers for their upcoming show, design a band logo and screen T-shirts, and more. Campers will also get to meet other musicians in Missoula and be exposed to different local bands for lunch-time concerts. Part of the goal of the camp will be to create a safe, welcoming space for boys and girls to recognize their own strengths as well as those from their fellow rockers, build friendships, and find their creative, rocking voice! Spring Break Teen Rock Camp takes place April 4 – 8, from 10 AM – 4 PM. This camp is open to ages 13-17 only!
Register for spring break camps by calling Zootown Arts Community Center at 549-7555.
Cancer, Courage, & Creativity
Living Art of Montana presents the Cancer, Courage & Creativity workshop for anyone who has or has had cancer. It runs Wednesdays through April 13 from 5:30 – 7:30 PM at the Living Art Studio. Call 549-5329, or visit their website by clicking here.
Arts Conversation with National Endowment for the Arts Chairman, Jane Chu
Chairman Chu is visiting Montana as part of the NEA’s 50th Anniversary Celebration. We’ll hear an update on NEA initiatives and programs, and there will be opportunity for Q&A. Please plan to join us on March 30 at Missoula Children’s Theatre from 12:30 – 1:30 PM. Admission is free, but seating is limited. Please RSVP here.
Shakespeare & Co. Book Reading
Joanna Reed Shelton reads from her memoir A Christian in the Land of the Gods: Journey of Faith in Japan at 7:00 PM, Monday, March 28. Shakespeare & Co. is located at 103 S. 3rd Street W. You can call 549-9010 for more information about the reading or click here to visit their website.
A Christian in the Land of the Gods offers an intimate view of hardships and challenges faced by nineteenth-century missionaries working to plant their faith in a country just emerging from two and a half centuries of self-imposed seclusion. The narrative takes place against the backdrop of wrenching change in Japan and Great Power jockeying for territory and influence in Asia, as seen through the eyes of a Presbyterian missionary from East Tennessee.
SPARK! Seeks New Director
SPARK! Arts Ignite Learning, Missoula’s chapter of the Kennedy Center’s Any Given Child initiative, is seeking a Director to lead the initiative. SPARK! is a community wide partnership working to expand arts programming in Missoula County Public Schools. We facilitate and foster connections between district schools, local arts organizations, and teaching artists helping to ensure access to the arts for all MCPS students.
For more information and the application, click here to visit SPARK!’s website.
Zootown Fringe Festival
Registration is open for Missoula’s annual ZooTown Fringe Festival. ZooTown Fringe is a self-produced festival; participants are responsible for staging and promoting their own projects. The Fringepromotes the festival as a whole; the participants are responsible for ensuring patrons are aware and interested in their project. For participants, the Fringe is an opportunity for exposure, experience, and income. To participate, visit the website for information about how to apply. This year’s festival is August 16 – 23.
Student Art Contest: Search For Peace
The Jeannette Rankin Peace Center is hosting its annual Search for Peace student art contestduring March and April. The theme this year is: welcoming others as a way of finding and promoting peace within our community. Students are encouraged to express what they feel it means to be welcoming toward others and how that is expressed both daily and in times of crisis and discrimination. Accepted entries may include any form of artwork, essays, poetry, and photography.
The contest is open to all ages from kindergarten to university students and there will be cash prizes for the winners in each category: Elementary School, Middle School, High School, College, and Collaborative (two or more students). Submissions are due Friday, April 22, to the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center at 519 S. Higgins. Submissions must be accompanied by an entry form which can be picked up at the Peace Center or select locations. More information is available by email or call 543-3955.
Prize money will be awarded to the first place winner in each age group, and the art will be displayed on First Friday, May 6.
River City Roots Festival is Seeking Artists
Applications are due April 1 for the art show at River City Roots Festival in Missoula, which will take place August 26 – 27. The art show hours are 11 AM – 7 PM both days and daily set up time is at 8 AM. The booth fee is $150 for both days; $175 for a double booth and/or a booth needing power. The artists must commit to being present both days. Please click here to view the application and submit online.
Roots Fest is a showcase of high-end visual arts. More than 30 artists from the Pacific Northwest participate in the Juried Show featuring painting, photography, pottery, sculpture, jewelry, textile arts and wood; all front and center on Main Street both days of the festival. This component of Roots Fest creates an all around experience for those who appreciate fine art both visually and musically.
Montana Book Festival
The Montana Book Festival is now receiving submissions for this year’s festival in Missoula, September 21 – 25. Visit their website to apply to the festival.
The Montana Book Festival is a celebration of literary arts held each fall in downtown Missoula that seeks to provide a dynamic, evolving forum for literary engagement, as well as to foster literary community and enthusiasm for the written word by among readers of all ages.
Scholarship Available for Crown Guitar Workshop
The Crown of the Continent Guitar Foundation (COCGF) reminds that scholarship applications are due on Tuesday, May 31 to attend the seventh annual Crown Guitar Workshopheld on August 28 – Sept. 4. Students, teachers and performers of all ages who reside in Flathead, Lake, Sanders, Missoula, and Ravalli counties are eligible to apply for the scholarship. The workshop will be held at Flathead Lake Lodge in Bigfork, MT. Applications will be accepted through Tuesday May 31 with scholarship awards announced on Wednesday, June 15. Please call 855-855-5900 for more information, or click the link below to visit online.The scholarship provides a rare opportunity to study with a roster of premier guitarists who will be teaching and performing as Artists in Residence during the week-long event. Visit COCGF’s website here for more information.
The spring and summer education schedule is out and registration is open.