Events
Grateful Glass at Western Cider
Support MAM at Western Cider's Grateful Glass Tuesdays!
Tuesdays in August
Raise a glass and support the Missoula Art Museum this August! Every Tuesday in August, Western Cider's Grateful Glass program donates $1 from every glass sold to a local nonprofit. Throughout the month of August, MAM is honored to be the featured organization.
Gather your friends, enjoy an evening of handcrafted cider and great company, and know that every glass helps support MAM's mission to connect our community through contemporary art and free admission for all.
Join us on Tuesdays from 3:00–9:00 PM at Western Cider, 501 N. California Street, Missoula, and make your Tuesday toast count. We are grateful to Western Cider for investing in our community and supporting the arts—cheers!
Veterans Visual Arts & Storytelling Workshop
Veterans Visual Arts & Storytelling Workshop
Wednesdays, August 19-October 7, 2-4pm
Missoula Art Museum
Led by Kimberly Brown Campbell
This free, 8-week workshop series invites Veterans to explore the art of storytelling while developing the skills and techniques to share their true-life, personal experiences. Each week, participants receive a storytelling prompt and are encouraged to craft and share a story in a supportive group setting. Stories are workshopped through thoughtful discussion, with sessions blending storytelling, conversation, and creative artmaking.
Art activities may include individual responses to a chosen story, creating artwork inspired by one's own experiences, or collaborating on a large-scale mural that reflects the collective stories of the group. Every activity is designed to foster trust, confidence, resilience, and creative expression while providing a welcoming space for Veterans to connect through shared experiences.
Created specifically for those who have served, this workshop series encourages participants to tell their stories with honesty, vulnerability, and self-compassion.
No writing or art experience is necessary, and there is never any expectation to share more than you feel comfortable sharing. Simply bring yourself, your story, and a willingness to create alongside others who understand the unique experiences of military service.
All Veterans are welcome.
Please note: While this workshop is facilitated by a licensed mental health professional, it is not therapy or art therapy and does not provide clinical mental health treatment. Rather, it is a creative storytelling and arts-based program designed to foster connection, reflection, and personal expression in a supportive community setting.
First Friday: Joe Feddersen: Earth, Water, Sky
Friday, September 4
Opening Reception + Artist Talk
5–7 PM | Artist Talk at 5:30 PM
Music by Travis Yost
Celebrate First Friday at the Missoula Art Museum on Friday, September 4, from 5–7 p.m. with the opening of Joe Feddersen: Earth, Water, Sky, a major career retrospective honoring nationally acclaimed artist Joe Feddersen (Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation).
Spanning more than four decades, this landmark exhibition features more than 120 works—including prints, glass, weaving, ceramics, miniatures, and monumental installations—in the most comprehensive presentation of Feddersen's career to date.
With poignancy and humor, Feddersen transforms familiar signs, symbols, and landscapes into powerful reflections on how we see, use, and care for the natural world. His work celebrates the enduring power of place and our interconnected relationship with the environment.
The evening includes a 5:30 PM artist talk with Joe Feddersen, live music by Travis Yost, a no-host bar, and Dreamy's Soft Serve in the Art Park. Meet the artist, explore the galleries, and be among the first to experience one of the nation's most significant contemporary Native art exhibitions.
Organized by the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture. Curated by heather ahtone, director of curatoriais affairs, First Americans Museum, Oklahoma City, and Rachel Allen, curator of modern and contemporary art, Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Spokane, Washington. Joe Feddersen: Earth, Water, Sky was made possible through major support from the Henry Luce Foundation, the Terra Foundation for American Art, and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Additional support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. Teiger Foundation generously provided lead funding for the exhibition at the Missoula Art Museum.
Free Admission // Free Expression
Curator Talk with heather ahtone
Curator Talk with heather ahtone
Saturday, September 5 | 10:30–11:30 AM
Coffee and pastries begin at 10 a.m.
Join the Missoula Art Museum for a special morning conversation with heather ahtone (Choctaw/Chickasaw Nation), Director of Curatorial Affairs at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City and co-curator of Joe Feddersen: Earth, Water, Sky.
ahtone will share the curatorial vision behind this landmark career retrospective, offering insight into Joe Feddersen's four-decade artistic practice, the collaborative process of organizing the exhibition, and the themes that connect his work to landscape, culture, and community. This is a unique opportunity to hear directly from one of the exhibition's co-curators and gain a deeper understanding of one of the most significant contemporary Native art exhibitions touring the country. Complimentary coffee and pastries will be available beginning at 10 AM The curator talk begins at 10:30 AM.
Organized by the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture. Curated by heather ahtone, director of curatoriais affairs, First Americans Museum, Oklahoma City, and Rachel Allen, curator of modern and contemporary art, Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Spokane, Washington. Joe Feddersen: Earth, Water, Sky was made possible through major support from the Henry Luce Foundation, the Terra Foundation for American Art, and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Additional support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. Teiger Foundation generously provided lead funding for the exhibition at the Missoula Art Museum.
Free Admission // Free Expression
Poetry Reading: Black Ram of the Yaak
Poetry Reading: Black Ram of the Yaak
Saturday July 18, 4-5:00 (Doors at 3:30 PM)
Join the Missoula Art Museum for an afternoon of poetry celebrating the Black Ram region of the Yaak, where a climate refugia has recently been identified. Co-hosted by the Montana Project, this special event features poets Jodi Varon, David Axelrod, Chris Dombrowski, and Melissa Kwasny reading works inspired by one of Montana's wildest and most ecologically significant landscapes.
The program begins with a welcome from Rick Bass and remarks on the concept of climate refugia, followed by readings from the featured poets. Students from the Green Curtain Roadshow will also be in attendance during their cross-country journey exploring old-growth forests along the northern tier of the United States as they begin mapping a "Green Curtain."
Following the reading, continue the conversation and celebration at Free Cycles.
This event is free and open to the public.
For questions, please email Rick Bass at: rickbass27@gmail.com
The James Welch Native Lit Festival at MAM
The James Welch Native Lit Festival
July 15-18, 2026
The brilliant legacy of Blackfeet author James Welch lives on in this beloved annual celebration of Native literature. This year's festival centers on Jim's profound influence on poetry, bringing together an extraordinary lineup of writers, artists, and thinkers for four days of readings, panels, and conversation. The festival features a panel of three immensely talented ledger artists, John Isaiah Pepion, Evelyn Mikayla Martin, and Terran Last Gun, alongside debut fiction and nonfiction panels showcasing some of the most compelling voices in contemporary Native literature.
Check out the portion of the festival taking place at the Missoula Art Museum on Friday, July 17 and for more information about the festival visit: more information and full schedule here.
Friday, July 17
Morning at Missoula Art Museum
11 AM–12:30 PM — Debut Fiction Panel: Jon Hickey, Kyle Edward, and Mariah Rigg
2:00–3:30 PM— Nonfiction Panel: Paul Chaat Smith, Elissa Washuta, and Byron Aspaas
Evening at Missoula Art Museum
5:30 PM — Introduction: Sterling HolyWhiteMountain
6:00 PM — Keynote: Jake Skeets, Beyond the Native Renaissance
Evening at Radius Gallery
7:30 - 9:00 PM — Reception
Special Event @ 8 p.m. — Lois Welch reading
Third Thursday at MAM
Third Thursday at MAM
Thursday, July 16 · 5–7 PM
Artist Talk at 5:30 PM
Come celebrate weaver Barbara Hand on the third Thursday, July 16 from 5-7pm, and her remarkable Bitterroot Tapestry, created for MAM in 1987. Barbara wove three panels designed to fit the original wall under leaded glass windows of MAM’s Carnegie Library building prior to expansion and renovation in 2005. This monumental piece has not been on view for decades. Barbara will say a few words about the tapestry at 5:30 PM and MAM registrar Margo Geddes will be on hand to share Barbara’s sketches as well.
Before and after the talk, enjoy a lively summer evening at MAM with music by Andrea Harsell, a no-host bar, and Rizzo’s Italian Ice in the Art Park. It's also your final chance to experience three remarkable exhibitions before they close on July 25:
Sara Siestreem: Acts of Love, Refusal, and Resistance
Kevin Bell: Western (re)Visions
Aspen and Cameron Decker: Q̓ʷeyq̓ʷay "Buffalo" is Our Good Medicine
Celebrate art, conversation, music, and community with us. Free Admission // Free Expression
Artwords: An Ekphrastic Poetry Workshop
Saturday Multi-Age Workshop
Artwords: An Ekphrastic Poetry Workshop Led by Aidan Dolbashian
July 11, 11–12:30 PM
Join poet and MAM education team member Aidan Dolbashian in this FREE multi-age workshop focused on writing, art, and all the places they intersect. Have you ever thought about what story a piece of art might be telling? Have you ever stared so long at a painting you began to wonder what lies beyond the frame? Have you ever imagined what a sculpture might do if it could get up and walk out of the room? Even if you haven’t, we’ll explore the answers to these questions (and more!) through the lens of ekphrastic poetry, or poetry inspired by works of art. In this generative workshop we’ll talk about ekphrastic poetry as a form (with examples) before participants get the chance to explore MAM’s exhibitions and create their very own art-inspired poems.
No experience necessary. Pen and paper provided. Just come ready to write!
Bio: Aidan Dolbashian began working at the Missoula Art Museum as a Visitor Educator in 2024. He is a graduate of University College Dublin’s M.A. Creative Writing program, where he served as the poetry editor for the HCE Review, the UCD M.A. program’s former literary journal. He received his B.A. in English from the University of Vermont, where he produced an honors thesis centered on prose poetry. His work has been previously published in Bat City Review, New Ohio Review, South Dakota Review, and Juked.
Workshop is capped at 25 participants. Please register in advance to save your spot(s). Drop-ins are welcome if space is available. Please note: Kids under 10 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. If kids ages 11-18 attend without an adult, MAM is not responsible for their whereabouts if they leave the workshop or museum.
Third Thursday in June
Third Thursday in June
Land and the Cosmic: Works from the MAM Collection
Thursday, June 18, 5–7 PM
Curator Talk at 5:30 PM
Music by Izaak Opatz
Dreamy’s Soft Serve
Join us for June's Third Thursday as we celebrate Land and the Cosmic: Work from the MAM Collection, featuring a curator talk with Assistant Curator Cait Finley exploring the themes and works at the heart of this exhibition.
The land beneath our feet holds more than we can imagine — and the evening goes deep in time to prove it. Inspired by the exhibition's exploration of earth, place, and the vast scales of existence, Kallie Moore, Collections Manager of the UM Paleontology Center, brings a special fossil show-and-tell that bridges the cosmic and the prehistoric. Get up close with some of Earth's most remarkable former inhabitants — a T. rex brain, buzzsaw shark teeth, and yes, giant ground sloth dung! These remnants of deep time feel right at home alongside artwork that asks us to consider our place on — and within — this planet.
Live music by Izzak Opatz. No host bar. Dreamy’s Soft Serve.
Free and open to the public.
Art in the Moment:
Art in the Moment
Land and the Cosmic: Works from the MAM Collection
June 15, 1:30-3:30 PM
Art in the Moment is a monthly program by the Missoula Art Museum (MAM), in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association, designed to foster connection and companionship through art for individuals with early-stage memory loss and their care partners. Now in its eighth year, this in-person program is led by MAM Docents, France Auvrey-Stiritz or Rosemay Rinaldi and teaching artist Bev Beck Glueckert, allowing participants to view and create art together.
In June MAM will focus on the exhibition Land and the Cosmic: Works from the MAM Collection. No cost to participate. Please register in advance. Call 406.318.8242 or email montana@alz.org to register.
Forms of the Bison: Storytelling Through Clay
Saturday Multi-Age Workshop
Forms of the Bison: Storytelling Through Clay with Exhibiting Artist Cameron Decker
June 6, 11–12:30 PM
Join exhibiting artist Cameron Decker for a free, multiage clay workshop inspired by the bison skull forms featured in his museum exhibition, Q̓ʷeyq̓ʷay 'Buffalo' is Our Good Medicine'. Participants will learn how to create their own small bison skull using a mold developed by the artist, while Cameron shares the cultural, historical, and artistic significance of the bison and its enduring presence in this region. This workshop offers a meaningful opportunity for the community to spend time with the artist, engage more deeply with the work, and connect with clay as a material for holding story, memory, and place. All materials are provided, and no prior experience is necessary.
Workshop is capped at 25 participants. Please register in advance to save your spot(s). Drop-ins are welcome if space is available. Please note: Kids under 10 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. If kids ages 11-18 attend without an adult, MAM is not responsible for their whereabouts if they leave the workshop or museum.
First Friday: June Bloom Membership Celebration
First Friday
June Bloom Membership Celebration
Friday, June 5th, 5–7 PM
Music by Tom Catmull
Join us for a special First Friday as we honor our members, welcome new faces, and have fun with MAM’s refreshed logo through free screen printing.Bring a shirt, tote, bandana, or anything you love we'll screen print MAM's fresh new logo on it, absolutely free.
Become a member or renew on-site June 5th, and the first 50 new and renewing members walk away with a free MAM logo tote bag.
Sip, mingle, and move through stunning exhibitions featuring works by Sara Siestreen, Kevin Bell, Aspen and Cameron Decker, and Cosmic and the Land: Works from the MAM Collection — then stay for live music by Tom Catmull and enjoy a no-host bar.
Free admission. Free expression. Free screen printing.
Art in the Moment
Art in the Moment
Jun Kaneko’s “Dango”
June 1, 1:30-3:30 PM
Art in the Moment is a monthly program by the Missoula Art Museum (MAM), in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association, designed to foster connection and companionship through art for individuals with early-stage memory loss and their care partners. Now in its eighth year, this in-person program is led by MAM Docents, France Auvrey-Stiritz or Rosemay Rinaldi and teaching artist Bev Beck Glueckert, allowing participants to view and create art together.
In June MAM will focus on the Jun Kaneko’s “Dango”. No cost to participate. Please register in advance. Call 406.318.8242 or email montana@alz.org to register.
Third Thursday in May with Jacob Riddle
Third Thursday in May with Jacob Riddle
Reception for Jacob Riddle’s
How to Grow a Hammer in the Art Park
Thursday, May 21, 5–7 PM
Artist Talk at 5:30 PM
Music by Travis Yost Pizza by Clove Cart Pizza
Join us for a special Third Thursday as we celebrate the opening of How to Grow a Hammer, a new Art Park exhibition by artist Jacob Riddle.
At 5:30 PM, Jacob will give an artist talk in the Art Park, offering insight into his process, inspirations, and the ideas behind this new body of work. The evening will also feature live music by Travis Yost, Pizza by Clove Cart Pizza, and a no‑host bar, making it the perfect way to experience community, creativity, and contemporary art at MAM.
Free and open to the public — we hope you’ll join us for this celebration of Jacob Riddle’s work and the opening of the Art Park exhibition.
Art in the Moment: Kevin Bell
Art in the Moment
Kevin Bell
May 18, 1:30-3:30 PM
Art in the Moment is a monthly program by the Missoula Art Museum (MAM), in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association, designed to foster connection and companionship through art for individuals with early-stage memory loss and their care partners. Now in its eighth year, this in-person program is led by MAM Docents, France Auvrey-Stiritz or Rosemay Rinaldi and teaching artist Bev Beck Glueckert, allowing participants to view and create art together.
In May MAM will focus on the works of exhibiting artist Kevin Bell, with unique projects inspired by the artist at each session. No cost to participate. Please register in advance. Call 406.318.8242 or email montana@alz.org to register.
Push it, Layer it, Disrupt it! Paint & Experiment with Exhibiting Artist Kevin Bell
Saturday Multi-Age Workshop
Push it, Layer it, Disrupt it! Paint & Experiment with exhibiting artist Kevin Bell
May 16th, 11–12:30 PM
Join exhibiting artist Kevin Bell for a lively, multi-age workshop rooted in experimentation. Inspired by ideas in his MAM exhibition, Kevin Bell: Western (re)Visions — movement, contrast, and the tension between control and unpredictability — this workshop focuses on collaborative process rather than product. After a brief guided visit, participants will work in small groups on large sheets of paper (18 x 36 inches), using quick sketches and bold paint gestures to explore how an image shifts when it’s pushed, pulled, layered, and disrupted. These are playful, collaborative experiments in movement and mark-making, focused on exploration and discovery rather than creating a finished artwork to take home. This is hands-on and happily messy, so please wear clothes you don’t mind getting paint on! This workshop will involve the use of water-soluble house paint for instructional and art-making purposes. All materials included.
Workshop is capped at 25 participants. Please register in advance to save your spot(s). Drop-ins are welcome if space is available. Please note: Kids under 10 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. If kids ages 11-18 attend without an adult, MAM is not responsible for their whereabouts if they leave the workshop or museum.
Arist Bio:
KEVIN BELL Biography Kevin Bell's work is informed by growing up in the western United States, including ten years in Alaska and 15 years in Montana. He is a Professor at the School of Visual and Media Arts at the University of Montana. His artwork is exhibited nationally and internationally, including shows in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, New York City, Vancouver B.C., Houston, San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago. His work was featured twice in the publication New American Paintings, selected for the Dublin Biennial, and showcased at art fairs such as SCOPE and Pulse NY. He curated Seeing it Again: Nature Revisited at Anderson Ranch Art Center in Snowmass, Colorado, and was awarded residencies and fellowships in China, Ireland, Chicago and Key West, Florida. His work has received awards from notable curators such as Anne Strauss, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Lucinda Barnes, UC Berkeley Art Museum. Writes Andrea Karnes, Curator of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, “Bell’s paintings update the traditional subject of landscape, so that it is culturally relevant to this moment in our collective and individual experience.”
Art in the Moment: Kevin Bell
Art in the Moment
Kevin Bell
May 4, 1:30-3:30 PM
Art in the Moment is a monthly program by the Missoula Art Museum (MAM), in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association, designed to foster connection and companionship through art for individuals with early-stage memory loss and their care partners. Now in its eighth year, this in-person program is led by MAM Docents, France Auvrey-Stiritz or Rosemay Rinaldi and teaching artist Bev Beck Glueckert, allowing participants to view and create art together.
In April MAM will focus on the works of exhibiting artist Kevin Bell, with unique projects inspired by the artist at each session. No cost to participate. Please register in advance. Call 406.318.8242 or email montana@alz.org to register.
Coffee and Conversation with Sara Siestreem
May 2, 2026
Doors at 10:30 am
Artist Talk 11:00-12:00 PM
Don't miss an intimate artist talk with artist Sara Siestreem (Hanis Coos) on May 2, 11:00 PM – 12:00 PM at the Missoula Art Museum. This is a rare opportunity to go deeper into Sara's practice — exploring the ancestral traditions, personal history, and artistic vision behind Acts of Love, Refusal, and Resistance. Whether you joined us for First Friday or are discovering her work for the first time, this conversation promises to be thought-provoking, inspiring, and not to be missed. Free and open to the public!
Special thanks to the Elizabeth Leach Gallery for support in mounting this exhibition.
Thank you as well to Elizabeth Leach, Janet Mohle-Boetani, and Greg and Cathy Tibbles for the publication support, as well as The Ford Family Foundation Visual Arts Program for exhibition support.
First Friday: Sara Siestreem
May 1, 2026
5:00-7:00 PM
Artist Talk at 5:30 PM
Join us on May 1, 5–7 PM for an unforgettable evening celebrating the opening of Acts of Love, Refusal, and Resistance, a powerful new exhibition featuring the work of Sara Siestreem (Hanis Coos). Sara will be in attendance for an artist talk at 5:30 PM, with music by Dylan Running Crane.
MAM first presented Siestreem's work in 2013, and in the years since her artistic growth has been remarkable. Drawing on traditional basket weaving practices, she weaves ancestral pattern motifs into bold geometric abstractions — proud and powerful expressions of Indigenous sovereignty. A recipient of the Hallie Ford Fellowship (2025) and elected 2025 National Academician by the National Academy of Design, Siestreem is an artist in full stride, and MAM is honored to welcome her back.
Special thanks to the Elizabeth Leach Gallery for support in mounting this exhibition.
Thank you as well to Elizabeth Leach, Janet Mohle-Boetani, and Greg and Cathy Tibbles for the publication support, as well as The Ford Family Foundation Visual Arts Program for exhibition support.
Art in the Moment: Sara Siestreem
Art in the Moment
Sara Siestreem
April 20, 1:30–3:30 PM
Art in the Moment is a monthly program by the Missoula Art Museum (MAM), in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association, designed to foster connection and companionship through art for individuals with early-stage memory loss and their care partners. Now in its eighth year, this in-person program is led by MAM Docents, France Auvrey-Stiritz or Rosemay Rinaldi and teaching artist Bev Beck Glueckert, allowing participants to view and create art together.
In April MAM will focus on the works of exhibiting artist Sara Siestreem, with unique projects inspired by the artist at each session. No cost to participate. Please register in advance. Call 406.318.8242 or email montana@alz.org to register.
Slow Art Day
Saturday, April 11
10:00 - 5:00
MAM is partnering with @PieceFurniture to transform our lobby into a welcoming Slow Art space for April 11. For this special day, @PieceFurniture will curate comfortable seating alongside selected artworks, creating an environment where visitors can truly sit with the art—literally and figuratively.
By pairing thoughtfully designed furniture with works from the museum’s collection, we’re encouraging visitors to linger, look closely, and connect more deeply. Slow looking allows people to notice details they might otherwise miss—subtle textures, layered meanings, compositional choices, and the emotional resonance that emerges only with time and stillness.
This collaborative installation invites you to pause in the middle of a busy world, settle into a comfortable seat, and let the artwork unfold slowly. It’s an opportunity to experience art not as something to rush past, but as something to sit with, breathe with, and reflect on.
Join us in the lobby on April 11 and discover how slowing down can change the way we see.
Art in the Moment: Sara Siestreem
April 6, 2026
1:30-3:30 PM
Art in the Moment is a monthly program by the Missoula Art Museum (MAM), in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association, designed to foster connection and companionship through art for individuals with early-stage memory loss and their care partners. Now in its eighth year, this in-person program is led by MAM Docents, France Auvrey-Stiritz or Rosemay Rinaldi and teaching artist Bev Beck Glueckert, allowing participants to view and create art together.
In April MAM will focus on the works of exhibiting artist Sara Siestreem, with unique projects inspired by the artist at each session. No cost to participate. Please register in advance. Call 406.318.8242 or email montana@alz.org to register.
Art In The Moment: Tailyr Irvine
Art in the Moment is a monthly program by the Missoula Art Museum (MAM), in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association, designed to foster connection and companionship through art for individuals with early-stage memory loss and their care partners.
Now in its eighth year, this in-person program is led by MAM Docents, France Auvrey-Stiritz or Rosemay Rinaldi and teaching artist Bev Beck Glueckert, allowing participants to view and create art together.
MAM will host Art in the Moment twice a month. Each month will focus on a single artist, with unique projects featured at each session (schedule may vary due to holidays).
No cost to participate. Please register in advance. Call 406.318.8242 or email montana@alz.org to register.