TAP Community Celebration
Tuesday, August 11 | 5:00–6:00 PM

Confluence Center, 119 W. Main Street

Join the Missoula Art Museum in celebrating the 2026 Summer Teen Art Project (TAP), an arts and leadership program bringing together 18 young artists from the Missoula area and TRIO Upward Bound. Through photography, poetry, sound, and video, students explored the question, “Do you know your neighbors?” and created a collaborative public artwork sharing their stories, perspectives, and hopes for a more connected community.

Working with Resident Artist Kelly Bouma and mentor and program coordinator Janaína Vieira-Marques students developed their creative skills and shared their voices through this community-focused project.

Join us for this free celebration to experience their final artwork, hear about their creative journey, and celebrate the leadership, creativity, and collaboration of these inspiring young artists.

Thank You to Our Generous Summer TAP Sponsors!

Summer TAP is made possible through the generous support of the Montana Arts Council, our Major Sponsor. We are also grateful to Front Street Pizza for keeping our young artists fueled with delicious pizza throughout the program. Thank you for investing in the creativity and leadership of Missoula's youth!

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

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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
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

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.

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

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.

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.”

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.

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.

February 12 - April 2 2026

2:30 - 5:00

Teen Art Project (TAP) launches February 12 with 8-weeks of visiting artist workshops on Thursday afternoons! Throughout the program, teens will work with rotating professional and exhibiting artists, each bringing their own creative practice, perspective, and energy to different weeks of the experience. Artists leading sessions include Patricia Thornton, Courtney Murphy, April Werle, Nicolle Wolcott, Lillian Nelson, Donna Flannery, Kevin Bell, and more—giving participants the chance to explore a variety of mediums, ideas, techniques, and ways of making art.

The program runs from 2:30–5:00 pm, with free pizza at 2:30 pm and art-making starting at 3:00 pm. Best of all, it’s a free program with free art materials, making it an easy, welcoming way to spend the afternoon.

It’s a fun, low-pressure opportunity for teens to experiment, create, learn new skills, and connect with professional artists while spending time at MAM. Register now and join us for an inspiring, hands-on art experience designed just for teens! 

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.