Montana Arts Council

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

07/12/2026

The Montana Folk Festival is underway in Butte. Yesterday was jam-packed with music, storytelling, craft, food, and fun. Visit our booth in the Folklife area today and get some ink on your fingers!

07/09/2026

We've updated the signage at our Helena office, and we thought it'd be a good opportunity to share a few of the best things ever said about Montana. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by and read some of the words.

07/08/2026

Join us at the Folklife and Family Area this weekend at the Montana Folk Fest!

The Montana Folk Festival kicks off this Friday, July 10 in Uptown Butte, and we'll be hosting the Montana Folklife and Family Area on Saturday and Sunday in partnership with Humanities Montana. Featuring 13 artists and a great lineup of performers, it's your chance to discover traditional artforms such as beading, boot making, weaving, ledger art, blacksmithing, and cowboy poetry. We'll have hands-on activities—traditional tribal games, fly-tying, and face painting. In addition, we'll lead a printmaking activity featuring a block made by Butte’s own Christine Martin!

Get your folks together and head to the Montana Folk Festival this weekend!

07/04/2026

250 years in the books. In that time, America has added 37 states, a Constitution, vast territories, and millions of people from across the globe. We've worked to expand the freedoms envisioned in the American project, while attempting to reconcile that vision with those who've called this place home for millennia. Art, culture, landscape, and people are inextricable in this place we call Montana. We create because this land and the people in it inspire us, and because our need to connect, despite distance and difference, makes art one of the key expressions of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Here's to many more years of all three.

Photo: Symbols and celebration of nations on a July evening at the Red Ants Pants Music Festival in White Sulphur Springs.

07/03/2026

America's celebrating a big birthday this weekend, and Montana's doing its part. But we're doing more than that. While the Declaration of Independence was being ratified in Philadelphia in July 1776, multiple nations of people were thriving here in the place we now call Montana.

So we're taking the opportunity to celebrate America's founding, and everything that came before here in the Last Best Place. In fact, since this was one of the first places in the present-day United States to be occupied by humans (at least 12,000 years ago), it may well be the First Best Place. In honor of this, our name for 2026 is Montana 12,250. It's a celebration of our heritage through arts of every kind.

To learn more, visit https://art.mt.gov/montana250

06/23/2026

The Montana 250 Commission have issued invites to Montana's official kickoff for the state's celebration of America's 250th birthday. On Saturday, June 27 the Montana Historical Society will host a reception at the Montana Heritage Center, followed by music from Jack Gladstone on the Capitol lawn next door. Both events are free, but tickets are required for the reception. Get yours in the link in the graphic.