The Arts in Montana Receive $757,602 in Relief Funding

Montana Arts Council

July 19 2022

The Montana Arts Council (MAC), Montana’s state arts agency, has announced the 89 recipients of its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grants. Awarded to MAC by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), grants will support an array of artistic disciplines, including tours and performances, murals, recording projects, films, arts education materials, paintings, books, and sculptures. “This is an extraordinary group of awardees,” said MAC Chair Greg Murphy. “The ARPA funding flowing through MAC is an investment in the creative legacy of Montana.”

“MAC worked to share the opportunity beyond our regular network,” MAC grant officer Brian Moody noted. “I wanted every artist in Montana to feel capable and confident of proposing a project; we scheduled webinars and phone calls to assist with the application process.” The call for proposals generated a pool of 238 qualified applicants totaling nearly $2 million in worthy projects, with about a third of those applicants seeking state support for the first time.

With the expertise of twenty-three public members, review panels considered each application for the quality of the programming, its artistic merit, and its feasibility. MAC director Tatiana Gant commented, “We knew there was an immense need for cultural recovery, yet it was sobering to realize that we would only be able to assist a small number of qualified entities.’ To determine the final group of awardees, MAC prioritized smaller organizations, Native cultures, rural communities, and projects that will engage new audiences. “MAC is strategic with its allocations of these valuable resources, recognizing that artists, the foundation of the creative sector, were being missed by other relief efforts.” Gant added.

A requirement of the ARPA Artist individual grants is that they be used to create new work, which in turn will enrich communities, provide economic stimulus, and further extend support for working artists recovering from lost opportunities due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Final reporting from grant recipients will provide Montanans with a full survey of funded work and how it may be experienced. For a list of funded individuals and organizations, visit https://art.mt.gov/arpa.

“These ARPA awards are having an immediate and local impact,” noted MAC deputy director Kristin Han Burgoyne. “Materials are being purchased, venues rented, and partnerships launched. We’re about to see a huge burst of creativity and productivity energizing our economy.” Over the next few months, MAC will develop a web page to provide information about the awardees. Watch MAC’s social media and State of the Arts newspaper for updates.

List of ARPA Artist Grant Recipients

City	Last	First	Project Name	Request Amount
Anaconda	Geil*	Marian	Smelter Mouse Chronicles	$6,646.00
Arlee	Decker*	Cameron	Astkw: Salish Cedar Bark Basket Integration in Education	$10,000.00
Arlee	Millar	Leslie	Heavenly Visions - Burnt Offerings Series	$10,000.00
Arlee	Morigeau	Buck	Old Montana Ways	$10,000.00
Billings	Deschner	Jane Waggoner	“Remember me.” immersive installation at the Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT	$10,000.00
Billings	Habeck	Louis	Life-size Triceratops Head Herd Completion.	$9,650.00
Billings	Jones*	Danell	The Girl Prince: Virginia Woolf, Black British Lives, and the Dreadnought Hoax	$8,350.00
Billings	Little*	Gary	Montana Uplift	$10,000.00
Billings	Ross	Anne	Dimensional textures: Durable Art Board Books of Curiosity and Wonder	$10,000.00
Billings	Rowland	Russell	Breakfast in Montana	$5,000.00
Billings	Tolton	Peter	Return - Vietnam Veteran Documentary Film	$10,000.00
Bozeman	Chapman*	Russ	Russ Chapman - Recording High Country Blues - an 8-10 song recording project.	$10,000.00
Bozeman	Davis*	Nic	The Montana Sessions	$9,783.40
Bozeman	Fleming	Jeni	JENI FLEMING Holiday Symphony Project	$10,000.00
Bozeman	Lewis*	Liz	Loyalty Life-Size German Shepherd Bronze Production	$10,000.00
Bozeman	Massadas	Bruna	Midnight Rainbow Paintings	$9,998.00
Bozeman	McGree	Allison	The Interconnections, Impact, and Beauty of Montana’s Rivers	$10,000.00
Bozeman	Padilla*	Natalie	Natalie Padilla, original folk music album #3	$9,950.00
Bozeman	Radosevich*	Tara	Tara’s Solo Show- The Wildlife of Montana	$2,846.00
Bozeman	Volkersz	Willem	Looking Back, Looking Forward	$5,005.00
Bozeman	House	DG	Yellowstone National Park: An Indigenous Perspective (more than a 150th anniversary)	$9,906.00
Bozeman	Watson	Ella	Ancestor Inspired Disability/ Chronic Care Apperatuses and Medical Paintings	$9,958.00
Bridger	Zier	Dana	MONTANA LEGACY: “Honoring Earth and Heritage from the Boonies”	$9,747.00
Butte	Livermore	BT	“Well, Ain’t That Something?” (An Interactive Art Installation and Show)	$6,450.00
Cut Bank	Bird*	Samantha	Painting for Positive Futures	$10,000.00
Dillon	Freeman	Emily	Shadow Town	$10,000.00
East Glacier Park	Lapier*	Valentina	Traditional Parfleche Native American Art	$10,000.00
Florence	Eriksson*	Ulf	“Montana Sounds”: Montana Inspired Original Jazz - A Full Album Audio Recording and Performances	$8,965.00
Great Falls	Karls	Megan	Re-Envisioned: Montana Composers in Mission Churches	$9,193.00
Great Falls	Menzales	Norman	Filipino Flute Recording Project	$10,000.00
Great Falls	Nelson*	Sheree	Mural Installation - Downtown Great Falls	$10,000.00
Great Falls	Rauch*	Micah	Helping Youth Appreciate Montana’s Weird Wilds!	$10,000.00
Great Falls	Rickley	James	Flowing Waters \| Music New to Great Falls	$10,000.00
Helena	Clawson	Chip	Create Two Large Suspended Sculptures for Exhibition	$10,000.00
Helena	Laskin*	Ari	Memorial’s Undoing: Horror without Monsters	$10,000.00
Helena	Lee	Steven	Tableware on the Jigger/Jolley	$9,985.00
Helena	Newby	Rick	The Helena Notebooks	$3,500.00
Helena	Peeterse	Natalie	Thunderous Book Tour Project	$10,000.00
Lakeside	Hanson*	Jessy	The Home We Carry: A Visual Anthology of the Unhoused and Their Belongings	$8,850.00
Livingston	Atchison	Elise	No Woman’s Land	$5,000.00
Livingston	Hall*	Audrey	Harlow Willis; Bitter Taste - a fine art multimedia and multi-platform project	$10,000.00
Livingston	Maw*	Wyatt	Ashland	$10,000.00
Livingston	Purcell*	Meghan	Creating Accessible and Comprehensive Wool Felting Workshops	$10,000.00
Livingston	Revennaugh*	Stephanie	Cast Glass Collaboration Revennaugh/Henry	$10,000.00
Livingston	Schiffer*	Pamela	Paradise Valley Paintings	$10,000.00
Manhattan	Tappan*	Ann	ThreeForm album “The Return (Turning Point)	$2,774.00
McLeod	DiNino	Melissa	Reaching a New Audience: Creating Work for MiXX Atelier in Telluride, Colorado	$10,000.00
Missoula	Augusto	Kate	Creation of “Thoughts & Allies,” an ensemble dance work by choreographer Kate Jordan Augusto.	$10,000.00
Missoula	Blazon	Courtney	Even the Sun goes West: A collection of drawings of the west by Courtney Blazon and Ladypajama	$9,328.00
Missoula	Cahoon	Heather	Draft of 25-45 poems/pages for a new collection of poems	$10,000.00
Missoula	Collins*	Adam	Le Violoncelle Francophone: Cello-Piano Concert Tour	$10,000.00
Missoula	Fawcett*	Jennifer	Tour of Junior’s Debut Album	$6,416.00
Missoula	Fifield*	Richard	Magnitude: In the aftermath of Mount St. Helens, an isolated community descends into chaos.	$9,990.00
Missoula	Floridis	John	John Floridis Recording Project / “Songs Of A Certain Age” (Tentative project title)	$10,000.00
Missoula	Gibbons	Mark	Revise and complete a hybrid memoir/poetry manuscript: podunk no horse.	$10,000.00
Missoula	James*	Marcy	The Library	$8,153.00
Missoula	Jennings*	Aaron	Vinyl Record Manufacturing and Workshop	$10,000.00
Missoula	Knight	John	John Knight ARPA Request: Creating a Site Specific Installation at the Montana Artist Refuge Gallery	$8,546.00
Missoula	Kostors*	Bryan	The River Is Everywhere	$10,000.00
Missoula	Madsen*	Melissa	Is It Art or Is It Vandalism, Stencils, Street Art and Photoshop	$5,451.00
Missoula	Meyers	Andrew	Theatre for Young Audiences: Script Development and Touring Production	$2,500.00
Missoula	Ragsdale	Amy	Montana Suite film completion	$5,700.00
Missoula	Reifsneider	Jennifer	Jennifer Reifsneider: Spool Exhibition	$10,000.00
Missoula	Reintjes	Alison	Clay in Context	$10,000.00
Missoula	Reintjes	Brandon	New Materials for New Paintings	$5,000.00
Missoula	Reloba-Meyora*	Ashley	Working With What You Have	$8,562.00
Missoula	Siegel	Naomi	The Nature Of Change: Composition & Conduction with the Hellgate High School Jazz Ensemble	$7,472.00
Missoula	Smetanka	Andy	I Am the Wilma	$5,000.00
Missoula	Stillman*	Loren	Divide: The Montana Jazz Project - tour and live broadcast	$9,910.00
Missoula	Taylor*	Geoffrey	12 Fantasias for 5-string Fiddle: New Music for 5-string Fiddle Recordings and Performances	$6,200.00
Missoula	Valenzuela	Shalene	Let’s Play Telephone: Communication & (Mis)Information	$4,452.00
Missoula	Werle*	April	Mga Hunghong sa Diwata (Whispers of Spirits) - Solo Exhibition by April Werle	$9,910.00
Missoula	Woodman*	Christopher	Slow Dusty Road album for Good Old Fashioned	$6,855.00
Missoula	Gilles-BringsYellow Horses	Monica	Creation of Public Art and Public School Art	$2,600.00
Power	Buckley	Betty	Flyover Country	$10,000.00
Power	Cowgill	Jacob	Small Town, Long Streets: Coming Together in Rural Montana	$10,000.00
Red Lodge	Langeliers	Brian	Aerial Landscape Paintings : “A Tale of Two Cities”	$8,856.00
Roberts	Korth*	Beth	Beth Korth Red Lodge Art Walk Workshops	$5,850.00
Saint Ignatius	Hunt*	Stephen	Light on The Land	$10,000.00
Seeley Lake	Rohrer*	Jennifer	Kevin Red Star Film	$9,350.00
Stevensville	Spence*	Kimberly	Avian Taxidermy	$10,000.00
Twin Bridges	Foy	Linda	Four Seasons of Montana: From the River Bottom to the Clouds Above	$10,000.00
Vaughn	Polich*	Whitney	Egg Tempera Landscapes	$9,945.00
Whitefish	Bevill	Jenny	Meet Contemporary Montana Artists: Creation of Digital Modules for Adult Learners	$10,000.00
Whitefish	Moore	Shawna	Exhibition Support	$10,000.00
List of ARPA Organization Grant Recipients
City	Organization Name			Request Amount
Bigfork	Bigfork Art and Cultural Center			$5,000
Denton	Montana State Old Time Fiddlers' Association, Inc.			$5,000
Big Timber	Sweet Grass Arts Alliance*			$5,000
Paradise	The Paradise Center*			$5,000

* Indicates first-time recipient

About the Montana Arts Council

In 1965 Montana Annotated Code 22-2-102 established the MAC as an agency of state government. The MAC mission is to develop the creative potential of all Montanans, advance education, spur economic vibrancy, and revitalize communities through involvement in the arts. Fifteen individuals appointed by the Governor oversee the Montana Arts Council. More information can be found at art.mt.gov

About the National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), established in Congress in 1965, is an independent federal agency that is the largest funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide and a catalyst of public and private support for the arts. By advancing equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, the NEA fosters and sustains an environment in which the arts benefit everyone in the United States.

About the American Rescue Plan Act

Passed by Congress and signed into law in 2021, the American Rescue Plan is is designed to offer direct relief to the American people in part by providing $350 billion to help states, counties, cities and tribal governments cover increased expenditures, replenish lost revenue and mitigate economic harm from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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