News and Events
November 30, 2015
In This Issue
In Missoula...
Elsewhere in Montana and the Region...
Nationally...
Internationally...
SPARK!
Any Given Child Missoula
First Friday Gallery Walk
Missoula Events
Visit our New Website
MCC Arts & Cultural Directory
Art & Economy
Join Our List
MCC Members
MCC's
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MCC 2015 Calendar
Missoula's Sister Cities
The Missoula
Cultural Council

 In Missoula...



Admission buttons for First Night Missoula go on sale in early December, beginning with the First Night Book Fair at Fact and Fiction on December 5, and a special 2 for the price of 1 button sale that day only at Fact and Fiction.   Call 541-0860 for more information.






First Night Spotlight, the annual High School singing competition, begins its preliminary rounds the first week of December, at Big Sky High School December 1, Sentinel High School December 2, and Hellgate High School December 3, all immediately after school ends for the day. The final preliminary round, for those at other area schools or home-schooled, will take place Saturday, December 5 at the Silver (formerly the World Theater.  Winners from these rounds perform on the Dennison Theatre during First Night Missoula on New Year's Eve.  Sign up here.  






The Missoula Art Museum p resents   Terrain: Plateau Native Art & Poetry through February 27, 2016; John Buck: Free for All through March 12; Good Wood: Carved And Cut From MAM's Permanent Collection through March 12; A Few of My Favorite Things, an exhibition selected by MAM's Senior Exhibition Curator Emeritus Stephen Glueckert, through December 23 (pictured here); MaryAnn Bonjorni: Legends Are History, through January 2.



 

     
 
 The Montana Museum of Art & Culture presents  The Intimate Diebenkorn: Drawings 1949 - 1992
now through December 12 in the
Paxson and Meloy Galleries. The exhibition features 52 pieces, many of which have never been publicly viewed, and includes pencil and ink drawings on paper, collages of torn paper and watercolors.  
 
 


 


Dolce Canto and St. Francis Xavier Church present a Lecture/Recital called The Spotless Rose, Thursday, December 3, at 7:00 p.m. at St. Francis Xavier (420 W. Pine St.) This preview of our holiday concert will feature a collaboration with Father Joseph Carver, SJ, who will share a talk on significance of Mary, the Spotless Rose.  Visit here for more.



Fact and Fiction presents James Lee Burke reading and signing House of the Rising Sun, at 7:00 p.m. on December 1 at F&F Downtown.  The First Night Book Fair, with numerous author signings, is all day Saturday, December 5.

 

Sunshine Unlimited presents Shakespeare's Richard III December 3 through December 13 at The Crystal Theater.



The University of Montana School of Music presents Student Ensemble Series: UM Percussion Ensemble and Islander Steel Band, December 1 at 7:30 p.m., Dennison Theatre. Admission costs $11 for general, $6 for seniors or $5 for students. For more information, call the School of Music at 243-6880.



First Friday Gallery Night comes again December 4, sponsored by Murphy-Jubb Fine Art.   Visit here for all the most up to date listings of events this month.


The Dana Gallery presents Silas Thompson: "Gold, Frankincense, and Mirth" with an opening reception on First Friday, December 4,  from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.  Call 721-3154


Radius Gallery is celebrating First Friday with our Second Annual Holiday Show, featuring over 200 artworks by 76 artists. It's that time of year when we are thinking about showing our appreciation for those we love. Why not give the gift of art this holiday season? Radius Gallery is the place to be First Friday from 5:00-8:00 p.m., to mingle, take in the diverse art options (most under $500!), and get in the spirit of the holidays. Call 541-7070.
 



The 21st annual Juried Student Art Exhibit at the University Center Gallery of Visual Arts runs now through December 10.  Call 243-2813.  



The Garden City Duplicate Bridge Club is offering free bridge lessons from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 noon on a Saturday December 5, December 12, and December 19. This group of three lessons will introduce you to Play of the Hand. The lessons will be given at 2825 Stockyard Road Building I Unit 3 in Missoula. Call Beth Loehnen at 546-1512 to register for the class.


  
The Sound of Music is a Missoula Community Theatre production for the holiday season at the MCT Center for the Performing Arts.  "Premiere Night" is Thursday, December 3 with a catered reception and the regular run plays Friday, December 4-6, 9-13 and 16-20. For tickets, visit here or call the box office at 728-7529. 



The University of Montana Creative Writing Department presents a prose reading by Bernard Cooper on Friday, December 4, at 7:00 pm in the Dell Brown Room of Turner Hall, UM campus. Cooper is the Visiting Kittredge Writer this semester, teaching both graduate and undergraduate workshops in fiction and nonfiction. He is the author of four memoirs, most recently "My Avant-Garde Education," a novel and a collection of short stories. For more information, contact Karin at 243-5267.




Nancy Seiler presents Art Workshops throughout November and December at her studio at 330 Brooks Street. The next is Thursday, December 10, 9:00 a.m.-noon: Nature Journaling with Watercolor. The workshop repeats Saturday, December 12, from 1:00-4:00 p..m.  She'll show you how to sketch, ink, and apply watercolor to objects found in nature. We'll work inside the studio.   Nancy is a certified GOLDEN Art Educator. Call 370-1254 to register.

 



University of Montana School of Theatre & Dance presents Treasure Island by Ken Ludwig, Adapted from the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, continuing December 1-5 at 7:30 p.m.  November 29 and December 5 at 2:00 p.m. Montana Theatre, PARTV Center, U of M Campus.


  
The University of Montana School of Theatre & Dance also presents Dance Up Close, December 4-5 and 11-12 at 7:30 p.m., and December 12 at 2:00 p.m. at the Masquer Theatre, PARTV Center, U of M Campus.






The Missoula Symphony Orchestra and Chorale present "Holiday Pops" Saturday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, September 6 at 3:00 p.m. in the UM Dennison Theatre. The orchestra and chorale ring in the special season with a joyful and touching program of holiday favorites. Call 721-3194.

 


Join the annual holiday season celebration at the University Center for the UC Holiday Art Festival. The Art Festival will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday, December 4 and 5  in the University Center Atrium.  The UC Holiday Art Festival features unique, hand-crafted art from local and regional artists, as well as live music, live art demonstrations and prize raffles. This is the perfect place to get your holiday shopping done. Come support local artists as they show their wares in the beautiful UC Atrium.
The UC Art Festival is the longest running art fair in western Montana and has a legacy of returning and new artists from around the state and beyond. The UC Art Festival is a non-profit art fair that funds student-run programming at the University of Montana. For more information, call 243-5622.



The Montana World Affairs Council presents a lecture by Rafael Chacon, Ph .D, School of Art at the University of Montana titled Cuban Art in the Modern Age at the Missoula Public Library, Thursday, December 3, at 4:00 p.m. The next guest in the Council's Distinguished Speakers Program is U. S, Ambassador  (ret.) Vicki Huddleston, who was Chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana from 1999-2002.  The program will take place at the Doubletree in Missoula on Monday December 7 at 7:00 p.m.  Ambassador Huddleston will discuss U.S. - Cuban Relations 1900 - 2015: The Best of Enemies. For more information, call 728-3328. On December 8, enjoy an Afternoon Tea with Vicki. A taste of mojitos, a little Hemingway, and how to travel to Cuba! Talk on Cuban culture, Cuba as a travel destination and Hemingway in Cuba.  3:00 - 4:30 p.m. at the DoubleTree Hotel. $15, open to the public, RSVP to 728-3328



Tell Us Something presents Illumination/Revelation, December 8 beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the new Wilma Theatre.



MCT is participating in Toys for Tots this holiday season.  Please drop off new, unwrapped toys for a deserving child at the MCT Center for the Performing Arts before December 23, between the hours of 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday.  You may also drop toys off one hour before each performance of The Sound of Music (Dec 3-6, 9-13 and 16-20).  For more information, call MCT at 728-1911.  





For more information about arts events in the Missoula area, visit our website  
 Elsewhere in Montana and the Region...


Humanities Montana's next grant application deadline is December 20 for regular (over $1,000), fellowship, and three-year sustaining grants (must have received funding in a prior year to apply in this last grant category). Grant decisions will be made by February 9, 2016.






The Carbon County Arts Guild of Red Lodge presents The Art of Mike Kosorok, continuing through December.  Mike has been a professional artist for over 40 years and is well-known in the region for his broad, sweeping landscape paintings of the Beartooth Mountains and the area around Red Lodge and Bear Creek, Montana.  Mike works in oil, watercolor, pen and ink and mixed media.  He is recently retired from his teaching career in the Red Lodge schools.  Also through November, The Blind Men & The Elephant, Drawings by Stephen Glueckert.  This series of 20 drawings was created using oil based drawing materials, including oil pastel, cattle marker, Keno crayon, and China marker.  The drawings are directly inspired by the ancient parable that has much to teach us today. Also through December,
the Rock Creek Miniature Exhibit.  See artwork in small size created by many of the Guild's artists.  A challenge for most artists, the miniature artwork will delight everyone.  All works of art in this show are 6"x8" or smaller.  Consider a gift of art for the holidays.  In the Guild's North Gallery for December and continuing through January 31, 2016.  On December 4 & 5: From 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., the Red Lodge Christmas Stroll and Artists' Reception.  Join us for one of the best social events of the year!  Start at the Arts Guild, have some holiday libations, and do a bit of holiday shopping.  Bring your friends and family!  Then stroll up Broadway and enjoy the rest of the holiday festivities.     The 6th Annual Holiday Bazaar continues through the end of December.  Browse the selection of scarves, socks, jewelry, pottery, notecards, small paintings, bags, and more as you consider everyone on your gift list.  For more information, call the Guild in Red Lodge at 446-1370.

 
 
 
 
 


The  Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings announces the opening of a thought-provoking exhibition, Persistent Memories: Narrative Sculptures by Willem Volkersz. The exhibition will remain on view through January 3.  "A Lonely Business": Isabelle Johnson's Montana opened on Tuesday, November 3 and remains on view through January 3, 2016. Winterfair is Friday, December 4, 5:00 - 9:00 p.m., and Saturday, December 5, from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Shop for handmade jewelry, fine art, or just enjoy great food at Raven's Café d'Art.  Over twenty featured artists will have works for sale. Raven's Café d'Art will be open for dinner.
 



 



 
The Sanders County Arts Council announces the Fourth Quarter exhibit of Art on the Walls, at the Clark Fork Valley Hospital.  In addition to the artwork of Sanders County artists, John Meckler will demonstrate his techniques for chip carving; Kathy Logan and Jack Stamm will provide music on hammered dulcimers; and refreshments will be provided by the CFVH Hospital. The exhibit runs through December 20. Artists exhibiting work are: Katherine G. Cavill, Ellen Childress, Valerie Curtiss, Andrew Gonzalez, Rachel Gonzalez, Rick Harter, George Humeston, Cricket Johnston, Arlene Littlefield, Sue Honts Mann, Dane McNabb, John Meckler, Shirley Proctor, and Douglas Wilks.   For more information call 826-8585.


 



 
   
  
For complete information about arts and entertainment throughout the region, visit www.livelytimes.com 





Nationally...

Billionaire Paul Allen's New Seattle Arts Space: Closing Before It Even Opens?
The Stranger, Nov 25, 2015  
Pivot Art + Culture, Paul Allen's new nonprofit arts institution opening in 11 days in South Lake Union, will close in March and be used only occasionally as a gallery, sources close to Pivot say. In other words, Pivot will not be an ongoing arts center after all. After confirming with multiple sources, I called Benedict Heywood, director of Pivot, to ask him what's going on. I was hoping he would tell me it's all just a rumor. He didn't call me back. Instead, the PR firm representing Vulcan emailed to say they were responding on behalf of Heywood. "Responding to the questions you asked Ben - The exhibition will be on view from December 5 through February 28. The next show has not yet been determined," wrote Fitz. & Co. senior vice president Meg Blackburn.  Click here



Public Battle Over Leadership Of San Francisco African-American Arts Center
Nonprofit Quarterly, Nov 24, 2015
Behind closed doors, many nonprofit arts organizations struggle these days to make payroll and to find new ways to fulfill their missions and serve their communities. But when the stakeholders of an arts group start pointing fingers and questioning leadership decisions-publicly-it's hard to keep those doors closed. In San Francisco, a call last week for the dismissal of the executive director of the African American Art and Culture Complex has created a firestorm, adding a public relations challenge to already-existing tensions around mission and finances.  Click here



How Dance Shaped America (And Vice Versa)
The Daily Beast, Nov 22, 2015
From Bill Robinson and Fred & Ginger to Michael Jackson's big-bang moonwalk and 'Soul Train.' In 'America Dancing,' a history of those who danced past the rules and defined the country.
Cultural critic Megan Pugh emulates her subject in America Dancing: From the Cakewalk to the Moonwalk, a celebratory mash-up of a century's history within studies of two legendary performers (Bill Robinson and Michael Jackson), one classic screen team (Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers), and two innovative choreographers (Agnes de Mille and Paul Taylor).  Click here



Design Team Named For Performing Arts Center At World Trade Center Site
New York Times, Nov 20, 2015
The Brooklyn-based architecture firm, REX has been selected to reconceive the Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center, which was originally designed by Frank Gehry. The decision, announced Friday, is a significant step forward for a building that has been problematic since it was first introduced as part of Daniel Libeskind's master plan for the site formerly known as ground zero. REX, led by Joshua Prince-Ramus, was one of three finalists considered for the center, along with Henning Larsen of Denmark and UNStudio of  The Netherlands. Davis Brody Bond will be the executive architect.  Click here


America's Cult Of The 'Amateur'
New York Times Magazine, Nov 17, 2015
''The Original Amateur Hour'' was America's first televised variety competition, and from 1948 to 1970, it broadcast the hidden talents of American workers - the juggling machine operator, the housewives' kitchen band. Viewers at home played armchair critics, voting by phone or postcard to determine which acts returned for the next episode. Reviewing a DVD retrospective of ''Amateur Hour'' in The New York Times in 2006, the writer Claire Dederer watched a contestant blow smoke out of the back of his jacket while making train sounds on a harmonica but found herself transfixed by his face: He ''actually looks happy,'' she wrote. ''Not pretend happy, like the ambitious souls on 'American Idol,' but truly happy, the way a person looks when he knows he's onto something really great.'  Click here




Internationally...

Saudi Arabia Sentences Artist To Death
The New York Times, Nov 23, 2015
For years, Ashraf Fayadh, an artist and poet, has served as an unofficial ambassador for Saudi Arabia's small contemporary art scene, organizing shows and working to introduce Saudi art to the world.  Although Mr. Fayadh is of Palestinian origin and officially stateless, Saudi Arabia is the only home he has ever known, his friends say, and he sees art as a line of communication between Saudi society and the rest of the world. But on Nov. 17 a Saudi court sentenced Mr. Fayadh to death on charges of apostasy based on poems he published years before and on the testimony of a few witnesses, according to Adam Coogle, a researcher for Human Rights Watch who has read the court documents.  Click here



France Moves To Help Cultural Industry After Attacks
Los Angeles Times, Nov 20, 2015
The French government is moving to bolster cultural venues and cinemas across the country following last week's terrorist attacks in Paris, with Culture Minister Fleur Pellerin saying that at least 4 million euros, or about $4.3 million, have been allocated toward a "solidarity fund."  Her initiative comes after museums, concert halls, movie theaters and other cultural spaces have reopened their doors to the public following last week's massacre in the French capital, which included an attack at the Bataclan concert hall, a popular space for live music events.  Click here



Iran's Amazing Modern Art Treasures
Bloomberg, Nov 19, 2015
Inside the rotunda of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, a circular walkway spirals down from the street level, like an underground version of Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum in New York. A series of galleries branches out from there, giving up astonishing secrets from one of the finest-if forgotten-collections of 20th century art in the world. A show this fall included abstract expressionist paintings by Kandinsky, Motherwell, Pollock, Rothko, and Stella, to name just a few from the museum's vault. Sculptures by Ernst, Giacometti, Magritte, and Moore are on permanent display in the garden. The corkscrew-shaped foyer wraps around a giant Calder mobile-its playful red shapes glinting in midair beneath the stern glares of Ayatollahs Khomeini and Khamenei in portraits above.  Click here



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Tom at MCC

MCC - Connecting Art, Culture and Community through Education, Advocacy and Celebration.  As the official cultural agency for Missoula, MCC provides the community with resources for the development and promotion of arts and culture, maintains Missoula's sister-city relationships with Neckargemund, Germany and Palmerston North, New Zealand and produces the annual First Night Missoula celebration on New Year's Eve. For more information, please visit our website www.missoulacultural.org. 

 

Contact Us:
Missoula Cultural Council
327 East Broadway
P.O. Box 7662
Missoula, MT 59807

406-541-0860
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