This Week’s Arts & Culture Scene | Feb 15

By TOM BENSEN

ArtPlace America, an organization based in Brooklyn, NY, is a 10-year project that is a partnership of foundations, banks, and federal agencies that support creative placemaking initiatives.  A representative from ArtPlace America will be visiting Missoula this Tuesday, February 16, and will hold an information session from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the Doubletree.  For more information, call the MCC office at 541-0860.

The 13th annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival opens this week on February 19 and runs through February 28 at the Wilma, Top Hat, Roxy and Crystal Theaters. Visit here for more info.

The Missoula Art Museum presents Terrain: Plateau Native Art & Poetry through February 27, 2016; John Buck: Free for All through March 12 (pictured here); Good Wood: Carved And Cut From MAM’s Permanent Collection through March 12.

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It’s Oscar Season at The Roxy!  There’s a full lineup of Oscar® contenders, as well as special one-off screenings, festivals and events at the Roxy this month. Visit here for more.

The first of the University of Montana’s spring 2016 Noon Diversity ForUMs will take place from noon to 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 17, in the Mike and Maureen Mansfield Center Conference Room in the Mansfield Library. The forums are free and open to the public, and attendees are welcome to bring a lunch. The February forum, “Cultural Diversity at UM – Issues, Interactions and Expectations,” will be moderated by Udo Fluck, cross-cultural researcher, curriculum developer and instructor. Fluck, who was born in Germany, will talk about identity and diversity as it relates to UM.

Picture6The Montana Museum of Art & Culture presents Glorious Vista: Art of the American West from the MMAC Permanent Collection through February 20 in the Paxson and Meloy Galleries from now through February 20. This exhibition explores the landscapes and people of the Rocky Mountain West during the 19th and 20th centuries, including works by Edgar Paxson, Joseph Henry Sharp, Charles M. Russell,  Ace Powell, Julius Seyler, Nancy McLaughlin, and George Catlin. On Tuesday, February 16 from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. in teh Montana Theatre, MMAC presents “Nature and Culture in the Northern Rocky Mountains” a lecture by Michael Duchemin, Executive Director of the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls. On Thursday, February 18, at 5:30 p.m., there will be a Public Docent Tour for this exhibit.  Meet in the PARTV Center Lobby.

The Gallery of Visual Arts at the University of Montana presents What Lay Before – What Lay After, sculpture and paintings of Francis Paul Pearson, now through March 3.

The University Center Gallery presents “The Inevitable Comparison” now through February 25. Artist Alissa Wynne’s work features stretched garments that comment on rebellion and upbringing. Call 243-5555.

The Mansfield Center at the University of Montana has announced its Spring 2016 Brown Bag Lecture Series for the community. The lectures reflect the center’s mission to promote an understanding of Asia, public affairs and ethics. Topics of this semester’s lectures include wildlife conservation in Southeast Asia, renewable energy and human health, and the connections between language and culture.  All sessions will be held from 12:10 to 1:00 p.m. The lectures are free and open to the public. The next in teh series occurs Tuesday, February 16, in University Center Room 332: “Environmental Conservation Projects in Vietnam,” with Marilyn Marler, natural areas specialist, UM Division of Biological Sciences, and Sarah Bates, deputy director, Northern Rockies, Prairies and Pacific Region of the National Wildlife Federation. This even is free.

2016-02-15_1133Radius Gallery  presents your last chance to see the featured works of Lucy Capehart, Randi O’Brien, and Stephen Glueckert, as well as the newest works from our represented artists.  This exhibit ends February 20. In addition to playing with some kinetic sculptures, admiring the most contemporary pelicans you’ve ever seen, and getting chills at the exquisite cyanotypes, check out our wall of small works, perfect for a gift or a smaller intimate space. Whether you’re a new collector or have so much art you don’t know what to

The Clay Studio of Missoula presents the International Cup 2016 through February.  Visit here for more information.

Shakespeare and Co. hosts several events this next week by the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.  Visit here for more.

Fact and Fiction presents A Night for Science Fiction with Sharman Apt Russell, February 23 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at F&F Downtown.

String Orchestra of the Rockies presents La Folia – A Musical Folly, February 21 in the UM Music Recital Hall.  For tickets, visit here or call 493-2990.

For three Thursday nights in February, Free Cycles will be converted from a bike shop into an art studio for the Riverfront Neighborhood Art Night.  You are invited to join a class hosted by a guest artist or bring your own materials for projects you work on in the creative company of others.   Riverfront Art Nights continue February 18 and 25 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.  Attend one or all three.  There will be supplies for the first 24 people.  You can reserve a place by emailing here or just show up and take your chances.  Free Cycles is located at 732 South First West.

Registration now open for January-March 2016 Art Workshops with local artist Nancy Seiler. New this winter is Nature Journaling Series. Learn to draw and paint different natural history topics and be ready to go outside this spring with your nature journal to record what you see with more confidence.  All workshops are located at 330 Brooks St. in Missoula (one block east of Caffé Dolce).  Classes are limited to 10. To sign up, please email here or call 370-1254.

Zootown Arts Community Center will celebrate small things with its 4th Annual {mini} Show Benefit at Missoula’s newly renovated historic Wilma Theater on March 26. This gala event will bring together Missoula’s creative community to celebrate all things mini, from mini dessert auction, a mini silent and live art auction, and more! The Mini Show art opening will occur in the ZACC gallery on March 11. This is an annual fundraiser for the Zootown Arts Community Center. For more information, visit here.

The Art Associates of Missoula monthly meeting will be held this Wednesday, February 17, at 10:00 a.m. in the Education Center of the Missoula Art Museum, 335 N. Pattee St, Missoula. Botanical illustrator and painter Nancy Seiler will be sharing her art and inspirational designs. Art Associates meetings are free and open to the public.  For more information please call Susie at 544-0891.

The University of Montana Creative Writing Program graduate student Alida Dean of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, is the recipient of this year’s Merriam-Frontier Award.  Dean will read her award-winning submission at 4:10 p.m. Friday, February 19, in the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library Theta Rho Room. The reading is free and open to the public.  For more information call Karin at 243-5267.

tumblr_static_wizart_s_the_snow_queen_logoThe world premiere of the Missoula Children’s Theatre production of The Snow Queen will take place February 20 and 21 at the MCT Center for the Performing Arts.  Tickets are available here, by calling 728-7529 or at MCT’s Box Office.

DalyJazz presents Ryan Keberle, featured in Jazz Times last year as “One of 5 Trombonists You Need to Know,” with his Montana edition of Catharsis: Mike Rodriguez (trumpet), Camila Veza (vocals), Craig Hall (bass), and Caleb VanGelder (drums) for two nights, Saturday and Sunday, February 20-21. Suggested donation $25.  To RSVP email here

The Montana World Affairs Council’s 12th Annual Statewide High School Academic WorldQuest Competition, with the Winning Team to Represent Montana in Washington, D.C., is February 23, in the UC Ballroom, 3rd Floor University Center.  Call  728-3328, or visit here

University of Montana School of Theatre & Dance presents Hot ‘n’ Throbbing by Paula Vogel, February 23-27 and March 1-4 at 7:30 p.m., and March 5 at 2:00 p.m. at the Masquer Theatre, PARTV Center, U of M Campus.  Visit here for more.

Poet Stefania Heim, the University of Montana Creative Writing Program’s Visiting Hugo Writer, will read her poetry at 7:00 p.m. Friday, February 26, in the Turner Hall Dell Brown Room. The event, which is part of the Spring 2016 Reading Series, is free and open to the public.  For more information, call Karin at 243-5267.

The Missoula Symphony Orchestra and Chorale, featuring guest conductor Thomas Heuser and guest soloists Christina Pier and Charles Robert Stephens, present the German Requiem by Brahms, February 27 at 7:30 p.m. and February 28 at 3:00 p.m. at the UM Dennison Theatre.  Visit here or call 721-3194.

On Sunday, February 28, the Missoula Community Chorus is hosting their 11th Annual “Missoula Uncorked” fundraiser. This year’s “Red Carpet Gala” will feature a live telecast of the 88th Annual Academy Awards at the Thomas Meagher Bar in downtown Missoula. This interactive awards experience includes an opportunity for guests to win prizes by correctly guessing the Oscar award-winners! Visit here or stop by the Thomas Meagher Bar to purchase tickets and learn more about the event.

The Missoula Historic Preservation Commission is seeking nominations for the 2016 Missoula Historic Preservation Awards. Nominations are due by March 4.  The 24th Annual Missoula Historic Preservation Awards will be judged by the Missoula Historic Preservation Commission, with the individuals and groups honored at a public, catered awards event during May, National Historic Preservation Month. Projects must have been completed in 2013, 2014 or 2015. Nomination Forms can be downloaded from the City’s Historic Preservation webpage. Nomination forms can also be obtained by contacting the Historic Preservation Office, or e-mailing a
request here.

Writing at Work, a conference hosted by the University of Montana Creative Writing Program, is slated for Friday, March 11. The conference, which connects UM students with successful, creative professionals who use their liberal arts education in their working lives, will be held from noon to 5 p.m., in the University Center Theater. It is free and open to the public.  For more information call 243-5267 or email here.

For more information about arts events in the Missoula area, visit our website