Is Montana a good place for an artist? (Missoula, Great Falls: for sale, how much)

[MontanaGuy]

MontanaGuy admitted that he's not an artist and his comment sort of supports that admission!!

Always glad to be of assistance!

Thanks OnTheRoad for your comments. Very interesting.

[grizzfan]

MontanaGuy and Ontheroad, thank you for your excellent postings on Taos, NM and the southwestern horizons. I believe, however, that picatic1 wanted to know about the Montana art scene. It sounds like you are discouraging them from moving here. I like people from SC; they have, among other qualities, the ability to be polite and on task.

So, let me assure pivatic1, from one who is quite involved in the Montana art scene, that it's a great place to let the creative juices flow. (I have no artistic talents - I just support them in others.) Sure there is lots of competition, but I don't think that is what should concern you. Not everyone is going to become a Bev Doolittle and most don't want to be. They want to persue their passion, pick up techniques and, if someone likes their work enough to purchase - priceless! I mentioned in a previous post Marion Lavery. She is constantly experimenting with techniques, mostly watercolor, acrylics and pastels and collages and she teaches at the Missoula Art Museum what she's discovered. I guess I don't quite understand the term "supportive art community". No welfare here for struggling artists!! But if you want to be in a community that appreciates and includes their artists into everyday life that, in my opinion, fits the bill.

[ontheroad]

grizzfan, I don't often take umbrage, but I will with your inference. I was not discouraging anyone about anything. Opinions are what are asked for, and that is what I provided. And personal knowledge of Montana artists I know and know well is well within the topic and within my purview to contribute to the topic!

As for my post on Taos, I was being polite to another poster. Certainly you'll allow room for this!

[grizzfan]

Ontheroad, then it is 'umbrage' you have. Enjoy.

[lorelei2873]

Helena's city leaders are are actively working on branding Helena as the "Best Small Art Town" in the US. We have many artists living in Helena, with a variety of galleries and semi-annual art downtown art walks. We also host the Western Rendezvous of Art and have a very progressive museum called the Holter Museum of Modern Art. Add that to the Archie Bray. My next door neighbor is an artist who moved here from another state and makes a good living doing his work. We love art and artists in Helena. I really disagree with most of the other posters besides Grizzfan. You might also check out the Montana Artist's Refuge near Basin, just south of Helena, which is a residential artists' community.

[citigirl]

I finally went to the website. Your wife's reflective art is GREAT! There are car collectors everywhere.

[AQHA]

Originally Posted by ontheroad

grizzfan, I don't often take umbrage, but I will with your inference.

I love it when smart people argue. I don't have a clue what you guys are saying but it sounds good anyhow.

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Western Art Capital of the World - Great Falls, Montana

http://www.ci.great-falls.mt.us/about_gf/dyk.htm


Got Arts and Culture? Great Falls has nine museums/interpretive centers: Cascade County Historical Society, Charles M. Russell Museum, Children’s Museum of Montana, Galerie Trinitas, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center, Malmstrom Air Force Base Museum, Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, Ulm Pishkun State Park Visitor Center, and Ursuline Centre.

[ontheroad]

Your point(s) are well taken. However, disagreeing and being argumentative are not the same. grizzfan was and is insulting. You are adding facts!

Also for the record, an art community is not a composition of art museums, but a community. It does look as if a community or several are in the making in the Helena area. If anyone read my post, I said I had friends in Bozeman and Whitefish.

So, another day, another lesson for me and others!

Originally Posted by lorelei2873

Helena's city leaders are are actively working on branding Helena as the "Best Small Art Town" in the US. We have many artists living in Helena, with a variety of galleries and semi-annual art downtown art walks. We also host the Western Rendezvous of Art and have a very progressive museum called the Holter Museum of Modern Art. Add that to the Archie Bray. My next door neighbor is an artist who moved here from another state and makes a good living doing his work. We love art and artists in Helena. I really disagree with most of the other posters besides Grizzfan. You might also check out the Montana Artist's Refuge near Basin, just south of Helena, which is a residential artists' community.

[lorelei2873]

Originally Posted by ontheroad

Your point(s) are well taken. However, disagreeing and being argumentative are not the same. grizzfan was and is insulting. You are adding facts!

Also for the record, an art community is not a composition of art museums, but a community. It does look as if a community or several are in the making in the Helena area. If anyone read my post, I said I had friends in Bozeman and Whitefish.

So, another day, another lesson for me and others!

Thanks. I may have not read some of the posts correctly the first go-around, so I apologize for any oversights or misinterpretations.

I guess I would ask the original poster to define the concept of art community. Does the o.p. mean a community (town) that supports the arts or does the o.p. mean a place where there are residential programs?

I am not sure what your concept is of an art community. I serve on a non-profit board that funds various arts organizations, so while I am not an artist myself, I perceived there is a lively group of folks living and working in the Helena area who support themselves primarily through the arts. The public is generally quite supportive of the visual and performing arts here. I just get a real sense of community from the people I met through the arts organizations we fund. I'm just working off of my perceptions from interacting with local folks who are in the arts scene.