Events
Teen Open Studio
February 14 - June 6 2026
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Every Saturday afternoon, middle and high school students gather to make art in MAM’s classroom with unlimited art supplies! TOS is FREE and brings teens together in a casual and welcoming space to create independently or work collaboratively. Overseen by MAM education staff. Drop-in with a friend!
Follow @missoulaartmuseum on Instagram!
Teen Art Project Spring 2026
April 16, 2026 - June 4, 2026
2:30 - 5:00
Teen Art Project (TAP) at MAM is a completely free and open opportunity for teens to learn and hone their artmaking skills in a workshop setting. Led by a dynamic slate of professional and exhibiting artists, students receive hands-on instruction and experience across a wide range of mediums, including drawing, painting, ceramics, and more! Artists for the spring session include Krissy Ramirez, Theo Ellsworth, Penélope Baquero, Kelly Bouma, Kevin Bell, Elena Lourenco and Molly Russell.
The program runs from 2:30–5:00 pm, with free pizza at 2:30 pm and art-making starting at 3:00 pm. Best of all, it’s a free program with free art materials, making it an easy, welcoming way to spend the afternoon.
Register now and join us for an inspiring, hands-on art experience designed just for teens!
Forms of the Bison: Storytelling Through Clay
Saturday Multiage Workshop
Forms of the Bison: Storytelling Through Clay with Exhibiting Artist Cameron Decker
April 25th, 11–12:30
Join exhibiting artist Cameron Decker for a free, multiage clay workshop inspired by the bison skull forms featured in his museum exhibition, Q̓ʷeyq̓ʷay 'Buffalo' is Our Good Medicine'. Participants will learn how to create their own small bison skull using a mold developed by the artist, while Cameron shares the cultural, historical, and artistic significance of the bison and its enduring presence in this region. This workshop offers a meaningful opportunity for the community to spend time with the artist, engage more deeply with the work, and connect with clay as a material for holding story, memory, and place. All materials are provided, and no prior experience is necessary.
Workshop is capped at 25 participants. Please register in advance to save your spot(s). Drop-ins are welcome if space is available. Please note: Kids under 10 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. If kids ages 11-18 attend without an adult, MAM is not responsible for their whereabouts if they leave the workshop or museum.
First Friday: Sara Siestreem
May 1, 2026
5:00-7:00 PM
Artist Talk at 5:30 PM
Join us on May 1, 5–7 PM for an unforgettable evening celebrating the opening of Acts of Love, Refusal, and Resistance, a powerful new exhibition featuring the work of Sara Siestreem (Hanis Coos). Sara will be in attendance for an artist talk at 5:30 PM, with music by Dylan Running Crane.
MAM first presented Siestreem's work in 2013, and in the years since her artistic growth has been remarkable. Drawing on traditional basket weaving practices, she weaves ancestral pattern motifs into bold geometric abstractions — proud and powerful expressions of Indigenous sovereignty. A recipient of the Hallie Ford Fellowship (2025) and elected 2025 National Academician by the National Academy of Design, Siestreem is an artist in full stride, and MAM is honored to welcome her back.
Special thanks to the Elizabeth Leach Gallery for support in mounting this exhibition.
Thank you as well to Elizabeth Leach, Janet Mohle-Boetani, and Greg and Cathy Tibbles for the publication support, as well as The Ford Family Foundation Visual Arts Program for exhibition support.
Coffee and Conversation with Sara Siestreem
May 2, 2026
Doors at 10:30 am
Artist Talk 11:00-12:00 pm
Don't miss an intimate panel discussion with artist Sara Siestreem (Hanis Coos) on May 2, 11:00 pm – 12:00 pm at the Missoula Art Museum. This is a rare opportunity to go deeper into Sara's practice — exploring the ancestral traditions, personal history, and artistic vision behind Acts of Love, Refusal, and Resistance. Whether you joined us for First Friday or are discovering her work for the first time, this conversation promises to be thought-provoking, inspiring, and not to be missed. Free and open to the public!
Special thanks to the Elizabeth Leach Gallery for support in mounting this exhibition.
Thank you as well to Elizabeth Leach, Janet Mohle-Boetani, and Greg and Cathy Tibbles for the publication support, as well as The Ford Family Foundation Visual Arts Program for exhibition support.
Push it, layer it, disrupt it! Paint & Experiment with exhibiting artist Kevin Bell
Saturday Multiage Workshop
Push it, layer it, disrupt it! Paint & Experiment with exhibiting artist Kevin Bell
May 16th, 11–12:30
Join exhibiting artist Kevin Bell for a lively, multi-age workshop rooted in experimentation. Inspired by ideas in his MAM exhibition, Kevin Bell: Western (re)Visions — movement, contrast, and the tension between control and unpredictability — this workshop focuses on collaborative process rather than product. After a brief guided visit, participants will work in small groups on large sheets of paper (18 x 36 inches), using quick sketches and bold paint gestures to explore how an image shifts when it’s pushed, pulled, layered, and disrupted. These are playful, collaborative experiments in movement and mark-making, focused on exploration and discovery rather than creating a finished artwork to take home. This is hands-on and happily messy, so please wear clothes you don’t mind getting paint on! This workshop will involve the use of water-soluble house paint for instructional and art-making purposes. All materials included.
Workshop is capped at 25 participants. Please register in advance to save your spot(s). Drop-ins are welcome if space is available. Please note: Kids under 10 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. If kids ages 11-18 attend without an adult, MAM is not responsible for their whereabouts if they leave the workshop or museum.
Arist Bio:
KEVIN BELL Biography Kevin Bell's work is informed by growing up in the western United States, including ten years in Alaska and 15 years in Montana. He is a Professor at the School of Visual and Media Arts at the University of Montana. His artwork is exhibited nationally and internationally, including shows in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, New York City, Vancouver B.C., Houston, San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago. His work was featured twice in the publication New American Paintings, selected for the Dublin Biennial, and showcased at art fairs such as SCOPE and Pulse NY. He curated Seeing it Again: Nature Revisited at Anderson Ranch Art Center in Snowmass, Colorado, and was awarded residencies and fellowships in China, Ireland, Chicago and Key West, Florida. His work has received awards from notable curators such as Anne Strauss, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Lucinda Barnes, UC Berkeley Art Museum. Writes Andrea Karnes, Curator of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, “Bell’s paintings update the traditional subject of landscape, so that it is culturally relevant to this moment in our collective and individual experience.”
Teen Art Project Winter 2026
February 12 - April 2 2026
2:30 - 5:00
Teen Art Project (TAP) launches February 12 with 8-weeks of visiting artist workshops on Thursday afternoons! Throughout the program, teens will work with rotating professional and exhibiting artists, each bringing their own creative practice, perspective, and energy to different weeks of the experience. Artists leading sessions include Patricia Thornton, Courtney Murphy, April Werle, Nicolle Wolcott, Lillian Nelson, Donna Flannery, Kevin Bell, and more—giving participants the chance to explore a variety of mediums, ideas, techniques, and ways of making art.
The program runs from 2:30–5:00 pm, with free pizza at 2:30 pm and art-making starting at 3:00 pm. Best of all, it’s a free program with free art materials, making it an easy, welcoming way to spend the afternoon.
It’s a fun, low-pressure opportunity for teens to experiment, create, learn new skills, and connect with professional artists while spending time at MAM. Register now and join us for an inspiring, hands-on art experience designed just for teens!
Slow Art Day
Saturday, April 11
10:00 - 5:00
MAM is partnering with @PieceFurniture to transform our lobby into a welcoming Slow Art space for April 11. For this special day, @PieceFurniture will curate comfortable seating alongside selected artworks, creating an environment where visitors can truly sit with the art—literally and figuratively.
By pairing thoughtfully designed furniture with works from the museum’s collection, we’re encouraging visitors to linger, look closely, and connect more deeply. Slow looking allows people to notice details they might otherwise miss—subtle textures, layered meanings, compositional choices, and the emotional resonance that emerges only with time and stillness.
This collaborative installation invites you to pause in the middle of a busy world, settle into a comfortable seat, and let the artwork unfold slowly. It’s an opportunity to experience art not as something to rush past, but as something to sit with, breathe with, and reflect on.
Join us in the lobby on April 11 and discover how slowing down can change the way we see.