Classes And Workshops
All year long, MAM connects adults, teens, and children of all ages to contemporary art and artists to provide unique and engaging hands-on art experiences. Please preregister (if recommended/required) to ensure your space. MAM believes that art should be accessible to everyone! Most of our educational programs are free and scholarships are available when programs require a fee. Please download the scholarship form and email us for more information. When registering for a class requiring a fee, your registration is confirmed with a nonrefundable $20 deposit or full payment. Registration fee (minus $20) is refundable only if cancellation is made seven days prior to the first class meeting.
Saturday Free Family Workshops
Saturday, Dec. 2, 11 AM to 12:30 PM
Holidays on Higgins: Luminaries
Join teaching artist Jennifer Ogden for a fun family workshop. Gather your loved ones, roll up your sleeves, and prepare to carry your creative light! Create translucent paper and cane luminaries which can be hung from sticks to carry in downtown Missoula during the Holidays on Higgins celebration of light.
The whole family is invited to make art together in these artist-led, FREE workshops. DROP-INS WELCOME but please arrive a few minutes early. Children under age 7 should be accompanied by an adult. All materials are provided and all ages and levels of experience are encouraged to take part—just bring an open mind.
Teen Art Project (TAP) 2023/2024
UP NEXT: Fall TAP—Working with Clay
FREE. Art supplies and pizza provided. Rolling registration. If you are between the ages of 13 and 17, enjoy making art, and are a creative thinker, this program is for you.
Inspired by the exhibition, Make It Funky, teens work with professional artist Patricia Garcia on hand-building and wheel-throwing techniques. Oct. 12 to Dec, 21, Thursdays 4 to 6pm
Tour contemporary art exhibitions and learn art techniques while creating. Mentorship with a professional teaching artist. MAM is committed to the next generation of creatives and professional artists and is a space where voices matter.
Learn more and register!
Teen Open Studio (TOS)
Saturdays
12:30 to 3 PM
Fall Session: Oct. 14 to Dec. 16, 2023
FREE. Every Saturday afternoon, middle and high school students gather to make art in MAM’s classroom with unlimited art supplies. World-class contemporary art in the galleries at MAM can inspire new ideas, new ways to create, and new ways to experience hands-on artmaking. Overseen by museum education staff and interns. Bring a friend and follow @missoulaartmuseum on Instagram! Drop-ins welcome!
Image: Marwin Begaye, MAM Collection, gift of MATRIX Press.
Tuesdays
After School Art Adventure
Led by Bev Beck Glueckert
Ages 6–11
3:45–5:15 PM
$63 for members, $70 for nonmembers (Rolling admission + pro-rated prices)
Series I: Sept. 26 through Nov. 7 (6 classes)
Series II: Nov. 14 through Dec. 19 (6 classes)
Kids are invited to create artwork inspired by the contemporary art at MAM throughout the school year! This class offers a short tour and a series of art projects related to what the students see. Projects include drawing, painting, printmaking, and 3D exploration.
Learn More
Saturday Free Family Workshops
11 AM–12:30 PM
Saturday, Nov. 4: Exploring Moccasin Design
Join exhibiting artist Molly Murphy Adams (descendant, Oglala/Lakota) to create moccasins using paper and various materials.
Participants will start with a brief tour of the exhibition, The Space Between, and Murphy Adams will bring moccasins from her family collection.
The whole family is invited to make art together in these artist-led, FREE workshops. DROP-INS WELCOME but please arrive a few minutes early. Children under age 7 should be accompanied by an adult. All materials are provided and all ages and levels of experience are encouraged to take part—just bring an open mind.
Image: Molly Murphy Adams, .
learn more!
(FGAE)
Fifth Grade Art Experience
The upcoming year marks MAM’s 38th Annual FGAE. This signature education program invites every public and independent elementary school within a 70-mile radius to MAM for a contemporary art looking and art making experience. Following the visit, students walk to the Missoula Public library for a tour, related stories, and free library cards. More than 1,500 students partake in the program at no charge each year, involving an average of 45 to 50 fifth grade classes. For many students, this is their first time stepping foot into a museum. FGAE provides an introduction to contemporary art and artists, establishes a connection with their “home” museum, encourages participant engagement while interacting with art, and promotes quality art education experiences, both looking and making. MAM is committed to extending FGAE to the Flathead Nation and surrounding rural communities by providing busing for additional 10 to 15 schools and serving over 500 youth beyond Missoula County. For more information contact Kay Grissom-Kiely at kay@missoulaartmuseum.org.
Museum as Megaphone: Virtual FGAE
Can’t Visit MAM for FGAE? Classrooms can participate in Virtual FGAE through Museum as Megaphone: Virtual FGAE. To reduce barriers of access, MAM serves an additional 20 schools and 1,200 students throughout Montana in this distance learning program. MAM partners with Inspired Classrooms, a local education tech company, to launch an interactive, online platform that engages schools beyond MAM’s geographic reach. Students participate in real-time, live, interactive art experiences in MAM’s galleries and exhibiting artist studios. Students and teachers access an interactive portal that offers resources to guide teachers and students through this process, including exhibiting artist videos, website links, and additional art images. Museum as Megaphone connects students with contemporary visual art and artists for the first time, widening their vision of the world and what is possible, and amplifying their voices. For teachers, it provides enrichment and professional development, makes MAM accessible for schools unable to visit in person, and meets standards in Indian Education for All, language arts, social studies, and 21st century skills. For MAM, it expands outreach to rural and Tribal schools, improves access to exhibiting and collection artists, and supports MAM’s vision of museums as democratic places where all people are welcome to exchange ideas. For more information contact Janaína Vieira-Marques at janaina@missoulaartmuseum.org.
- Watch a short video about the Museum as Megaphone pilot program with St. Ignatius School: Museum as Megaphone with St Ignatius School.
- April Werle in Imaging the Sacred: Birdie Hall, Talia Roberts, Daphne Sweet, April Werle