Community Outreach
MAM is committed to extending a radical welcome to rural and tribal communities and under-resourced populations in our city and state. Admission is always FREE at MAM and many of our programs are free as well. Our goal is to remove barriers to access and engagement with contemporary art for people of all ages and abilities.
Interested in becoming a part of it all? Become a docent! Click here to learn more.
MAM volunteer docents lead hundreds of schoolchildren, adults, and special groups through exhibitions each year. Those interested in becoming docents may attend MAM’s monthly docent enhancement sessions. These meetings are in-person on the second Tuesday of each month. Join us to build community, make new friends, and share our love of art. MAM will provide the necessary tools, skills, and practice for docents. No previous experience is necessary. Volunteer today! Contact Kay Grissom-Kiely at kay@missoulaartmuseum.org.
ARTReach
MAM engages under-resourced populations through the ARTreach program each summer. ARTreach is modeled after the successful Fifth Grade Art Experience, which runs during the school year. A dozen nonprofit summer camps, serving approximately 700 low-income children, visit MAM for an interactive tour and hands-on art-making experience. The program provides an opportunity for a diverse cross-section of Missoula’s youth from surrounding rural communities and the Flathead Nation to experience contemporary art in an interactive and creative way, through open-ended interpretation and a hands-on art project led by professional artists. Since 2015, ARTreach has served over 5,000 youth and broadens MAM’s partnerships with a diverse array of social service and educational organizations in Missoula.
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MAM on the MOVE!
MAM on the Move! is a pop-up art-making station that travels to events around town. Participants create an original artwork while learning about current exhibitions, programs, workshops, classes and events for all ages and abilities. Our art project is always connected with a work of art from MAM's contemporary art collection. Look for our red tent and banner at the Western Montana Fair, Clark Fork Market, Sunday Streets, the Roots Festival, and other events around Missoula.
Art Host Program
In winter 2021, MAM exhibited I Think It Goes Like This (Gold) by Tlingit artist Nicholas Galanin, on loan from the Art Bridges Foundation. MAM proposed a new program to help spread the word about Galanin’s installation. Through the Art Host program, Tribal community members connected Native peoples and the museum.
Each Art Host received a stipend and MAM facilitated meetings and trainings with the Art Hosts, a meeting between the Art Hosts and Galanin, and a discussion between Nicholas Galanin and Art Bridges Associate Curator Ashley Holland. The project strengthened relationships with Tribal people on every reservation, a longstanding commitment of the museum. The Art Bridges foundation funded program costs.
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