Artist
- Wilderness Connection
The Bob Marshall
Foundation, Flathead National Forest, Hockaday Museum of Art and Swan
Ecosystem Center joined forces to create the Artist-Wilderness-Connection
project, which is an artist-in-residence
program. The program is open to artists of all disciplines including
composers, writers, and visual artists.
Flathead Valley artist Myni Ferguson and Montana author Annick Smith
were selected to participate in the first artist-in-residence program
in 2004. Ferguson specializes in carved and etched glass pieces, and
Smith is well known for her essays and co-editing of the Montana anthology,
The Last Best Place.
The Artist-Wilderness-Connection program connects artists and the public
with our wild lands. The artist-in-residence program benefits the artists,
offering a remote setting to focus on their art, and benefits the public
through the presentations the artists will offer. For a week in September,
each artist had an opportunity to focus on her art while living in a
cabin for a week on the Flathead National Forest. Within the next six
months, the artists will select a format to share their talents and
residency experience with the community. This year marks the 40th
anniversary of the Wilderness Act, signed by Lyndon Johnson in September
1964, establishing the National Wilderness Preservation System. Nearly
50% of the Flathead National Forest is designated wilderness, part of
the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Artist-Wilderness-Connection
program offers an opportunity to share and help protect the legacy of
clean air and water, wildlife habitat, unequaled settings for recreation,
reflection and solitude offered by wilderness areas.
Beginning December 1, 2004 Montana artists are invited to apply for
the Artist-Wilderness-Connection program in 2005. The program will host
three artists in cabins on the Flathead National Forest during the months
of August and September.
For more information:
See our 2005 Outline
and our Online Application
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