MCC News

Missoula Cultural Council logo

Today is Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day – a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service, and has been observed at the end of May every year since the aftermath of the Civil War. For a more complete history of this uniquely American holiday, visit http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

In Missoula…

Country-music singer-songwriter Doug Dugger passed away in Missoula this week. To read about his accomplishments and accolades, visit http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2005/05/28/news/local/news05.txt

The Missoula Art Museum thanks the members of the Joyce Folsom Society, a group representing individuals who have decided to bequeath artworks from their personal collections to the MAM Permanent Collection. These donors are exemplary for their generosity, foresight and understanding of the role of MAM’s collection in preserving the cultural life of our region. One promised gift recently fulfilled came from Gilbert Millikan. Gilbert was an enthusiastic collector of all types of items and was a great supporter of young artists. His legacy was to leave his collection of over 200 objects to four institutions, the Missoula Art Museum, Archie Bray Foundation, Holter Museum, and The University of Montana. Working collaboratively, these organizations selected items appropriate to their collecting missions. MAM acquired 43 original artworks, including 20 works by Walter Hook. Some of the other area artists featured in this collection are Kendahl Jan Jubb, Marion Lavery, Beth Lo and Lulu Yee. Gilbert’s estate will support MAM in many other critical ways. In honor of his memory, MAM has named areas of its new facility dedicated to storing and preserving the permanent collection The Gilbert Millikan Wing.

The Missoula Art Museum’s Summer Art School schedule is online and available in brochure format. Call 728-0447 to register for classes for children, adults and families. To ensure that students will receive high quality individualized instruction, classes are limited to 15 students. Fees include materials and tools except when noted. Members receive a 10% discount on class fees! Join today by calling 728-0447. Missoula Art Museum’s Temporary Contemporary is located in the Florence building, 111 N. Higgins Ave. 728-0447 or visit http://www.missoulaartmuseum.org

For the past several weeks the Missoula Public Library and the Institute of Medicine and the Humanities have been hosting a special traveling exhibition by the National Library of Medicine & the American Library Association. Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature offers a fresh look at Mary Shelley’s book and its importance in discussions about social responsibility and ethical scientific research. It will be on display through June 10 at Missoula Public Library. For more information please call 721-BOOK (2665).

Fact and Fiction presents Leonard Schonberg, who will be reading from and signing his new book, Morgen’s War, from noon to 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 1. For more information call 721-2881.

Ceramics artist Hal Mathews will be the featured artist at the Missoula Artists’ Shop this month. Variations on Vases is the theme of his show. As part of First Friday Gallery walk, an artist’s reception will be held from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Friday, June 3, at 306 N. Higgins in downtown Missoula. Or more information, visit http://www.woodfusion.com or call 829-9800

Living Art is hosting a half-day workshop for people facing illness, loss and other life-altering conditions on Saturday, June 4, at the Dinny Stranahan Research Institute (2925 North Reserve Street) from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Attendees will be introduced to some writing and relaxation techniques and will create a mask. This method has been shown to help people cope with the stress and it is fun! No art or writing experience necessary! Registration required by June 2. For more information call549-5329 or e-mail [email protected]

The Montana Natural History Center presents Le Junque Sale – The High End Rummage and Bake Sale on June 4 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Drop off items during the week. Please call Betsy at 327-0405. For more information visit http://www.MontanaNaturalist.org

The Candidatos present an original comedy I’m Sorry & I’m Sorry at the MCT Center for the Performing Arts on June 5 and 10. For more information about this troupe or the upcoming shows, visit http://www.thecandidatos.com, or e-mail [email protected]

The Historical Museum at Fort Missoula presents A Visit to Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, original Wild West posters, between June 5 and August 28. There will be a free opening reception on June 5 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. This special temporary exhibit will illustrate the acts a visitor would see when attending a show a hundred years ago. Buffalo Bill employed the finest lithographers of his day to create posters for his Wild West show. Today these posters are prized for their attention to detail and colorful rendition of action. Posters in the exhibit will illustrate such things as Annie Oakely’s sharpshooting, feats of horsemanship by Cossacks, and even a game of “football” on horseback between cowboys and Indians. The spectacular full-color posters will be supplemented with black and white photographs of Wild West show acts. For more information, call 728-3476 or e-mail [email protected]

Treasures for a Song, the International Choral Festival’s first yard sale fundraiser, is scheduled for Saturday, June 11, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the parking lot at 312 East Pine Street. There will be hundreds of “treasures," including everything from collectibles to clocks to toys to tables. In addition, there will be Choral Festival merchandise from the past, such as Festival posters and 2003 Festival DVDs. Donated items to be sold will be accepted on either Friday, June 3 between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. or on Saturday, June 4, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at 312 East Pine Street. A volunteer will be in the alley behind the building to assist. Because storage space is limited, large equipment, furniture and adult clothing will not be accepted on the drop off days. To donate oversized items, please drop off the morning of the sale, June 11, before 8:00 a.m. All donations must be in reasonable condition, operable and clean. For more information, call the Festival office at 721-7985. Rain date is Saturday, June 18.

Five Valleys Arts and Science Center is offering a variety of adult and children arts and science classes and programs this summer. For info contact Patty at Art Hangup, 327-8757. A web site, http://www.fvasc.org, is currently under construction and will be available soon for information. How much is your time worth?, a class for artists sponsored by Five Valley’s Arts and Science Center and Montana Community Development, with help from several successful artists, is scheduled for Wednesday, June 15, 6:30-9:00 p.m. Discussion will include the local economy, pricing your work, and other issues of marketing. Location TBA. Contact Kaye at MCDC, 728-9234 ext. 200 for more information.

The International Wildlife Media Center & Film Festival will be offering a workshop for educators on Documentary Filmmaking. The workshop has been approved for the issue of 12 renewal units from the Office of Public Instruction. The 3-day workshop includes professional instruction on the filmmaking process, videography, story development & editing. The dates for the workshop are June 28-30 and July 19-21. The cost of the workshop is $250. Equipment is provided. Group size is limited to 6 teachers. To register or for more information, please contact the Media Center at 728-9380, or visit http://www.wildlifefilms.org

Elsewhere in Montana and the Region…

The Great Falls Historic Trolley and Tour de Great Falls celebrate the beginning of their tenth season to showcase the history, past and current, of that fascinating city. These two-hour traveling tours cover Lewis & Clark in the area, including where they did their overland portage around the waterfalls and where Capt. Meriwether Lewis was chased into the Missouri River by the grizzly bear. Highlights of the Historic Downtown, Museums and the L&C Interpretive Center, Saloons, Railroad District, Historic Home District, Churches, River’s Edge Trail, Waterfalls, Charlie & Nancy Russell, Paris Gibson (founder of G.F.), Giant Springs, Beautiful Parks, Malmstrom AFB, Medical and Educational Facilities impress visitors on daily tours aboard a climate-controlled trolley Monday-Thursday at 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Friday-Sunday tours are 10:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 4 p.m. This year, to accommodate more visitors during the Signature Event Explore! The Big Sky, additional 1:00 p.m. tours will be conducted June 1 – July 10. For more information call 771-1100 or visit http://www.greatfallshistorictrolley.com

Registration is still available for the 26th Annual Bitter Root Days, June 11 & 12 in Hamilton. Fees are $50 for this two day event, and commercial vendors are invited to promote their business, the space size being 10 x 10. Non-profit organizations are invited to participate as well, for a $30 fee. The Bitter Root Community Farmers Market is expanded featuring fresh produce, baked and dried foods, and a wide variety of arts and crafts. The Market goes from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, and continues from 12:30 to 4:30 on Sunday. There will be a tea Sunday afternoon in the Museum honoring Pioneer families and the founders of the Historical Society, so good crowds are anticipated. Food booths are reserved on a first come basis with their products, as we don’t allow duplicate menus (e.g. we don’t want two kettle corn or two hot dog vendors). Held on the grounds of the Ravalli County Museum, this is the only festival that celebrates our state flower, the beautiful Bitter Root. Kids games, video showings, live music are also part of this festival. For more information, call the museum from 10 to 4 Thurs, Fri, Sat, or Monday at (406) 363-3338, or e-mail [email protected].

At the Wild Plum in Dixon on Saturday, June 4 at 8:00 p.m. there will be an Artist’s Reception for Missoula sculptor George Ybarra, with entertainment by the "Dixon Nightingale," Mariss McTucker. For more information call 246-ARTS, or e-mail [email protected]

From the Montana Associated Technology Roundtable…

Montana Nonprofit Association Adds Brad Robinson to Staff as Member Services Director to Increase Benefits to Nonprofit Sector
Robinson brings both for-profit and non-profit work experience to this position. Robinson was a founder and manager of Big Sky Brewing Company, Montana’s largest brewery, and most recently worked as the Executive Director of the Montana Natural History Center (MNHC) in Missoula.

Being Cool Isn’t Enough, A City Needs A Soul
"The decline in the urban middle-class family – a pattern seen in both the late Roman Empire and eighteenth-century Venice – deprives urban areas of a critical source for economic and social vitality."

For more about the Montana Associated Technology Roundtable, visit http://www.matr.net

Nationally…

From the Center for Arts and Culture….

Redford plans Sundance theater chain for indy films
Chicago Sun-Times (AP), 5/22/2005
"Robert Redford’s Sundance Group will launch Sundance Cinemas, a movie theater chain for independent, documentary and foreign-language films as well as some studio projects." http://www.suntimes.com/output/movies/cst-nws-sundance22.html

Economic sparring match turns to meeting of minds
Rocky Mountain News, 5/21/2005
Richard Florida, author of The Flight of the Creative Class, and Joel Kotkin, author of The City: A Global History, spoke at the "Culture Commerce Community" conference last week in Denver. "The mayor introduced them as if they were boxing opponents, but the two agree on several issues. Florida said there is a ‘growing income inequality and a housing affordability crisis.’ Kotkin said both authors ‘are reaching toward the conclusive need for a new progressive era.’" http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/business/article/0,1299,DRMN_4_3794945,00.html

American History 101
Slate Magazine, 5/17/2005
"Most people can probably agree that history should neither be an uncritical celebration of bygone heroes nor a bill of indictment against dead white men; its purpose is neither to build self-esteem nor to indoctrinate. But the middle ground between these poles is a difficult one to map. Should history be used to promote patriotism and a regard for American democracy? If so, what’s wrong with its being used also to instill pride among blacks, women, or gays? How much should history education focus on heroes and how much on debunking myths? Does knowing history make us better citizens? With these questions as merely a guide, we’ve asked Diane Ravitch, author of The Language Police, and Jon Wiener, professor of history at the University of California at Irvine and author most recently of Historians in Trouble: Plagiarism, Fraud and Politics in the Ivory Tower, to debate the issues." http://slate.msn.com/id/2118427/entry/2118440/

Arts education brushed aside for many pupils
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 5/21/2005
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review examines the challenges facing arts educators in Pittsburgh and across the state. "Arts educators throughout Pennsylvania are hoping that the next few years won’t bring even ‘indirect’ reductions in arts funding as a result of the ‘high stakes’ established in the era of PSSA, NCLB and Act 72." http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/regional/s_336541.html

D.C. Schools Chief Plans to Expand Art, Music Offerings
Education Week, 05/18/05
"The new superintendent of the District of Columbia schools is proposing to revitalize art and music education as part of his strategic-improvement plan. . . . Clifford B. Janey called this month for spending $13.1 million out of a proposed annual budget of $775.5 million to hire more teachers and buy supplies and equipment to include the arts in the elementary and middle school curriculum." https://c4.erightsweb.com/edweek/login/rale.do?rale=OrXXPvISbpzEd%2bH2K5w72O4Rf1PdoZMV8jb%2btid4broVufU4I2LUecsnIWKDTfaERvldfHpNFfFK%2f4h7eU2%2fvgeT7%2ftObsH9o2vnTIakz5BsG%2blWOeEyDf1w3zWinwDz51uxzVX%2bWxq80ISIX%2bWk6F5DfXhDV7%2fx

Collateral Damage to Historical Research from the ‘War on Terrorism’
History News Network, 05/09/05
"The penchant for secrecy on the part of the Bush Administration plus the traumatic events of 9/11 have set back access to historical information by more than two decades. Any attentive American has heard about the failure to open information for the 9/11 Commission and the Congressional Intelligence Committees but few realize the full effect of the Bush Administration and their wars, both against terrorism and for ‘democracy’ in Afghanistan and Iraq. War always expands the power of presidents and this president has used some of his power to draw the curtain on past information as well as the present. Fears developed from current events invariably are reflected in the closing of documents from the past. Even the Congress is not immune." http://hnn.us/articles/11541.html

Does classical music make babies smarter?
BBC News Magazine, 5/19/2005
"As well as classical CDs and DVDs for very young children, this week sees the launch of a programme of concerts for babies – including those in utero. . . . Numerous studies conclude that playing music to babies in the womb and in the early years helps build the neural bridges along which thoughts and information travel. And research suggests it can stimulate the brain’s alpha waves, creating a feeling of calm; a recent study of premature infants found that they were soothed by the music."
– contributed by ArtsJournal.com http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4558507.stm

To learn more about the Center of Arts and Culture, visit http://www.culturalpolicy.org

From Wolf, Keens and Co…

Counterpoint: Popular Culture is Making Us Smarter…
Financial Times

Over the years, we’ve heard so much concern about the content and focus of popular culture and the negative effects this has on young people. Here’s a different viewpoint – a review of a new book, Everything Bad Is Good For You: How Popular Culture is Making Us Smarter. See what you think.

To learn more about Wolf, Keens and Co. visit http://www.wolfkeens.com.

Internationally…

Global Hollywood 2
University of California Press, 2005
"Why is Hollywood so successful? Overwhelming almost every other national cinema and virtually extinguishing foreign cinema in the multicultural United States, Hollywood seems powerful around the globe. This book draws from political economy, cultural studies, and cultural policy analysis to highlight the material factors underlining this apparent artistic success. This new edition brings the arguments completely up-to-date by taking into consideration important developments such as 9/11, shifts in the exchange rate, transformations in U.S. foreign policy, and significant developments in trade agreements, consumer technology, and ownership regimes. Each chapter has been substantially revised, and major new sections on India and China have been added." http://www.ucpress.edu/books/bfi/pages/PROD0495.html

Cultural Tourism around the World…

In a story from Madrid, the Spanish government seeks to shed the country’s bargain-basement image with high-spending marketing campaign. For the full story visit http://www.guardian.co.uk/spain/article/0,2763,1494211,00.html?gusrc=rss#article_continue

In Thailand, a public awareness campaign centers around a boat, named Dao Ruang, that has been fitted with loudspeakers, a microphone and an audio cassette player so those collecting samples can also enjoy listening to some music. For the full story visit http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/29May2005_news13.php

Gael leader Enda Kenny has said cultural tourism is still an under-developed element of the Irish tourism offering, despite its representing serious potential for the tourism industry and the economy generally. http://www.politics.ie/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7234

Although the Indian subcontinent is marked with ruins of many ancient cities, only a few urban centres with robust historical traditions have continued to exist to this day.

http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?ItemID=4777&cat=11

Finally…From the BBC….

Banksy Strikes Again
Nothing like a harmless "vandal" with a sense of humor. This time Banksy managed to hang a purported piece of "cave art" in the British Museum. Its title? "Early man venturing towards the out-of-town hunting grounds." Take a look!

Visit http://www.missoulacultural.org and e-mail [email protected] with submissions for this newsletter.

To unsubscribe, please e-mail http://mailapp.modwest.com/mailman/listinfo/mccnews-list

If you want to reduce e-mails in your inbox but still want to read this newsletter, it is posted each week at http://www.missoulacultural.org/newsstand.html

Thanks for your comments & corrections

Tom at MCC

_______________________________________________
Mccnews-list mailing list
[email protected]
http://mailapp.modwest.com/mailman/listinfo/mccnews-list