HIGH GALLERY

Acclaimed Helena artist Richard Notkin, who took the first of his five journeys to China to further study the Yixing teapots in 1991, will give a brief illustrated lecture about the history of Yixing and the development of the teapot.  This will be followed by a tasting of fine Chinese green teas, such as oolongs, pouchongs and high mountain teas, utilizing fine Yixing teapots and other traditional implements.  This tea-tasting is not to be confused with the Japanese tea ceremony, but is more akin to a western wine tasting.  All attendees will have an opportunity to sample and compare different teas brewed by Richard.

Courtesy of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation

Saturday, February 11 @ 10:00 am

BAIR GALLERY

Do you like horses, wide open skies and grasslands that go on forever?  Then join us at the Holter Museum for an informative talk about the art of the Asian steppes – not Montana – including Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Northern China. Popular art historian Dr Ardi Kia from UM-Missoula will give a slide lecture at 10:00 am in the Bair Gallery.

Held in conjuction with Ancient Bronzes of the Asian Steppes from the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation. Sponsored by Scott Mainwaring & Susan Benedict, Central and Southwest Asian Studies Center at The University of Montana, The Montana Arts Council and Holter members.

Lecture: 5:30-6:45pm, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church: Trudy S. Kawami, PhD, Director of Research, Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, New York

Reception: 7-8:30pm, Holter Museum of Art

Please join us to celebrate a new set of exhibitions to kick off our 25th Anniversary on Friday, January 20th.

Call 442-6400 for more information.

Take advantage of a week of Lunar New Year Activities at the Holter Museum and ExplorationWorks!  Families, teens, and interested community members are invited to the Holter Jan 23 – 26 from 3:30-5:45 to take part in constructing a Giant Dragon Puppet to be paraded in celebration of 2012 as part of The Year of the Dragon Family Day at the Holter Museum on Saturday, January 28 and ExplorationWorks on Sunday, January 29.  Beginning at 10:30 am on January 24^th – January 27^th, families of young children can gather in Little Sky Country at ExplorationWorks for a variety of activities designed for the creative, young mind.  Activities will include creating hand-held dragon puppets, paper lanterns, coins inspired by those of the Orient and a tabletop fireworks display—no explosives necessary!  Chinese tradition believes Dragons bring good luck to people, and they reflect qualities that include great power, dignity, wisdom, and good fortune.  The Holter Museum’s Dragon Building Experience is sponsored by North Fork Technical Service and is free to all, materials are provided, including snacks for all who help.  Please call the Holter to let us know you’re coming.  406-442-6400  x115.  All activities at ExplorationWorks are free to members or with paid general admission, $8 for adults, $5.50 for kids.

Visit the Holter Museum throughout the Holiday Season to shop for unique, handmade gifts!

Member-Only Preview Party: Thurs Nov 10, 5:30-9pm
* Members receive 10% off all purchases!
Downtown Helena Fall Art Walk: Fri Nov 11, 5:30-9pm
* Register to win a $50 gift certificate to the Holter Museum Store

Glitz and Groove: Runway Fashion Show:
Thurs Dec 15, 5:30-8pm

Elizabeth Bass: Views Into Space
Nicholson-Artworks Gallery
Nov 10-Dec 31, 2011
Artists’ Reception: Fri Nov 11, 5:30-8pm

Holiday Shopping and Lunch: Wednesdays Nov 16 – Dec 21, 11:30am-1:30pm
*reservations encouraged, call 442-6400
Wed Nov 16: Green Iguana
Wed Nov 23: Bert and Ernie’s
Wed Nov 30: Benny’s
Wed Dec 7: Great Harvest Bread Co.
Wed Dec 14: On Broadway
Wed Dec 21: Café Zydeco
- At each Wednesday Lunch, register to win a $50 gift certificate from the Holter Museum Store
- Gift Registry available!

Holiday Hours:
Tuesday – Saturday: 10am-5:30pm
Sunday: 12noon-4pm
* Open Sat Dec 24, 10am-2pm
* Open for exchanges and returns Dec 26-31

Special Thanks to: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana

JEAN ALBUS: RAPTURE ON THE PLAINS

Friday . October 14 . 5:30-8pm
Bair Gallery 

MICHAEL DEMENG: LOS MISTERIOSOS

Friday . October 21 . 5:30-8pm
Nicholson-Artworks Gallery

The Holter’s ongoing Narratives of the Land series highlights Montana landscape and continues through September and October. Events are held in conjunction with Andy Cline: Cruise Control and David Swanson: Sweat & Steel. The series will end with a gallery talk by Jean Albus, whose exhibition Rapture on the Plains celebrates women and Montana’s landscape.

All events are free and open to the public. Call 442-6400 with questions.

Friday . September 9 .  5:30–8pm
Opening Reception . David Swanson: Sweat & Steel
Livingston artist David Swanson has collected railroad poetry, songs, and folklore that enhance the striking exhibition of paintings of Montana’s railroads and their workers. Special music performance at 6:30 featuring David on acoustic guitar and Bill Devine on dobro.

Saturday . September 10 . 10am | 11am
Gallery Talk | Historic Photographs
10am . Join David Swanson for a gallery talk on Sweat & Steel and the unique influences on his work.
11am . Steve Jackson, Curator of Photography at the Museum of the Rockies, illuminates the museum’s photographic collection of Ron V. Nixon, a nationally recognized railroad photographer, telegrapher and dispatcher for Northern Pacific and Burlington Northern. 

Friday . September 16 . 6:30pm
Roadside Montana
Willem Volkersz, artist and professor emeritus of MSU, presents images of roadside art he’s collected throughout Montana. From neon signs to folk art sculpture, these works are worth a detour. 

Saturday . September 17 . 10:30am
Montana’s Historical Highways
While not sweating over the state’s historic roads and bridges, historian Jon Axline conducts cultural resource surveys for MDT and writes interpretive markers on everything from dinosaurs to missile silos.

Friday . September 23 . 6pm
Night at the {silent} Movies: The Railroad Men (1923)
Experience the silent movies the way they were meant to be! Cheer the hero as he rescues the boss’s daughter and boo and hiss at the villain. Alex Swaney will improvise the music! Come in historic costume if you like. Popcorn provided!

Friday . September 30 . 6pm
Night at the Movies: Danger Lights (1930) and Union Depot (1932)
Danger Lights was a Hollywood hit and largely filmed along Montana’s railroad lines. Two railroaders fall in love with the same girl, but when the chips are down everyone joins together to save the day. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Joan Blondell star in the steamy Warner Bros. classic Union Depot. Popcorn provided! 

Saturday . October 1 . 10:30 am
Rails to Gold and Silver: Montana’s Historic Railroads
Bill and Jan Taylor are the authors of several books and articles on Montana mining and railroad history. They have walked and photographed most every railroad line (including the abandoned ones) in western Montana and have served as on-board host-lecturers for the American Orient Express and the Montana Daylight train between Livingston and Sandpoint.

Saturday . October 8 . 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Family Day: Everything Railroad!
Join us for a fun-filled railroad-themed day for the entire family. Model trains will take over the Museum’s Sherman Gallery against a backdrop of David Swanson’s railroad paintings as Ken Matthews from “Imagination Station” delights old and young alike with his gallery-sized modular railroad. Georgia Stinson (and other members of the Helena Rail Modeling Club) will give tips on model making. Enjoy railroad-themed art projects, food, and stories as we all get our “choo-choo” on.

Friday . October 14 . 5:30-8:00 pm
Jean Albus: Rapture on the Plains — Opening Reception (Bair Gallery  Oct 14-Dec 31, 2011)
Jean is a feisty Montana native who now lives near Bridger, Montana. Her striking images have many layers of meaning relating to the history of the land, our connection to it and the human conditions of joy, transition and mortality.

Saturday . October 15 . 10:30 am
Jean Albus: Gallery Talk
Jean Albus will talk about her creative process and the importance of Montana landscape to her work.

Saturday . October 22 . 10:30 am
Helena’s Sixth Ward: History and Walking Tour

Learn about the importance of the Sixth Ward to the railroads in Montana and Helena’s history and about plans for its revitalization. Join Historian Ellen Baumler of the Montana Historical Society for a spirited walking tour  — weather permitting. Call 442-6400 for details.  

The Holter’s Speaker’s Series is made possible by grants from Humanities Montana, BNSF Railway, Montana Rail Link and MT AFL-CIO. Thank you!

High Gallery

A dramatic exhibition of  “Big Works” – large sculptural, architectural and installation pieces – by outstanding Bray artists, including Nathan Craven, Jeremy Hatch, John Balistreri, Alanna DeRocchi and Kensuke Yamada.  In collaboration with The Bray Foundation and their 60^th anniversary celebration.

Images listed by artist clockwise from top left: Jeremy Hatch; Kensuke Yamada; Alanna DeRocchi; Nathan Craven; John Balistreri.

Sherman Gallery

The exhibtion highlights work of established Bray artists from their early stages to their most recent. Follow their creative direction over time, discover the new directions their work has taken, explore the early experiments and their later maturity.  Co-curated with Emily Free Wilson of the Bray, using works from the permanent collection of the Holter and the Bray and artists’ most recent work. 

The participating artists are:
*JOSH DEWEESE *CARY ESSER * CHRIS GUSTIN * ROBERT HARRISON * WAYNE HIGBY * EVA KWONG * STEVEN YOUNG LEE * BETH LO* KIRK MANGUS * MATTHEW METZ * RICHARD NOTKIN * DON REITZ* LINDA SIKORA * BOBBY SILVERMAN * CHRIS STALEY * RICHARD SWANSON * TED VOGEL
* ROSALIE WYNKOOP

Images listed by artist clockwise from top left: Ted Vogel; Linda Sikora; Kirk Mangus; Cary Esser;
Matthew Metz.