Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Culture Museum Leadership topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Missoula honors Laura Millen as she retires after 35 years; June 29 proclaimed 'Laura Millen Day'
Summary
The Missoula Art Museum marked longtime executive director Laura Millen’s retirement June 29 with speeches, a county-and-city proclamation naming the day for her, and an announcement that Brandon Wrench will become MAM’s executive director on July 1, 2025.
Laura Millen, director of the Missoula Art Museum, was honored June 29 during a community celebration in the Missoula Art Park as she steps down after 35 years leading the museum.
The Missoula County Board of Commissioners and the City of Missoula issued a joint proclamation read at the event declaring June 29, 2025, “Laura Millen Day.” Missoula County Commissioner Josh Slotnick read the proclamation, which credits Millen with guiding the museum’s expansion into the historic Carnegie Library building, growing annual attendance to an estimated 25,000–30,000 visitors and mounting about 25 exhibits across six galleries each year.
The proclamation, signed by Mayor Andrea Davis and county commissioners Juanita Vero, Dave Strohmeyer and Josh Slotnick, also praises Millen for building one of the region’s leading collections of contemporary Indigenous art and for sustaining free admission and public programs that engage schools, tribal nations and statewide partners.
A central announcement at the celebration was that Brandon Wrench will succeed Millen as Missoula Art Museum executive director. Event remarks state that Wrench will assume the position on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. Wrench, introduced at the gathering, offered remarks thanking Millen and saying the institution is “on a firm foundation, well positioned to meet our future challenges.”
Speakers at the event — including artists, museum trustees and long-time staff and volunteers — credited Millen with leading a multimillion-dollar fundraising campaign to renovate and expand the museum, assembling a professional staff, and emphasizing exhibitions and programming that feature Indigenous and regional artists. Martin Burke, a former board president, described Millen’s tenure as producing a lasting “legacy” for the museum; other speakers, including former curator Steve Gluckert and Guggenheim fellow Deborah Magpie Earling, read poems and gave personal tributes.
Millen briefly addressed the crowd near the event’s close. “My heart is so full. I cannot — words do not suffice. I just need to say, I love you and thank you. I’m so honored today,” she said.
Organizers presented Millen with an artwork and a museum award; the program concluded with music and performances. The ceremony emphasized Millen’s role in broadening the museum’s reach, its partnerships with city and county government, and its commitment to free admission and contemporary Indigenous art.
