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Arts Missoula presents annual awards, outlines cultural planning and new Indigenous artist grant
Summary
Arts Missoula honored local artists and organizations at its 2026 awards ceremony, previewed an artist‑led cultural planning process with the city, and said $1 from each ticket to a forthcoming performance will fund an Indigenous artist grant next season.
HEATHER ADAMS, executive director of Arts Missoula, opened the organization’s 2026 awards ceremony by thanking volunteers, board members and partners and by announcing a new fundraising commitment: “A dollar from every ticket sale there next season is gonna go into an Indigenous artist artist grant for next year,” she said.
The event included a program video and a series of awards recognizing educators, artist‑makers, public‑art initiatives and community music gatherings. Adams told attendees Arts Missoula is beginning an artist‑led, community‑driven cultural planning process with the city’s Parks and Recreation department; the plan will establish a steering committee, identify funding strategies and produce a request for proposals to hire a facilitator.
The arts educator award honored Teresa Waldorf, whose biography in the program noted a long career including work with the University of Montana School of Theater and Dance and a 30‑year Summer Theatre Day Camp serving more than 100 K–12 students each year. Waldorf, introduced as the educator honoree, told the audience she had been supported by “a lot of people that have said yes to me,” and urged colleagues to “get out there, say yes to people when you can, and find your tribe and love them hard.”
Sculpture Missoula received the cultural vision award for its public‑art work at Silver Park Sculpture Park. Program remarks credited sculptor Chuck Leonard and arts leader Melissa Blunt with founding the project and described Silver Park as a reimagined 14–15 acre site that hosts juried, two‑year sculpture cycles, artist stipends and public sales. Chuck Leonard accepted on behalf of Sculpture Missoula and encouraged the community to attend a public reception set for Sept. 17 at Silver Park.
Arts Missoula also named metalworker Jesse Blumenthal and filmmaker Lauren Norby as recipients of a local artist grant program that supports living, working and creating in Missoula; organizers said they will publicize project details in their newsletter and on the Arts Missoula website.
The individual artist award went to Aspen Decker, an enrolled member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes whose work transforms historical maps and documents to center Salish resilience and memory. Decker said her art and language work aim to “carry forward” Salish stories and thanked nominators and family for their support.
Business support honors went to the Missoula Makers Collective (founded by Bailey Durnell and Rachel Evans), which the program described as operating markets, storefronts and a nonprofit arm called Making Missoula that provides business development, workshops and grants for local makers. Representatives accepting the award spoke about growing local markets and expanding opportunities for makers.
Missoula Sings, founded by Baron Pepper, received an award for community music and participation; Pepper described the group’s growth from small basement gatherings to regular song circles of hundreds and led a brief onstage demonstration of the group’s participatory approach.
Fiona, Arts Missoula’s membership coordinator, ran a raffle featuring donations from local businesses including Frame of Mind (Amy Doty), Radius Gallery, Downtown Missoula Partnership, Bathing Beauty’s Beads, The Clay Studio of Missoula and MCT. Winners were asked to collect prizes after the ceremony.
The John Engen Cultural Ambassador Award was presented to Melissa Blunt for decades of arts leadership, including work with the Rocky Mountain School of Photography and co‑founding Sculpture Missoula. In her acceptance Blunt spoke about the importance of volunteering and community engagement, saying, “Volunteering boosts mental and emotional well‑being and provides a sense of purpose and fulfillment.”
The ceremony closed with honorees invited back on stage for a group photo. Adams said Arts Missoula will continue community outreach around the cultural plan and invited attendees to engage with the process as details and volunteer opportunities are announced.
