MISSOULA, MONT.- Throughout August, the Missoula Art Museum (MAM) will temporarily close three of its four galleries as staff prepares for the installation of Joe Feddersen: Earth, Water, Sky, opening during First Friday on September 4. While portions of the museum will be closed, MAM remains open and invites visitors to explore exhibitions from its collection, experience artworks in the MAM Art Park, and enjoy a new partnership that celebrates Missoula's vibrant arts community.
On view is Land and the Cosmic: Works from the MAM Collection, an exhibition that explores the landscape as memory, identity, and kinship through works that examine our relationship to place. Visitors can also experience USA/250: An Ongoing Experiment: Works from the MAM Collection, featuring artists including Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Judy Chicago, Ken Little, David Spear, and Kate Hunt. Presented in conjunction with the nation's 250th anniversary, the exhibition reflects on American identity, democracy, and the evolving ideals that continue to shape the country.
In the MAM Art Park, visitors can experience Jacob Riddle: How to Grow a Hammer, a living installation in which willow trees grow through hand-forged tool heads made from salvaged Tesla car parts. As the trees mature into harvestable handles, the work explores themes of labor, technology, resilience, and environmental stewardship.
Additional highlights include Jun Kaneko's Dango, one of the artist's monumental ceramic sculptures, and Es wičms č̓ es mlk̓ʷmulexʷ t snč̓l̓ep – Coyote is Seeing All of the Land, the 22-foot steel sculpture co-created by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation, 1940–2025) and Neal Ambrose Smith (Salish descendant). Installed on the museum's historic Carnegie faade.
Throughout August, MAM is also partnering with Local Missoula Walking Tours to offer museum visitors 50% off the Downtown Art Audio Tour. The self-guided experience highlights Missoula's public art, local artists, and cultural history, extending the museum experience beyond MAM's walls and downtown.
The museum remains open during regular business hours, and admission is always free. MAM invites the community to enjoy the exhibitions and public art currently on view before celebrating the opening of Joe Feddersen: Earth, Water, Sky on Friday, September 4.
