Artist Wilderness Connection
2 artists • 2 Wilderness cabins • Art to inspire
A partnership between the Flathead National Forest, Hockaday Museum of Art,
Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, and Swan Valley Connections.
Illustration by Beth Vallieres
20 years of Wilderness-inspired Artwork
Since its inception in 2004, the AWC program has aimed to connect artists and the public with our wild lands.
The program consists of the artist residency, the forest experience, and the community extension. The residencies take place in the Bob Marshall and Great Bear Wilderness Areas, with opportunities for artists to reside in cabins in designated Wilderness. In return for their opportunity, the artists give a public presentation related to their residency experience.
*For 2024, we will be taking the year off to celebrate the past 20 years of the program - stay tuned for event dates, coming this summer!
9/17
“I took the scenic route/explored dipper cave a little...it was incredible. i found some camp spots, tons of moose sign, & then there was the lake. Wow. The trail opens up into this basin, carpeted with purple asters & cliffs, and then takes you around a corner to where you can see the lake itself, with fall colored bushy slopes behind it. It was unreal. I had it all to myself! This day in particular has made me feel like we humans don’t deserve this place, this planet. This trip has lit the fire in me to do more to take care of it.”
— excerpt from the journal of AWC ‘22 artist Beth Vallieres