Montana

Facts and Figures

In the past five years, the National Endowment for the Arts distributed $11,476,395 in federal funding, either directly or through state and regional support, in Montana.

In the most recent information (2022) from the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACPSA), which is produced jointly by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Office of Research & Analysis and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Commerce Department, Montana...

  • Added 3.3 percent or $2.2 billion to the state economy from arts and cultural production
  • Employed 16,540 workers in the arts and cultural industries, with workers earning wages and benefits totaling more than $1.2 billion

More than 47 percent of Montana’s adults attended live music, theater, or dance performances, while more than 22 percent attended art exhibits, according to the 2022 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau.

In addition to offering direct grants, the NEA supports national initiatives benefiting people across the country. Over the past five years:

Blue Star Museums program provided free admission to thousands of active military personnel and their families at 31 participating museums in Montana.

An average of 2,016 students from 111 high schools in Montana participated in Poetry Out Loud annually.

The NEA Big Read initiative generated 286 community events in the state involving more than 10,069 adults and students.


Montana Fact Sheet

On this page, find information on the arts and culture for the state of Montana, and how the National Endowment for the Arts has supported the arts in communities throughout the state. Below are highlights of just some of Arts Endowment grantees and artists working in Montana.

To find a list of grants awarded by the agency to Montana, go to our Recent Grant Search. 

State Highlights

a colorful drawing of a dragonfly by Dustin Twiss
Indian Artists and Artisans and the Impact of COVID-19
To help raise the public’s appreciation and understanding of the economic and cultural importance of Indian art and artists, as well as the pandemic’s affect, we are sharing the following vignettes about four diverse and uniquely talented Indian artists.
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A woman artist talks to a young boy as he looks at one of her paintings provided by Art Mobile of Montana
Spotlight on Art Mobile of Montana
We shine the spotlight on the Art Mobile of Montana which brings art and art experiences to people in the state's rural communities.
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Children in black tee-shirts dancing around.
Missoula Children's Theatre
Missoula Children’s Theatre (MCT) introduces kids around the country to the wonders of performing.  MCT’s little red truck arrives and is fully loaded: from script to costumes to sets. The only thing they need is the cast—which they find in the local children.
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Woman in Native outfit sitting in front of a plains background with a cow skull next to her and an inflatable elk behind her.
Wendy Red Star
Growing up on the Apsáalooke (Crow) reservation in Montana, Wendy Red Star was immersed in Crow culture and art. Today, Red Star explores her cultural heritage and the role of Native women through a variety of media, including photography, sculpture, video, fiber arts, and performance.
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headshot of older white woman with short reddish hair
Helping Artists in Isolation Move to the Spotlight
Montana Arts Council Executive Director Arlynn Fishbaugh discusses Montana's program for helping artists become better entrepreneurs.
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Montana Poetry Out Loud coordinator Margaret Belisle
Spotlight on Poetry Out Loud
Based in Montana, Margaret Belisle is the state's Poetry Out Loud coordinator, shepherding the competition from the classroom level to the state competitions and helping to recruit new schools across the state to adopt the program.
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Book connected to computer by wire
Libraries in the Digital Age
Two libraries that are adapting to 21st century technologies are the Kansas City Public Library (KCPL) and the Lewis and Clark Library in Montana. Former and current Big Reads grantees respectively, these two libraries are using technology in exciting ways to expand their programs and remain vibrant centers of information.
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Native-American woman wearing pink sweater.
Preserving the Language, Preserving the Culture
Congress passed the Esther Martinez Native American Languages Preservation Act in 2006, offering three-year grants for language immersion schools such as White Clay Immersion School, which is housed within the Aaniiih Nakoda College on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Harlem, Montana.
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ARTery unveiling at Arts Eye View in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, one of the participants of NEA's Your Town initiative.
Beginning the Conversation: Creative Placemaking in the NEA's Your Town: The Citizen's Institute on Rural Design
Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and Bitterroot Valley, Montana, are two communities that have used CIRD workshops as catalysts to initiate ongoing dialogues on planning, design, and community development.
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A man in a coboy hat sitting with a book on his lap.
Wallace McRae
1990
1990 National Heritage Fellow Wallace McRae's work preserves the tradition of oral narrative poetry and infuses it with originality and unforgettable turns of language and inspiration.
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Headshot of a man.
Grant Bulltail
2019
2019 National Heritage Fellow Grant Bulltail comes from one of the last of the traditional storytelling families of the Apsáalooke or Crow people and was a member of the Crow Culture Commission at Crow Agency, Montana.
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Callan Wink
Callan Wink
2014
2014 Literature Fellow Callan Wink is a writer and fly-fishing guide from Livingston, Montana.
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Portrait of man with clarinet
Buddy DeFranco
2006
2006 NEA Jazz Master Buddy DeFranco was a brilliant improviser and prodigious technician on the clarinet who bridged the swing and bebop eras, and is celebrated annually with the Buddy DeFranco Jazz Festival, hosted by the University of Montana, Missoula.
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US Map
United States of Arts: Montana
In collaboration with the Montana Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts looks at the arts and culture of Montana as part of its celebration of the 50th anniversary of the agency's establishment.
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State & Regional Contacts

Montana Arts Council 
830 North Warren
Helena, MT 59620-2201
406/444-6430
TT/Relay: 1-800-833-8503
mac@state.mt.us

Creative West (Regional Arts Organization)
1743 Wazee Street, suite 300
Denver, CO 80202
303/629-1166
wearecreativewest.org