Hockaday Museum of Art Kicks Off 2023 Plein Air Glacier Event
A total of 34 artists are participating in this year’s fundraising event, which raises money for the museum and artists
By Mike Kordenbrock
The Hockaday Museum of Art in Kalispell’s annual multi-day Plein Air Glacier event, in which dozens of artists from Montana and across the country go out into nature to create art inspired by the world around them, started on Aug. 26.
The 34 participating artists paint outdoors in Glacier National Park, the Swan Valley and the Flathead Valley, with those works then being included in a museum exhibition and sold in a fundraiser to benefit both the Hockaday and the artists.
On Aug. 26, the museum hosted an Open Studio Family Art Day event aimed at showing families some of the materials and methods that go into plein air painting. From noon to 3 p.m. on the Hockaday lawn, people could learn more about plein air painting and create their own works of art to take home. The all ages event was free with museum admission.
The Hockaday Musem of Art’s website for Plein Air Glacier will be periodically updated with approximate times and locations where people can watch artists at work. Aug. 27, Artists Ella Kuzyk and Alyssa Sharp painted mid-morning at Grinnell Glacier. Kuzyk and Sharp were also scheduled to paint on the morning of Aug. 28 at Wild Goose Island Lookout, and are scheduled to be painting all day on Aug. 29 at either Iceberg Lake or Cracker Lake.
On Aug. 29 and 30 from 3 p.m. to roughly 5:30 p.m., people can participate in free Glacier National Park Art Hikes with the Glacier Conservancy. Hikers will be joined by Glacier Conservancy educators and Hockaday Museum of Art staff. On Aug. 29, a roughly 2 mile out-and-back hike will take participants from the Fish Creek parking lot to see artist Ron Ukrainetz working at Rocky Point on Lake McDonald. Participants were asked to register no later than Aug. 26. On Aug. 30, a roughly 3.5 mile roundtrip hike will take participants from behind the Glacier National Park Headquarters building to see artist Gail Hansen at work in the Belton Bridge area. The hikes are described as easy to moderate in difficulty. Space for the hikes is limited and advanced registration is required. More information can be found on the Hockaday website, by emailing [email protected] or by calling 406-755-6268.
Events continue on Sept. 2 with an exhibition opening reception and sale, which will include artists, museum members and guests. Art can be purchased at the fundraising event during the reception. Live music from the Celtic-inspired duo Second Wind will be part of the festivities, as well as small food items, drinks and more. The cost to attend for members is $5, and $10 for non-members.
From Sept. 4 through Oct. 7, works created during the event will be on view in the museum and online. The online auction for artwork produced during this year’s event runs from Sept. 4 through Oct. 7. Art work purchased is available for pickup at the museum, or can be shipped after Sept. 30.
Participating artists in this year’s Plein Air Glacier include: Rob Akey, Karrie Baldwin, Richie Carter, Mary Corp, Therese Ely, Linda Franson, Laura Gable, Günther Haidenthaller, Susan Hall, Gail Hansen, Leslie Ann Hauer, DG House, Aaron Johnson, Ella Kuzyk, Louise Lacey-Rokosh, Natalie Luehr-Fisher, David Mihalic, Wanda Mumm, Sheri Nagy, Karl Oehrtman, Mark Ogle, Susan Oursland, Charlotte Quist, Alyssa Shaw, Robert Spannring, Leah Spence, Lindsay Jane Ternes, Melanie Thompson, Lyudmila Tomova, Ron Ukrainetz, Andy White, Theresa Williams, Kenneth Yarus, and Min Zhong.
More information can be found at http://hockadaymuseum.com/plein-air-glacier/.