The Art Box Hits the Streets for First Friday
There’s something special about First Friday in Missoula. Shops open their doors, galleries fill up, sidewalks become gathering places, and people wander downtown ready to discover something they weren’t necessarily looking for.
This month, Arts Missoula got to add something new to that mix: the Art Box.
Parked in front of the James Corwin Gallery (the old Catalyst) on Higgins Avenue, our mobile art gallery became part of First Friday, giving us the opportunity to showcase the work of new Arts Missoula member and outdoor photographer Kent Burkhardsmeir while introducing more people to this evolving community art space.
They stepped inside, looked closely at the work, asked questions, talked with us about the Art Box, and experienced local art in a place where they might not normally expect to find a gallery. Throughout the evening, we welcomed a steady stream of visitors and had the chance to connect with Missoulians and guests just cruising.
We chatted, we danced a little, a small trio of musicians gathered near by while people wandered in and out.
We’re learning and improving the space every time we use it. For this First Friday, we added track lighting and stronger magnets, allowing us to display artwork more flexibly and give each piece the lighting it deserves. Those may sound like small changes, but they transformed the interior. The Art Box looked beautiful and, even more importantly, it functioned like a true mobile gallery.
The evening was also a reminder of why First Friday remains such an important part of Missoula’s arts ecosystem life. It isn’t simply about going from gallery to gallery. It’s about running into an artist on the sidewalk. It’s about discovering someone whose work you’ve never seen before. It’s about conversations, introductions and the feeling that creativity belongs everywhere in our city. I overheard someone say, “I love First Friday. I always see people I know!”
For Arts Missoula, that spirit of connection is at the heart of our work.
The Art Box gives us one more way to create those connections: between artists and audiences, between our members and the broader community, and between art and the places where Missoulians already gather.
The Art Box is officially on the move! Come see it next October 3rd at Caras Park during Germanfest and then again on New Year’s Eve during Missoula on Main.
Thank you Justin and Mike at Big Sky Portable Storage for your partnership!
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