McIntyre Appointed to Montana Arts Council

While Glasgow and Valley County have proudly embraced their claim of being the "Middle of Nowhere" the remoteness of the region brings its own unique challenges. Eastern Montana is often overlooked by tourists in favor of the mountain ranges in the west, inspired more by Yellowstone the television show than Yellowstone the reality. Even within the state, the plains are forgotten about by residents.

Representation in Montana's arts community is just one example. For some time, the Montana Arts Council has lacked representation in and from northeastern Montana. Last month that changed when Governor Greg Gianforte appointed Glasgow artist Cathryn McIntyre to the Council.

"We're done being underepresented." McIntyre is embracing her new role on the Council from a unique perspective. While the arts scene in the larger and busier cities of western Montana has long found success, artists in the eastern region have found it more difficult to draw attention to their side of the state.

Money and grants have started to make their way to this area. The Montana Arts Council has supported projects for the Fort Peck Theatre via the Fort Peck Fine Arts Council and for McIntyre's mural projects as well as her Bigger Sky Kids initiative. McIntyre believes the success of the grants' funded projects helped draw the Council to make their visit to Glasgow June 9.

She noted the success of her Bigger Sky Kids program in Wolf Point would not have been possible without grants or social engagement. Social media has been a driving force in promoting art and emerging artists in northeast Montana. "There's no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't have financial success without social media."

The point is important one to the working artist whose experience in promoting her work is vastly different than artists with gallery representation, a factor the Arts Council has required in the past. McIntyre knows that artists in this region cannot cultivate representation and rely only on social media to promote and sell their work. This lived experience will help guide her in her service on the Council, which is set to run through February, 2028.

For a decade and a half, McIntyre has been on the other side of the Council watching their work across the state and found herself overjoyed at the chance to host the members last month. She related stories of her childhood in Canada where her father, Bruce Reitler, served on the Saskatchewan Crafts Council and how those memories helped form her ideas on growing the arts in rural communities. McIntyre shared how through her father's work, her mother, Cynthia Reitler, was able to arrange a meeting with McIntyre's favorite childhood author, Robert Munsch when she was 7 years old.

"I remember barely being able to talk," she laughed. Such "formative opportunities have become an influencing factor to this day." So when she welcomed the Arts Council to Cat's Corner Studio in Glasgow, she felt much the same overwhelming sense.

The moment became one of "succeeding despite the odds and the naysayers," she said, referring to some of her undergraduate professors from UNLV who considered living and working in northeast Montana to be "professional suicide."

Instead, McIntyre has found success, in large and small ways. From artwork hanging in homes across the state to murals in towns across the Hi-Line to online sales, she has made a name for herself. She's also rediscovered how deeply her passion for art runs and inspires her to continue to create. In working in Glasgow's neighboring towns, she was not sure what to expect.

"Living here, I've been thoroughly educated about these sports rivalries that go so deep," she said, "but the excitement of these communities ... I've only found enthusiastic excitement because of my art and the chance for something beautiful in their towns."

The encounters have driven home how art can transcend smaller differences and are motivating McIntyre further in her desire to represent eastern Montana on the Arts Council. "It's time for us to distinguish ourselves and put small rivalries aside. We are existing in a part of Montana that most of Montana is uncomfortable visiting. 'It's too far.' Let's embrace the difficulties of this part of the state."

She stressed that her work and success have come about because of what she was willing to give and what the community of Glasgow was willing to give in return.

"I'm going to honor our whole region the way Glasgow has honored me and my career from the beginning with the Goodkind Gallery."

McIntyre is currently looking for area artists, of all skill levels, to help her restore the Glasgow Underpass Mural where snow removal and weather conditions have damaged the paint. Contact her at 406-671-0659 or [email protected] to join her in keeping Glasgow beautiful.