About Us
We are Bozeman Art Museum: the only fine arts museum in Bozeman, bringing culture, history, education, and love for the arts to your hometown. Our vision is to create an American Alliance of Museums accredited Art Museum where people of all ages can come together to experience the transformative power of art. BAM’s mission is to inspire and foster creativity and love of art through high-quality exhibits, programs, classes and lectures.
Setting roots at our current location in 2020, the Bozeman Art Museum has been hosting exhibits for over three years and in development since 2012. We are rapidly expanding our presence in the community and need your help to continue spreading the word. Our vision includes advancing our programs to accommodate three permanent collections and accessibility to over 85,000 visitors per year.
Currently, we have a small gallery space right off of main nestled between the Frugal Frame Shop and Distinctive Lighting. We are looking to acquire land to begin construction on a permanent location. Check out where we’re going!
What Folks Are Saying About Our Mission
Art is something that everyone can do/enjoy over and over and always learn/see something new.
Dan Messerli
Art is a reflection of the soul of humanity. It makes us human in a world of technology. It is the thread that binds individuals into a community.
Shirley Elliott
Museums add lasting cultural experiences in a growing community.
Eugen Graf
Community, I think, is the keyword. We live in changing times. We live in turbulent times. Art composes life. It shows us how all the parts fit together. Art makes the world beautiful.
Steve Huston
Our Story
The Bozeman Art Museum (BAM) came to life in 2012 when Executive Director Linda Williams began to reflect on the fact that Bozeman, Montana does not have a fine art museum.
Billings does. Missoula does. Helena does.
But Bozeman – even with its art-loving culture and community – did not!
This realization motivated a small group of individuals to incorporate as the Bozeman Art Museum and file for (and receive) the tax-exempt status in April of 2012. A small board of directors and a national advisory council assembled and went to work hosting exhibits, displaying a mix of traditional and contemporary art downtown during the local “art walks”.
In 2013, Linda Williams went before the City Commision with a proposal for the Bozeman Art Museum to take over the Story Mansion and turn it into a fine art museum. After the presentation, the first comment from the Commision was, “What are your credentials?”
It was a sobering question that led Linda to enroll in a Master’s program and received her MA in Art History, Theory, and Criticism. While her educational/credential detour delayed the progress of the BAM project, these years were well spent preparing her to spearhead the BAM initiative.
In the fall of 2016, the BAM project was revitalized with a generous donation. The museum has taken major steps to build credibility, a strong donor base, and provide exceptional youth and adult educational programming to the Gallatin Valley – all with the ultimate goal of bringing a fine art museum to the Bozeman community!
