Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art Hosts Montana Conversation: “Latino History in Montana” with Bridget Kevane, PhD

Bridget Kevane, PhD Photo courtesy of Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art (The Square) will host Montana Conversation “Latino History in Montana” with Bridget Kevane on Thursday, January 23rd, 2025. The program is at 1400 1st Ave North, Great Falls, Montana at 5:30pm. The presentation is free and open to the public. Funding for Montana Conversations is provided by Humanities Montana through grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities United We Stand Initiative, Montana’s Cultural Trust, and private donations. We are funded in part by coal severance taxes paid based upon coal mined in Montana and deposited in Montana’s cultural and aesthetic projects trust fund. Latinos have a more than two-centuries-old history in Montana. Yet few know about the history, culture, or economic contribution to the state. From the fur trade to the sugar beet, from our Flathead cherries to construction, Latinos have had a long, if invisible, vibrant culture that continues to this day. Who are Latinos in our state? Where are they coming from? How are they shaping Montana demographics? How are border policies impacting the communities? Learn about the history and future of this community and how it is changing our state. Bridget Kevane presents the history of this community and discusses the critical role that current border policies are having on the community and immigration. Bridget Kevane is a professor of Latin American and Latino Studies Program as well as the director of Liberal Studies at Montana State University. Her research focuses on Latino/a studies, specifically the literature, culture and history of Latino/a communities in the United States. In addition to numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, she has written four books, including her most recent, The Dynamics of Jewish Latino Relationships: Hope and Caution (Palgrave). Living the Dream Lecture Series The Square presents a series of guest lectures and programs, organized by Nicole Maria Evans, Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, that correspond to the national ethos of "The American Dream". The discussions offer varied and expanded insights or critiques that relate in some way to what it means to be American/Montanan and experience that dream today. This series is presented in context with the exhibition Willem Volkersz: The View from Here. Living the Dream programs are meant to add deeper insight into Willem Volkersz’s art and storytelling, asking you to consider the following: What is the American Dream? Who Gets to Live it? What does it look like? How does it feel? Ambrin Masood, PhD: “Do We Know Our Fellow Americans?” (Sponsored by Humanities Montana, Montana Conversations Program): Friday, November 22nd, 5:30pm Chris La Tray - Montana’s Poet Laureate: Metis Storyteller (Sponsored by Humanities Montana, Montana Conversations Program): Thursday, January 9th, 5:30pm Bridget Kevane, PhD: “Latino History in Montana” (Sponsored by Humanities Montana, Montana Conversations Program): Thursday, January 23rd, 5:30pm About Willem Volkersz: The View from Here, A 25-Year Retrospective: Montana-based artist Willem Volkersz (b. 1939) is a significant contemporary artist known for his neon and paint-by-number-style installations. He was a pioneer in the use of neon in art and developed early and sustaining loves for photography, travel, American roadside culture, Americana, and Folk and Visionary Art. Volkersz came to the United States from Holland in 1953, after the devastation of World War II, and brought with him a rich history that is reflected in his works of art. Volkersz has often said that he has an immigrant’s fascination with America, and as a teenager, he began hitchhiking and driving throughout the American West, camera in hand. He has lived in Montana since 1986, and his first museum exhibition in Montana took place here at Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art in 1988. The artworks he produced over the past 25 years draw upon the artist’s eight decades of life experience. They touch upon his early life in Holland under Nazi occupation, his immigration to America, and his current life in the Western United States. The artworks also suggest the ways these personal experiences and passions connect to wider social issues of enduring relevance for everyone. This exhibition is organized by the Missoula Art Museum (MAM). This exhibition travels throughout the Northwest through 2024 to the South Dakota Art Museum in Brookings, SD; Boise Art Museum, ID; Missoula Art Museum, MT; Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University in Salem, OR; the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, MT; and Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art in Great Falls, MT.