A busy year at BPSW

Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild awaits the arrival of Artistic Director Kevin O'Dwyer and the 2019 Artists in Residence, but the park has been plenty busy already this year.

If you've been out to the sculpture park recently, you may have seen the new Memorial Benches and picnic tables.

The new picnic tables were acquired through a matching grant through the Montana Department of Commerce. Ten picnic tables, four of them wheelchair accessible, provide an area for folks to stop and eat and chat. People had been seen laying out blankets throughout the park to enjoy a bite to eat, so the picnic tables are seen as a benefit for visitors. That same grant has also provided for bear-proof garbage cans, the flora and fauna nature trail and will provide for bike racks and better wheelchair accessibility for the main pathway.

The benches, part of a three-year fundraising program that began last year, allowed donors to pledge $2500 per year for three years to have a memorial bench installed in the park. There are currently eight such benches in the park, and two more are slated to be installed in the future.

There have been approximately 20,000 visitors to the park so far this year. According to BPSW President Becky Garland, analytics from their counting machine at the park, shows there is never a day where someone is not there.

The busiest day for this year so far has been July 1 with approximately 2,500 people through the park.

"I'm in complete awe with the number of people coming through," she said. "The numbers are declining a little from the beginning and we're finding that people like to come to the park to experience the different seasons."

Garland's favorite season at Sculpture in the Wild is winter because she can see how the animals move through the park. She has encountered elk beds, deer bedded down in the Tree Circus, and says the shadows during the day in winter are very different.

Sculpture in the Wild also received the Montana Heritage and Cultural Tourism Award earlier this year. Garland said the award has made the park more of a destination place attracting people from almost every state as well as visitors from around the globe. The award will also be beneficial moving forward as they apply for future grant funding, she said.

This year the sculpture park board tried something new and began providing tours to local businesses and their employees. It was something they had considered doing for quite some time and this year were able to make it happen.

"It enables people who work in town to have a better knowledge of the park and what goes on there." Garland said. The plan is to continue to offer the tours again next year, and anyone in the community is encouraged to attend.

Garland said the most important message she has for people is that it's a quality experience.

"The park provides museum quality art in the natural setting. People aren't always able to get to a local museum and people can always walk through the park and see quality art in nature," she said.

Sculpture in the Wild differs from studio showings in a notable way.

"They don't create the pieces in an enclosed environment and then bring them here, they actually create it here in the park. Sculpture in the Wild is their studio for three weeks," Garland said.

She said the artists love to come to Lincoln and while they may not want to move here, they may want to come back and bring family and friends.

Garland sees one program at Sculpture in the Wild as particularly important.

"While the artists are here creating, the Education in the Wild program brings in 300-400 kids during the last two weeks of the residency program. During their visit, the kids are able to interact with the artists, learn about sculpture, and create their own temporary works of art in the park," She said. "It gives students some ownership of the park and then they are encouraged to bring their families back to see what they have created in nature."

As far as plans for the park next year, the board will be meeting throughout the winter to discuss topics including a new three-year fundraising initiative, research into improving the park trails, programming and possible expansion plans.

Garland explained that financial contributions are very important to the Sculpture in the Wild, which is privately funded.

The sculpture park's second annual Café Music Night and Art Auction, their largest local fundraiser, is set for Sept. 21 and is already sold out. This year their goal is to raise at least $18,000 to help cover the Artist in Residency program, the educational programs for kids and other events, which rely on fundraising and donations to continue.

In addition to that fundraiser, money to keep Sculpture in the Wild alive comes through grants, private donations and the Iron Ranger collection box in the park.

Donations made through the Iron Ranger provides money for the sculpture park's maintenance.

"People are very generous," Garland said.

In addition to donations, volunteers are also always welcome to help at the park throughout the year, Garland said. Volunteer hours also help with funding by acting as in-kind donations. Some of the areas where volunteers could be most helpful is with maintenance and grounds-keeping, as well as work on trails and assisting the artists in residence. Volunteers with access to a side-by-side can also help with tours, supply hauling or trail work.

Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Garland at 406-431-0325 to coordinate times and projects.

An item the park could really use is an electric golf cart to provide a quiet way to take people who can't walk the trails on their own on tours of the park. Garland said they are ultimately looking for one to be donated, but they might be able to consider a purchase if the price is right. Anyone looking to part with such an item can contact Garland directly. BPSW will provide a letter of acknowledgement to the donor for tax purposes.

For a list of all the upcoming events and ways to help, please visit the website at: sculptureinthewild.com.