Artful Life
Artful Life is the Montana Arts Council's project designed to extend Creative Aging programs across our state. Funded through an awarded Creative Aging, Creative Futures grant from the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, this project will involve 6-8 teams of 3 or 4 individuals comprised of one arts administrator, one teaching artist and/or one arts education curator/director and one professional serving older adults.
Teams selected to participate in the project will become members of a cohort that will together deepen their knowledge of Creative Aging program design through 4 peer learning sessions in the fall of 2026. These sessions will support each team in designing a series of programs for older adults in their community and will award grant funds of up to $10,000 to carry out their program during calendar year 2027.
Using this initial form, one leader representing each team will submit their interest naming all known team members. As needed, MAC staff will work with each applicant to round out their team to a total of up to 4.
Interviews with all applying teams will take place throughout May to identify the cohort by early June. A general timeline of the project follows below; those interested in applying are encouraged to reach out to Monica Grable, Arts Education Director, at (406) 444-6522 or Monica.Grable@mt.gov.
Artful Life Program Schedule
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| May 1, 2026 | Deadline to submit application (1 per team) |
| June 1 – 15, 2026 | Notifications made to teams including final schedule and project agreement |
| September 15 – November 20, 2026 | Four 2-hour cohort sessions scheduled (peer learning & support) |
| December 10, 2026 | Teams submit their program plans for review |
| January 4 – 8, 2027 | Contracts available, returned for payment processing |
| January 15, 2027 | Grant payments in progress |
| February 1 – December 15, 2027 | Team-led programs take place (3-5 workshops) |
| January – February 2028 | Rescheduled and/or additional programs are held as applicableSurveys collected, reporting steps take place |
| March 15, 2028 | Reporting due |
| April 1, 2028 | Digital presentations prepared |
| April or May 2028 | In-person cohort culminating event (date TBD) |
Applications are being accepted through our online grants management system. To see a copy of the application content, click HERE.
To see a recording of the recent Zoom information session on the program, click HERE.
If you are unable to attend or would like to speak with Arts Education Director Monica Grable about your readiness to participate, please be in touch with her at Monica.Grable@mt.gov or (406) 444-6522.
