2026 MAGDA Annual Membership Meeting & Booking Conference
October 7 – 9
Chico Hot Springs, Pray, Montana
REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED
VIRTUAL BOOKING STILL AVAILABLE – Complete and Submit Form to confirm
2026 Conference Agenda:
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7
12:00 p.m. CHECK-IN & LUNCH
1:00 p.m. WELCOME: Alissa Kost, Executive Director, MAGDA
1:10 p.m. INSTITUTIONAL INTRODUCTIONS
1:25 p.m. STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDING UPDATE: Previously recorded. Krys Holmes, Director, Montana Arts Council, Helena
1:45 – 2:45 p.m. ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONS – Session 1
1. BUILDING A DOCENT TEAM: Ann Caprez, Lead Docent at Montana Museum of Art & Culture, Missoula. This roundtable will focus on the realities of establishing and operating a volunteer docent program. The elasticity, opportunities, and limits of a volunteer workforce in museum operations present interesting questions. How much autonomy is enough? How much direction? What’s a reasonable level of work for volunteers? How do you maintain alignment of volunteers’ activities with the museum’s mission and objectives on an ongoing basis? How does a museum empower volunteers to perform their role excellently?
2. CREATING MORE WITH LESS: Creating Impactful Arts Programming on Any Budget: Kayla de la Ossa, Executive Director, Schoolhouse History and Art Center, Colstrip. MAGDA Board Treasurer. This roundtable will be an opportunity to share what has worked, what hasn’t, and the ways we’ve made arts education happen with limited resources. We’ll learn from one another, share experiences, and explore practical ways to build programs that are both impactful and sustainable.
3. EDUCATION AND PROGRAM GRANTS: Christina Barbachano, Executive Director, Holter Museum of Art, Helena. This roundtable will discuss grant opportunities for arts and cultural nonprofits; how to find them, how to get them, and how to leverage them to cover not only programs, but general operations. We will create a working list of foundations to approach and how to ensure that your nonprofit’s mission is aligned with foundation goals so that everyone can be successful
2:45 – 3:45 p.m. ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONS – Session 2
3:45 p.m. BREAK
4:00 p.m. PROPOSED EXHIBITIONS FOR TOUR
5:30 p.m. NO-HOST CASH BAR AND MUSIC BY MATT RIDGEWAY
6:30 p.m. DINNER
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8
8:00 a.m. BREAKFAST
9:00 a.m. MAGDA PROTOCOL: Alissa Kost, Executive Director, MAGDA. (MANDATORY MEMBER ATTENDANCE) – Traveling Exhibition Agreements
9:30 a.m. ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP & BUSINESS MEETING: Previously recorded. Rafael Chacon, Bruce and Suzanne Crocker, Director, Montana Museum of Art & Culture. MAGDA Board President. The future of MAGDA.
10:00 a.m. BREAK
10:15 – 11:45 a.m. PANEL DISCUSSION: THE ETHICS OF A.I. IN VISUAL ART AND MUSEUMS. Artificial Intelligence is rapidly becoming part of our everyday lives, influencing how we work, communicate, create, and engage with art and culture. As museum and fine art professionals, it is increasingly important that we understand not only the possibilities A.I. presents, but also the ethical questions and challenges it raises. This panel invites us to explore these issues thoughtfully and openly, considering how A.I. may shape our professional practices, our institutions, and the future of the arts.
Panelists: Ben Bloch, Visual Artist, Cameron, MT; Michael Cassens, Director of UM Esports, University of Montana; Stoney Samesoe, Director, Open A.I.R.; Krystal Two Bulls, Executive Director, Honor the Earth. Moderator: Storrs Bishop, Curator/ Education Coordinator, Danforth Museum of Art, MAGDA Board Member at Large
12:00 p.m. LUNCH
1:15 p.m. EDUCATION PROGRAM DESIGN COMPETITION – You loved last year’s Art Handling Olympics, so this year we are bringing you a new competitive game focused on designing a community education program! Teams will work together to create a lesson plan, a project title, a description, and a budget for a new educational program. You will be provided with prompts and a worksheet to guide and level the field. The winner of the GRAND PRIZE will be selected by a team of judges, including Michael Cassens, Ben Bloch, and Anne Caprez.
2:45 p.m. BREAK
3:00 p.m. KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Making More Possible: Creative Approaches to Sharing Art, Building Partnerships, and Working Within Constraints: Andi Phillips, Director of Collection Loans and Exhibitions of Art Bridges Foundation, Bentonville, AR.
In this keynote, Andi Phillips will explore how museums can pursue ambitious exhibitions and meaningful audience experiences while navigating financial, logistical, staffing, and facilities constraints. Drawing on Art Bridges’ work in collection sharing and traveling exhibitions, she will offer practical approaches for working creatively, sustainably, and collaboratively.
4:00 p.m. BREAK, NO-HOST CASH BAR
4:30 p.m. HANDS-ON ARTISTS WORKSHOP: Louis Still Smoking. MAGDA Sponsored Artist. Linocuts or Silverpoint
6:30 p.m. DINNER
8:00 p.m. SILENT AUCTION CLOSES
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9
8:00 a.m. BREAKFAST
9:00 a.m. REVIEW OF PROPOSED EXHIBITIONS
9:30 a.m. IN-PERSON BOOKING SESSION
11:30 a.m. ADJOURN
The Annual Conference combines exhibition booking opportunities with professional development and training for personnel and volunteers of the region’s art centers.
Professional development workshops cover topics of relevance to member organizations, based on their indicated needs. A sampling of seminars conducted by leading professionals include:
- Educational programming
- Fundraising
- Board / staff relationships
- Exhibition preparation
- Marketing / communications
- Budgeting / cash flow analysis
- Volunteer management
- Gallery / museum practices and ethics
- Hands-on art workshops
MAGDA 