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Who We Are

The Bigfork Arts and Culture Center strives to reveal the rich cultures of creativity that thrive in our Montana communities.  We do this by providing innovative and educational experiences in all areas of the arts for both children and adults, and by exploring and sharing Bigfork's history and local diverse heritages. 

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Hours

11am-5 pm Wednesday through Saturday 

Open Tuesday 11-2 pm until April 1st.

Closed Monday until April 1st.

Closed Sundays until April 1st.

Special Events; please check our calendar, programs or exhibit pages.

 

 

Location

You can find us at 525 Electric Avenue in downtown Bigfork, right next to the Bigfork Imagine IF Library and across the street from the Bigfork Playhouse

Community Partners

whitefish
MAC
DPWF
CFBB
Bigfork Rotary
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FIB
Crank Hill Goose Farm

Julie Bottum

Julie Bottum is the Executive Director here at BACC. With her background in education, she brings a passion for creating inspiring programs and workshops that help both children and adults explore the amazing world around us– through art, sharing cultures, and hearing the histories of all that came before us. 

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Staff & Board Members

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Giovanna Carlson

Assistant Director

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Giovanna Carlson

Giovanna comes to us from Vermont where her family's farm is located deep in the Green Mountain Range.  She received a full scholarship to attend the University of Vermont at Burlington.  While maintaining a full schedule of community art and dance therapy activities, Giovanna completed studies in dance, nutrition, and experiences in community leadership.  At BACC Giovanna will continue to assist in developing educational history and cultural arts programs which will now include dance and music.  Growing up in a community steeped in the value of heritage arts, Giovanna is excited to share and learn alongside Bigfork residents and visitors!

Email: giovannacarlson@baccbigfork.org

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Sylvia Medina

Board Chair

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Sylvia Medina

Sylvia Medina is the Founder of the Love The Wild Foundation.   She established this so she can help share the message to children to help preserve our planet and its animals. She is also the founder of the Snake River Animal Shelter.

Ms. Sylvia Medina is the President and CEO of Green Kids Club, Inc.  Green Kids Club specializes in writing children’s books related to Environmental Stewardship and learning concepts for children. The stories highlight two children that drink water from a magic spring giving them the power to communicate and talk with animals. Together the kids and animals work towards ensuring they have a healthy ecosystem. Green Kids Club has won a number of awards including the 2016 Green Company of the Year by Dr. Toy, Family Choice Award in 2015, the Mom’s Choice Award (2014), and the Dr. Toy Best Green Award (2014). In 2017, we have been awarded the Dr. Toy Award for Top 10 Socially Responsible and the Top 100 for 2017.

Ms. Medina was also past president and owner of North Wind, Inc. an Environmental engineering and construction company.  She attended college at New Mexico Tech in Socorro, New Mexico, where she received Bachelor’s of Science degrees in Environmental Engineering and Biology.  After graduating from New Mexico Tech, Ms. Medina relocated to Idaho to work for the Idaho National Laboratory. While working she also obtained a Masters in Waste Management.

In addition to her work in the environmental industry, she is also an accomplished Jewelry Artisan (Sylvia Medina Jewelry).

Email: sylviaidaho@gmail.com

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Nancy Kuhn

Board Secretary

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Nancy Kuhn

Nancy is a long time resident and former business owner here in Bigfork.  Nancy has been an integral part of BACC's success!  Her passion for community, the arts, and education is an inspiration to us all!

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Therese Rose

Board-Treasurer

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Therese Rose

A native of Wisconsin, Therese has been a full time resident of Bigfork since 2018.  After a career in corporate finance, she moved to Bigfork for its natural beauty, caring community and strong arts culture. 

Email: trosecheesr@gmail.com

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Bea Ettinger

Board-Director of Strategic Planning

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Bea Ettinger

Bea and, her husband, Lee came to Montana in 2016 in search of a place to start a new chapter in their lives.  When they came to the Flathead Valley, they knew right away that this was where they wanted to do it.  They would soon spend all of their vacation time exploring and experiencing the Valley.  Ultimately, it was the lure of Bigfork's art culture and sense of community that spoke to them most.  In 2020, Bea closed the doors of her Architectural Firm, they sold their family home of 45 years and became full-time residents of Bigfork. 

Their integration into our wonderful community was met with outstretched arms and has facilitated her love for art and culture.  She finds herself firmly planted on solid ground once again and inspired to pay her good fortune forward along side the BACC.

BACC is excited to have Bea join our team.  Bea’s diverse professional leadership background and Masters in Public Health Administration will support our efforts to grow our organization.  Bea shares a passion for grassroots programs and creating opportunity for children, that aligns with BACC’s mission to cultivate  the creativity that thrives in our community.

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Mike Hannley

Board Member

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Mike Hannley

Mike joins as a part time resident of Bigfork and Arizona.  Mike is retired from a career the financial world of banking and has extensive experience in the non-profit sector.

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Maranda Johnston

Board Member

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Maranda Johnston

Maranda is born in raised in the Bigfork Area.  Today she lives in Bigfork with her husband MJ and sons Finn and Everest.  She is the Co-founder + Concoctor with MJ at the popular shop; The Good Stuff Botanicals

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Vicky Berry

Board Member

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Vicky Berry

Meet Vicky Berry,    

the artful mind of Tweet Jewelry Designs, fondly chosen after her childhood nickname of Tweety by her father, and the creator of one-of-a-kind fashion pieces that make a statement.

A retired professional in the highly competitive legal field, Vicky made an early statement around the legal world with a groundbreaking University that trained all of the lawyers in her firm. Of course, there were many other accomplishments throughout a long and successful career. 

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Stephanie Meyer

Board Member

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Stephanie Meyer

You may recognize Stephanie as she successfully stewards Stone Hill Kitchen as one of our community's foremost dining experiences.  She oversees SHK in a way that conveys excellence and enables people to feel at home. With Her love for people, community, and exceptional service experience, BACC is excited to have her at the helm of our volunteer programs!
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Mike Sisson

Board Member

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Mike Sisson

Mike is a retired metal fabricator/millwright from the east coast. Currently Mike resides near Bigfork and has been involved at BACC through his fantastic one-of-a-kind metal sculptures as well as a volunteer at BACC events.

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Arin Lever

Board Member

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Arin Lever

Arin is a long-time resident of Bigfork and has been involved and/or led many local cultural events .  Arin has extensive background in organizing community involvement as well as marketing as Director of Sales Marketing at Blacktail Mountain Ski Area.

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Zoe Bedford

Advisory to the board

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Zoe Bedford

Zoe is a long-time resident of Bigfork and an ad exec at The Daily Inter Lake - Hagadone Media as well as an Independant Franchise Owner of Cruise Planners/ American Express Travel.

Press & Articles

Check out below to see some of the ways the BACC (and some of our amazing artists) have been featured by our community.

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Schoolhouse Corner

Founded in 1893, The Swan River School has been a beloved landmark in the Bigfork community for over 125 years. In the spring semester of 2018, the students of Mrs. Emslie’s 5th grade glass undertook a project to tell part of their school’s rich history, in the form of short video documentaries that they researched, wrote, shot, and edited themselves.

Schoolhouse

Bigfork Art / Cultural Center

We are an creative and educational hub in Bigfork that inspires people of all ages through a wide variety of workshops, lectures, and learning opportunities. BACC shares cultures through art and story stewardship. This is BACC’s way of bridging the connection between our past and the future we wish for our children, ourselves, and our world. As determined by the Internal Revenue Service Code, Bigfork Art and Cultural Center is a 501(c)3 organization, exempt from federal income tax. Bigfork Art and Cultural Center's tax identification number is 366212000. 

525 Electric Avenue
Bigfork, Montana

406.837.6927

MNA
Gold Transparency 2022
MAGDA MEMBER