Artists in Residence Focus on Traditional Skills and Outdoor Education

Date: July 20, 2009
Contact: Amy Vanderbilt, 406-888-5838
Contact: Wade Muehlhof, 406-888-7895

WEST GLACIER, MONT. - Officials at Glacier National Park welcome Tim Ryan and Dr. David Hsiung for this summer’s Artist-in-Residence Program. These artists were selected to work with Laura Law, the park’s education specialist, to create artwork and other educational materials suitable for educational use with elementary school student programs.

Tim Ryan is a member of the Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation in Northwest Montana and works in the Tribes' Cultural Preservation Department. He has extensive experience practicing ancestral skills and technologies and will use natural materials to produce traditional products including fish traps, spears, bows, baskets, and other items. These products will become part of a new "People in Glacier" education program.  

Dr. David Hsiung is a writer and historian at Juniata College in Pennsylvania with a specialty in American history. Hsiung will research and write biographical information on the influential people in Glacier's history. His work will also be used in the park's new "People in Glacier" education program to coincide with the park’s centennial.  Dr. Hsiung's residency work will also be used by park staff in preparing and presenting interpretive programs and media for park visitors.

The interaction between Glacier National Park’s landscape and artists is not a new phenomenon. Native American and European artists have found spiritual inspiration in the land, wildlife, and flora of the region beginning long before the park’s establishment in 1910. That inspiration has been expressed in a wide diversity of media and other art forms such as painting, poetry, folklore, prose, sculpture, woodcarving, photography, music, dance and singing. 

The concept of setting aside land as a “national park” stems from the original idea for Yellowstone National Park. The work of painter Thomas Moran and photographer William Henry Jackson in depicting the scenic and natural features of Yellowstone was instrumental in Congress’ decision to establish the park. The purpose of Glacier National Park’s Artist-in-Residence Program is to stimulate and foster the artistic exploration of this natural and cultural treasure and to share the artist’s inspiration with the public through educational programs and exhibits.

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