Artist seeks brightly colored fabric, and volunteers for Missoula community installation

Seeking donations, volunteer time and a chance to bring people together in community, Missoula-raised artist Amanda Browder is returning home to orchestrate two sizable site-specific textile installations. 

Known for over 30 installations, Browder’s building-enveloping art is driven by the community. She's created installations at several institutions including the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, ArtsWestchester, the Sioux City Art Center and the Bruges Triennial.

The work is recognizable by its bright, eye-catching colors and its mass scale. 

In collaboration with the University of Montana, students and the public are invited to participate in this most recent installation, "Soft Monuments." Participation can mean donating fabric, pinning or sewing on a community sewing day. No experience is needed to take part. 

“We want everyone to be represented,” Browder said. “So come out, even if you drop off one little piece of red fabric, we will take it!” 

Even though a foot-by-foot piece of red fabric is appreciated, larger pieces of material are needed as well. The brighter, the better.

Still in the early phases of gathering fabric and catching the attention of Missoulians and community members in neighboring towns, Browder said this work requires community support. 

Browder noted that this is a great place to release fabrics that you love, but aren’t sure what to do with.

“I have all these pieces of fabric in my closet that represent something to me, the patterns, the history, and the connections to people,” Browder said. “And so sometimes, this kind of project, where we're going to honor that, is a great place to release it and think about where it can be up in the world and projected as turned into a piece of art.”

Donations are being gathered in brightly colored boxes across town, including the first floor of the Missoula Public Library. If that specific box is behind a locked door, staff should be available to help the public access it. 

Browder noted that this project carries the community of a sewing circle into the contemporary art world. 

“We are trying to kind of get people who are living in the community, maybe not calling themselves artists, but are very creative, to say I'm making a piece of contemporary art,” Browder said. “I want to push people into that space just by participating. That’s all you have to do.”

When she decided to start calling herself an artist, Browder found that the broader culture and community really gave her the freedom to be creative and do nontraditional things. 

“Because of that, I felt like it was my responsibility to give back and say thank you,” Browder said. “It's a give and take. It's like if you give me this freedom, I'm going to see if I can envelop more and more people. And beyond just putting objects in the world, I want to be transparent in how we make these pieces.” 

Community sewing days are a way to do this, Browder said. As is teaching people to sew and involving the community in the gathering of fabric. 

Browder grew up in Missoula, making this project uniquely personal for her. She learned to sew in the 4-H club here, went to school here and made lifelong friends, some of whom are fellow artists in town. 

“What's great is that there's a familiarity to the city as well as something new and exciting,” Browder said. “As an artist, a lot of times what our job is is to be problem solvers and to investigate. And I feel very lucky that I already have a leg up because I lived here most of my life.”

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Continuing her connection to education in Missoula, but this time as a teacher rather than a student, Browder will be leading a class of 22 students at UM alongside the community creation of the piece. 

“They'll act as stewards for this project,” UM associate professor Jennifer Combe said. “So they'll get to directly work with (Browder), and with all of the logistical and legal aspects of the project, as well as the creative, connective, interpersonal aspects.” 

Combe has been assisting in organizing the project, working with Browder and the university. She noted that seeing the funding come through, primarily from the Flagship Foundation at UM and a private donor, has been really affirming as a teacher in the arts. 

“It just feels like a monumental point for education and for experiential education and for art at the University of Montana,” Combe said. 

The final works will grace the historic Brunswick Building downtown and the Music Building on the UM campus. 

Intended to be temporary, the installation will last for approximately two weeks after it’s put up in November; the exact installation date is still tentative. Then, like all of her other installations, the completed piece will be deinstalled and archived. 

“I really like to put these up for a short period of time,” Browder said. “It's kind of like a shock and excitement for that period, and it puts the responsibility on the viewer to go see the work as well. If you miss it, that's your responsibility, and what will live on are the photographs that people take.” 

Browder does keep every piece she’s ever made available to show in other places if the right opportunity arises. Even so, she intends to create something that has to be appreciated in the moment, that won’t stick around long enough to fade into the humdrum of routine. 

“Fabric can't last forever,” Browder said. “But I really like to kind of focus on the idea that I don't think it needs to be up forever.”