Arts leader is full of ideas for Butte

Glenn Bodish is a man with a vision.

The 44-year-old has directed the Butte-Silver Bow Arts Foundation since 1997 — among other career pursuits — and has constantly strived to better himself and the community.

"He is very creative," said Rose Sladek, chairwoman of the Butte-Silver Bow Arts Foundation board. "He doesn’t seem to give up, and he takes ideas from the world and can visualize them in Butte."

By the Standard Staff

http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2004/04/08/newsbutte/hjjfjfjbjbjfia.txt

Bodish’s plan to make Butte a center for arts and recreation in Montana, as well as his plan to make Butte a niche-manufacturing base, are only a couple of his many ideas.

Since becoming the Butte arts director, Bodish has helped renovate the historic Arts Chateau Museum, devised numerous fund-raisers for the arts foundation and spearheaded the effort to create the Butte-Silver Bow Arts Center, which opened in November 2003, after months of renovation.

Yet on the side, Bodish has numerous other endeavors. He also has a private photography studio and teaches art at the University of Montana-Western. He holds a master’s degree in fine arts from the University of Montana and a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Southern Oregon University. Additionally, he has extensive work experience ranging from grant writing to representational painting.

Bodish is originally from Northampton, Pa. He and wife Beth have two sons, ages 12 and 14.

"He has the ideas; hopefully, the rest of the community will welcome them," Sladek said.

— Thad Kelling,

The Montana Standard

Meeting set

Glenn Bodish, director of the Butte-Silver Bow Arts Foundation, will give a presentation and hold a brainstorming session Thursday,

May 13, at 7 p.m. in the Butte-Silver Bow Arts Center, at 124 S. Main.

The public meeting will focus on Bodish’s plan to create an arts and recreation program in Butte and related efforts.

For details, call Bodish at 723-7600.

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A man of vision

By Thad Kelling of The Montana Standard – 04/08/2004

http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2004/04/08/newsbutte/hjjfjfjbjbjfgf.txt

Arts director sees Butte as an arts and recreation hub; has plans to make it so

Imagine Butte becoming an arts and recreation hub for tourists in Montana.

Glenn Bodish, the director of the Butte-Silver Bow Arts Foundation, can imagine it, and he has a plan to make it happen as soon as next summer.

"It’s not like we are re-creating the wheel. Everything is in place," Bodish said.

His plan involves attracting kids and adults from across the country who could tailor vacations in the area by choosing from activities ranging from painting to rafting.

"Everything will be individualized," Bodish said.

The trick to making Butte a center of arts and recreation in Montana is integrating local services, Bodish believes.

He wants local schools on board for classroom and dormitory space. He wants local outfitters on board to provide guided excursions. He wants business people on board to provide expertise and funding. And the list goes on.

Bodish’s plan starts with the completion of the Butte-Silver Bow Arts Center, also known as Venus Rising, located at 124 S. Main St. in Uptown Butte.

The coffee shop and artist-in-residence space upstairs were finished last November, but the public studio in back is still unfinished.

Afterward, Bodish wants to create a pilot art and recreation program for next summer, establish an arts school and studio spaces and lure artists to Butte to practice and teach.

Bodish is already networking for support locally and nationally. For example, the University of Montana-Western, Dillon, has expressed interest so participants can earn college credit.

"It would be good for the region and good for the individual communities, and I think that it is the kind of thing that can attract people," said Randy Horst, the chairman of the department of fine arts at Western and an associate professor.

Once the arts and recreation program is running, Bodish believes it could help the community by creating up to 40 new full-time jobs and generating $2 million in business after 10 years.

The program could also help revitalize Uptown Butte, Bodish believes. Here’s how that could happen:

Teachers would be trained in areas like interior design, painting or historic preservation, and they could use the city as their workshop. That way, while the students learn, the community would, for example, get a new mural or a historic facade repaired. Likewise, those trained in the classes could also use their new knowledge to do it on their own.

In a related effort, Bodish is working to create an arts manufacturing business in Butte. Such a business would build specialty items, such as tile mosaics, but the options could be as expansive as the local talent.

The effort to create an arts and recreation program is related to the effort to create an arts manufacturing business, Bodish explained. Teachers and students who participate in the arts and recreation programs would have and develop the knowledge to fuel a manufacturing business, he said.

"We want to educate people, then give a portion of those people the option to live or work in Montana," Bodish said.

But his success will depend on how much support and interest he can inspire. Bodish has already pitched his plan to the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners and is asking for anybody interested to get involved.

"Let’s put our heads together," he said. "What can we do to make this stuff happen?"

Reporter Thad Kelling may be reached via e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 496-5511.