The Night: YAM hosts gala and auction

Yellowstone Art Museum gears up for annual gala Sept. 9

Art Beat

The Night at the YAM Gala and Live Art Auction – the premier fundraising event for the Yellowstone Art Museum in downtown Billings – is Sept. 9 at the museum.

Willem Volkersz is one of the artist featured at The Night at the YAM Gala.
Willem Volkersz is one of the artists featured at The Night at the YAM Gala.

The Night Gala is a black-tie evening featuring live music by the Billings Symphony, specialty cocktails, an elegant, seated dinner catered by Scratch Kitchen, and an exclusive live art auction with renowned auctioneer Maron Hindman of Hindman Auctions and Private Sales. Guests will have the opportunity to bid on art by 16 well-known artists: John Buck, Deborah Butterfield, Josh DeWeese, Tom Ferris, Edith Freeman, Jenesse Hilton, Gesine Janzen, Christine Joy, Jodi Lightner, Tracy Linder, Roxy Paine, Ben Pease, Barbara Van Cleve, Willem Volkersz, Ted Waddell, and Patti Warashina.

All proceeds from the evening will support the Yellowstone Art Museum’s Building Initiative and Permanent Collection.

This year, the museum proudly honors the ground-breaking work of Donna Forbes (YAM Director from 1974-1998).

Absentee bidding and live phone bidding are available. To register as an absentee bidder or a phone bidder, contact Precious McKenzie at [email protected] or 406.256.6804 x 225. All absentee and phone bidders must register with the museum by 12 p.m. MST Friday, Sept. 8, 2023.

Purchase a Luck of the Draw Raffle ticket and win the chance to select one designated Auction Artwork. The winner will be drawn during The Night Gala and Art Auction and may select one of the following artworks: Roundup Barn Grid by Tom Ferris, Blueprint to Rewrite History by Jodi Lightner, or UNION by Christine Joy.

All proceeds from the Luck of the Draw Raffle will support the YAM’s Art Acquisition Fund for the Permanent Collection. Tickets are $100 each and only 100 tickets will be sold. All tickets must be purchased in advance as an add-on option when purchasing your gala ticket, or in person during The Night Gala and Art Auction event.

Artworks not selected by the raffle winner will be auctioned during the event as planned.

An after-party will follow at Kirks Grocery, an art gallery and performance space located in the heart of the Magic City.

To purchase tickets to The Night Gala and Live Art Auction, head to artmuseum.org/engage/gala2023. A special edition print by photographer Todd Forsgren is available to ticketholders.

For 60 years, the Yellowstone Art Museum has been the largest contemporary art museum in the region, showcasing groundbreaking work and offering a wide variety of educational programs for children and adults. To learn more about the museum, visit artmuseum.org.