Missoula Art Museum will host a series of events, including a family-friendly celebration of Hmong American culture on July 26 to coincide with the MAM exhibition, “From Flower Cloth to Story Cloth: Hmong Textiles in the MAM Collection,” on display through September 20th in the Carnegie Gallery. The event is free and open to the public. 

Guests are invited to tour the colorful exhibition and enjoy traditional dance performances by Annalysse Moua, Athena Moua, and Ntsailias Vang. Blong Vang will play the traditional qeej instrument and Mao Thao will sell her embroidery.  Food is available from the Hmong food truck, The Noodle Wagon. 

From Flower Cloth to Story Cloth marks the third time MAM has presented a significant exhibition of Hmong textiles.  Previous exhibitions were organized in 1978 to help Montanans better understand and appreciate the complexities of their new neighbors as they escaped persecution in Laos and resettled in Missoula.  Another major Hmong textile exhibition for MAM was co-curated in 1993 by Vee Kiatoukaysy, Tou Yang, and Susan Lindbergh Miller. The exhibition celebrates Missoula’s diversity and stands as an example of the significant Hmong American contributions to the Missoula community.  It is funded in part by First Interstate Bank and First Interstate BancSystem Foundation. 

For more information, please contact the Missoula Art Museum at 406.728.0447, visit the MAM website at www.missoulaartmuseum.org