In 1973, three pioneering women artists—Lela Autio, Dana Boussard, and Nancy Erickson—proposed an exhibition of their soft sculpture at the University of Montana in Missoula, but were denied because their work was dismissed as "women's work." Undeterred, they staged the show in the empty Carnegie Library building in 1974, and a year later the Missoula Art Museum (MAM) was founded. Now, MAM's special exhibition "Women's Work" celebrates the museum's 50th anniversary by featuring works from these three artists, including three pieces by Dana Boussard: "The Rialto" (1971), "Sister" (1970), and "Another Time, Another Place" (1970). The exhibition honors the radical spirit of the original 1974 show and the fiber-art movement, which gained momentum alongside the women's movement and feminist art.
This story matters because it highlights how institutional rejection can spark lasting change—the artists' defiance led directly to the creation of a community-centered museum that continues to champion adventurous, challenging work. It also underscores the historical marginalization of fiber art as "women's work" and its reclamation as a vital artistic practice. Boussard's reflections on living on the Flathead Indian Reservation as a non-Native artist add layers of cultural and spiritual depth, connecting personal aesthetics to land, history, and Indigenous presence.