Storytelling Bootcamp: Using Art to Build Community

Editor's Note: The Daily Inter Lake brought six rising freshmen together this summer for a weeklong storytelling bootcamp where they learned the fundamentals of interviewing and writing a profile story. 

From creating to curating, and from Orange County to Flathead County, Alyssa Cordova is using her expertise to not only help the Glacier Art Museum but the entire community.  

Cordova is the executive director of the Glacier Art Museum in downtown Kalispell. A third-generation Montanan born in Great Falls, she attended Biola University in Southern California for a degree in sculpture. There, she also got her first job at an art museum.

In 2019, when she was offered a job at the then Hockaday Art Museum, she decided to return to her home state and use the skills she had gathered in Southern California in her new position as executive director.  

“Coming back to the Glacier Art Museum was a really wonderful experience, and I was really impressed with the Flathead Valley for the quality of the programming and exhibitions that they had here,” she said.

As an executive director, Cordova said it “means wearing a lot of hats.”  

For her, this means doing a little bit of everything: managing staff, marketing, graphic design and even occasionally plumbing.  

But maybe the most important job that falls on Cordova is curating exhibits. The curator’s role takes more of a dip into the creative side of things, communicating directly with the artist to figure out their vision and to try to make that work into an actual exhibit.

Before the Glacier Art Museum, Cordova worked at a plethora of art galleries and exhibits in her expansive 20-year career, and though they have ranged in size and reach, they all have a common thread.  

“So, you know I came from a larger museum, so it did look a little different ... it was just a little bit scaled up, but a lot of the things are really the same. I think it’s the same mission. It’s the same goal to support art in your community and various ways to do that. There’s a lot of transferable skills.” 

Though she’s been in the art gallery and museum scene for the past two decades, Cordova did not always see herself becoming an executive director.  

“Originally I started out wanting to be an artist, and then I realized I actually really enjoyed research and writing and planning exhibitions,” she said.  

Looking to the future, Cordova thinks about how the digital age will affect galleries, museums and the act of simply going out to see things in person.

“There’s a lot of museums, not just art museums, but history museums that are thinking about that,” she said. “It does make it a bit more challenging to reach out to people and remind them of the importance of an in-person experience.”  

The Inland Northwest Journalism Foundation (INJF) champions ethical local journalism as a vital cornerstone of democracy. Through grants, scholarships, and educational opportunities, we empower sustainable editorial initiatives and support journalists within privately owned media companies. By protecting community voices and preserving archives, INJF works to prevent news deserts and ensure impactful storytelling continues to inform, connect, and inspire communities throughout the Inland Northwest.

If you'd like to support local journalism in northwest Montana, follow this link: Inland Northwest Journalism Western Montana - Innovia Foundation