Event:

The Democracy Project is a teen-led, non-partisan initiative supported by local libraries, community partners, and Humanities Montana. Teens use resources to effect change, meet a need, and know their role in democracy through direct civic participation. Students design projects that are vital to their community, ending with a public showcase.

Jenny Bevill is a dynamic educational leader with more than 20 years of experience teaching in public schools, museums, and community centers in New York City and Montana, including a decade at the Guggenheim Museum from 2004-2014. Jenny served as the Educator and Outreach Specialist at the Missoula Art Museum from 2018-2021 where she helped develop the distance learning platform, Museum as Megaphone, and the Art Host Initiative which connects Tribal nations across Montana with the museum to share contemporary Indigenous art. Jenny has taught and/or created content for many statewide arts organizations in Montana including the Office of Public Instruction, the Montana Arts Council, and Flathead Valley Community College. She has been a workshop leader for Humanities Montana since 2016 where she now coordinates the statewide Democracy Project for teens.

John Knight joined Humanities Montana in June of 2022 after many years of working in the arts as a museum professional, independent curator, and artist. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, John has a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the University of Cincinnati, and a Masters of Fine Arts in Visual Studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon, where he co-directed two art galleries before moving to Montana in 2017. He has exhibited his own art nationally and internationally, and has worked regionally as an arts professional with the Open AIR artist residency program and the Missoula Art Museum. John is thrilled to bring his experiences in the arts to Humanities Montana. He believes that the humanities serve to build strong and diverse communities throughout the state of Montana.