Art Scene Surge
Local Artists Ride Growing Wave of Cultural Energy
That inspiration is well known in Jackson, where a thriving gallery scene and the Fall Arts Festival attract thousands of art lovers to the region. For years, Jackson has also been a focal point for many talented professional artists, but the cost of living there has driven some of those artists west to Teton Valley, where the views are just as spectacular and the rents a wee bit lower. That migration—be it due to the cost of living or a search for a different pace of life—is helping to foster an artistic renaissance on the Idaho side of the Tetons.
Teton Valley’s art scene is not new. Music, painting, and crafts have been part of the community’s fabric as long as people have lived here. Part of that creativity stemmed from the area’s isolation. If you lived here in the winter, you had to make your own entertainment. The valley’s scenic splendor also stimulated a desire for creative expression. But professional artists were relatively scarce. When glass blowers Ralph Mossman and Mary Mullaney set up their studio in the 1980s, they didn’t find much of an art scene in the valley.
“There are places in the country that are art hubs and draw like-minded people,” Mary says. “When we first moved here in 1987, it didn’t feel that way. … But there is more and more art here, and the caliber keeps going up.
“Part of me likes being a little isolated,” she says. “It avoids all our art starting to look the same. But an art community can be inspiring as well.”
Many of the valley’s artists prefer to be a little reclusive. Painter, muralist, and illustrator Helen Seay came out of the “artistic closet” in 2018, after a commission to paint a mural inside the vault toilet at the Bates Bridge put-in for the Teton River gave her the courage to shift to full-time painting. She says she likes to work alone in her home studio.
“The valley has always had artists, but [many of us] are recluses and keep to ourselves,” Helen says. “I think the recently burgeoning art scene reflects demographic changes. … I personally want to be around more artists, but when it comes down to it, I enjoy creating in my own personal space.”
Not all artists like to be holed up in their home studios alone with the view and their medium of choice. The upper level of the Togwotee Center in Victor is now home to the studios of three professional artists: Contemporary realist painter Dave McNally; Mike Piggott, an impressionist painter whose work focuses on the contemporary American West; and Travis Walker, a contemporary landscape painter and founder of the nonprofit Teton Artlab, an Artist In Residence program based in Jackson. These artists say they thrive on each other’s proximity and companionship.
“I moved over here from Jackson last July,” Mike says. “This place feels like Jackson in the eighties and nineties when there was a really busy art scene over there. But things just got too expensive, and a lot of artists are moving here, which means there’s more energy on this side now. We’re all kind of surfing on that wave together.”
In addition to Dave, Mike, and Travis, Jackson transplants include Katy Ann Fox, Michele Walters, Linda Swope, and Greg Meyers, among others. Jason Borbet, known in the art world as Borbay, relocated his family to Teton Valley from New York City. All say their move was driven by lifestyle, but they are excited to build on the synergy of a growing community of full-time artists.
“I’ve always worked out of a home studio,” Dave says. “Mike [Piggott] already had a studio in the Togwotee Center and showed me his space. I’ve never really worked in the proximity of other artists. It brings the energy up. I can go see what the others are working on. We talk about painting, give each other tips. It’s great.”
Katy Ann Fox says artists need each other, and she loves talking to other painters about colors, paint, and composition. But she says they also need the community at large. She opened her gallery, Foxtrot Fine Art, in Driggs not only to showcase artists, but also to bring people together. In the year since she first opened her doors, she’s hosted a number of community events designed to start conversations and build camaraderie. She says that’s always been her role. She’s a people person, who thrives on building community—a personality trait reflected in the fact that she has been a bridesmaid “a thousand times,” and has officiated a number of her friends’ weddings. But she’s also a serious artist. At Foxtrot, she sells a carefully curated selection of fine art, representing not only herself but other talented artists.
“Where I grew up [in Grangeville, Idaho], the free Charles Russell calendar hanging on the wall in everybody’s house, that was art,” Katy Ann says. “Teton Valley is an incredibly creative area. I think the remoteness makes people creative. There are tons of potters, jewelers, leather artists, and photographers here. We need the space and we need each other.”
In Tetonia, Michele Walters opened Tribe Artist Collective in 2020 to help support creativity in herself and others. Michele and twenty-five other artists display and sell their work in a building that was, she says, “a disaster” before she bought it and renovated the interior. Michele says having an art community makes her feel more understood as an individual.
“Finally, someone speaks my language,” she says. “I don’t feel like such an oddball.
“Artists are storytellers,” she adds. “We are the first ones to challenge stereotypes. That’s what I feel our job is.”
But she feels a little cut off in Tetonia, she says.
“It’s not a question of not wanting an art scene,” Michele says “It’s more a matter of logistics. We are so spread out here. Three communities, each separated by eight miles. It would take one person to get everyone together in a space. One person to spearhead things, but it’s hard.”
That one person might just be the dynamo Jason Borbet. Since he and his wife, Erin, moved their family from Manhattan to Victor in 2016, he has taken the valley by storm. Besides being a high-end artist, whose paintings sell for tens of thousands of dollars, he plays on various local hockey teams; he’s served as an auctioneer for nonprofit fundraising events; he’s acted in local productions and dance performances; he painted a mural on the grandstand in Victor City Park; and now he is the driving force behind the first Teton Valley Home-Grown Arts Festival, scheduled for September.
“It occurred to me that we have an incredible, vibrant art community and some incredibly talented artists living here in Teton Valley, so why not have our own arts festival?” Jason says. “We are exploring quick draws, gallery walks, featured artists, open studios—lots of cool things.”
A lot of those cool things have been going on in the valley for years—they just haven’t been under one umbrella. The Downtown Driggs Association works hard to promote community art by way of fostering a thriving and vibrant downtown. Each summer, the nonprofit partners with local galleries and businesses to offer free First Friday Art Walks to introduce people to the galleries and studios around Driggs. The association also presents the Driggs Plein Air Festival in July. Held since 2011, the festival attracts artists from all over to paint together in the shadow of the Tetons. And that’s just a few of the culture-based programs.
In other happenings, artist Teri McClaren’s Wine and Palette classes at Local Galleria in Driggs, and at the West Side Yard in Victor, regularly fill to capacity with community members looking to tap into their creative sides. Teton Arts Council has roughly one hundred and forty members and educates hundreds of kids and adults through its arts programming. Ralph Mossman and Mary Mullaney usually offer open studios and glass-blowing demonstrations at least once a year. And every Saturday throughout the summer and fall, artists gather in front of the Driggs City Center for the Teton Valley Art Market, where you can find local painters, photographers, woodworkers, glass artists, jewelers, ceramists, and more offering their wares.
“The Saturday art markets are for everyone,” says Teton Valley Magazine contributor, artist, and photographer Linda Swope. Linda says she has only recently begun considering herself an artist. For forty-four years, she was what she calls a “work-a-day” photographer, shooting weddings, sports events, portraits, and other commercial endeavors. Then she started having artistic visions—images of ways to transform her photographs into surreal interpretations of the world around her. She says she believes those visions and her transformation are directly linked to the influence of the valley’s art scene.
“I met the art community at Teton Arts functions,” Linda says. “I truly believe my visions were inspired by hanging out with other artists and starting to see the world another way. I was 100 percent reinvented.”
The inspiration goes both ways.
“It’s important to be part of a community,” says Travis Walker. “I’m hungry for it. You see it in the music world. Everyone is connected creatively. For art, diversity is key. The more that is going on, the more chance for dialogue, the more overlap in cultures—that’s when really cool shit happens.”
An art community, or art scene, acts like an invisible magnet, according to Jason Borbet. He sees it pulling things together, serving as a catalyst to push Teton Valley’s art to a new level. He dreams of seeing the valley with its three individual towns transformed into a vibrant art hub that attracts art lovers and artists, and at the same time allows art to be a viable profession for its many talented practitioners.
“I came in here like a wrecking ball,” Jason says. “I wanted to make things happen. The community has been very welcoming. Still, people who live here worry about all the change. I’m not here to make a lot of changes; I want to celebrate what we already have, which is incredible.”
ART EVENTS
DRIGGS PLEIN AIR FESTIVAL
Downtown Driggs Association’s Driggs Plein Air Festival attracts more than seventy artists from around the country for its workshops, quick-draw competitions, and community receptions with live music, food, and hundreds of artworks for sale that reflect the renowned landscape of Teton Valley. July 23–28. downtowndriggs.org
FIRST FRIDAY ART WALK, DRIGGS
During the summer, from 5pm to 8pm on the first Friday of the month, select businesses and galleries in Driggs stay open late, offering refreshments, entertainment, and fun.
TETON VALLEY HOME-GROWN ARTS FESTIVAL
For the first time, Teton Valley will be hosting its very own Arts Festival from September 9 through 16. Events will include open studios, art walks, art sales, and cultural programming like mini operas with the Colorado Chamber Opera. discovertetonvalley.com
TETON VALLEY ART MARKET
Held every Saturday throughout the summer and fall in the plaza at Driggs City Center, the Teton Valley Art Market showcases the work of between twenty and twenty-five local and regional ceramists, painters, bakers, jewelers, photographers, woodworkers, glass artists, and more. Booths are open from 9am until 3pm. facebook.com/tetonvalleyartmarketdriggsidaho
STUDIOS/GALLERIES
Mountain Light Studio, Dave McNally, Togwotee Center, Victor. Open Monday through Friday 10am to 5pm. davemcnallyart.com
Mike Piggott Studio, Togwotee Center, Victor. Hours vary, stop by and visit. Call (307) 733-0555.
Travis Walker Studio, Togwotee Center, Victor. To visit, call for appointment, (307) 880-6691.
Borbay Studios & Gallery, Victor. Open Monday through Friday 9am to 7pm. The second floor Main Street space is the fine art gallery and studio space for renowned artist Jason Borbet, known in the art world as Borbay. (646) 469-6496, borbay.com
Foxtrot Fine Art, Katy Ann Fox, Driggs. Featuring fine art from Katy Ann and select artists. Fresh new shows start the first Friday of every month. Open Friday through Tuesday noon to 6pm. foxtrotfineart.com
The Local Galleria, Teri McLaren, Driggs. Dedicated to finding the artist in everyone, Local Galleria carries artwork, designer clothing, furniture, jewelry, and art supplies and offers art classes for all ages and abilities. Hours 12pm to 6pm. tetonvalleylocalart.com
Tribe Artist Collective, Michele Walters, Tetonia. Tribe Artist Collective’s mission is to unlock the creativity that’s within everyone. The gallery provides a platform for artists to reach their market and for customers to be inspired by the creativity of featured artists. The collective hosts revolving exhibits and offers art classes. tribeartistcollective.com
Fireweed Shop and Studios, Katie Cooney. Representing the work of many regional makers, Fireweed provides studio space for three, and also hosts workshops and events supporting creativity. Summer hours: Wednesday and Thursday 10am to 5pm and Fridays and Saturdays 9am to 4pm. fireweedshopandstudios.com
Teton Arts provides studio space and art education for all interests and skill levels. tetonarts.org
Driggs City Center Gallery hosts year-round exhibits of local and regional artists. Offerings include Teton Arts member shows, featured artists, and local school and art education exhibits. Run by Teton Arts, the gallery is a public space to be enjoyed for free by all. tetonarts.org/artist-gallery
