The ZACC’s signature Mini Show Art Auction started as a scrappy, DIY fundraiser in a Northside basement. Under then-Executive Director Kia Liszak, it was an intimate sit-down dinner where guests bid on 12-by-12-inch artworks and mini-desserts to support the growing arts nonprofit. As the ZACC expanded, so did the event, moving to The Wilma and then the fairgrounds, evolving into larger, themed benefits. Even the mini-art got a little bigger. Now, in a full-circle moment, the ZACC is bringing the auction back home with ZEST, an immersive party designed to showcase its downtown space.
That space — a 17,000-square-foot former Studebaker dealership on West Main — became the ZACC’s permanent home in 2019 after a $3.5 million capital campaign. The move allowed the nonprofit to grow its programming, adding expanded galleries, classrooms, a print shop, and a performance venue called The Showroom. The ZACC has long been a hub for creativity in Missoula, offering youth and adult art classes, summer camps, all-ages concerts, and its beloved Rock Camps, where kids form bands, write songs, and perform live.
The past few years have brought challenges. After Liszak stepped down, the ZACC faced leadership changes, board turnover, and the ongoing difficulty of keeping an arts nonprofit stable. Now, under new Executive Director Sarah Justice, the ZACC is looking ahead, reimagining its annual fundraiser in the process. ZEST is a departure from past themed benefits, an experiment that Justice says is meant to keep the Mini Show spirit alive while fully inviting the community into the space.
“Our board and staff all agreed it was time to change it up a little bit,” Justice says. “To give people a full experience within the building, so they know all that we offer our community.”
At the core of ZEST is the Mini Show Art Auction, featuring 100 silent auction pieces and five standout works — so if you’ve ever wanted to dramatically outbid someone while locking eyes across the room, this is your moment. Midway through the night, there’s a paddle raise for ZACC Tracks, a new mobile initiative bringing free after-school arts programming to rural and Indigenous communities.
“The ZACC is taking our van on the road … doing free two-week after-school arts programming,” Justice says. “At the end of each program, there’s a culminating event where community members can see the visual art created or a music performance.” Over eight months, they’ll visit Superior, Stevensville, Arlee, Pablo, Ronan and St. Ignatius, bringing creativity to students who might not otherwise get these opportunities.
The ZACC needs to raise $30,000 for the initiative in order to receive foundation matching funds. Some paddle-raise donations will also go toward scholarships — the ZACC awarded 42 last year to help kids and families access classes. Additional funds raised will support the ZACC’s operational expenses.
ZEST’s entertainment lineup is packed, featuring comedians Chris Fairbanks (who grew up in Missoula) and Sunah Bilsted as emcees. Deaf Charlie — Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament and Fitz & The Tantrums’ John Wicks — will take the stage before the auction. Post-auction performances include John Roberts y Pan Blanco (salsa music), Ballet Beyond Borders, Missoula Community Theatre, and DJ Auntie E spinning dance-floor bangers from 10:30 p.m. till midnight (and that part of the night is free to public). Live art will also take center stage, with Blackfeet artist Louis Still Smoking creating a quick-finish piece and local favorite Jason Cox unveiling a large-scale installation. Jesse Blumenthal, the organizer behind FreeCycle’s Free Sessions, will lead an open jam in the ZACC basement.
ZEST skips the sit-down dinner but keeps the local flavors, with food from Biga Pizza, Masala, Big Dipper Ice Cream and Bernice’s Bakery, plus craft beer, cider, and wine. Also if you’ve ever thought, I wish I could get a haircut, a beard trim, and maybe a tiny tattoo while enjoying a live art auction, you’re in luck — there will be on-site barbers and a tattoo artist ready to make that very specific dream a reality.
The Showroom, the ZACC’s live music venue and one of ZEST’s main spaces, has also gotten a glow-up. Program Director Joe Kirk says moving the stage to the corner of the room has improved the sound.
“The feedback from musicians and audience members has been solid,” he says.
If it continues to work well, the new setup might become permanent.
Kirk, who grew up in Billings’ punk rock scene, has been with the ZACC for five years, overseeing youth camps and special programs. He sees the nonprofit’s adaptability as a strength.
“Stability has always been kind of a moving target, which isn’t a bad thing,” he says. “We have a really adaptable team. With Sarah here, it’s been nice to focus on stable growth rather than just reacting to emergencies like COVID.”
Justice, an artist herself, came to the ZACC after serving as education director and later interim executive director at Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art in Great Falls. She helped transition the museum into a more stable position and doubled its budget before returning to Missoula, where she sees immense potential.
“Missoula is thriving in the arts. To me, it’s the number one city in the state for the arts,” she says. “I believe the arts are essential to people’s everyday lives, and the ZACC is really unique in its programming. From what I’m hearing, there are only four or five other institutions like this in the country. Missoula is so lucky to have it, and I feel very fortunate to be here.”
