Helena opens competition for Memorial Park Bandshell mural

Helena has opened an open competition to redesign the Memorial Park Bandshell, using an August repair window to turn a damaged civic backdrop into a new public artwork.

The city wants the mural to cover the bandshell interior, the arch framework and the wings, a surface that spans roughly 1,500 square feet inside, 600 square feet across the framing and 300 square feet on the wings. The call asks artists to honor more than 100 Lewis and Clark County residents killed in military action, celebrate the best parts of society and community, and recognize veterans and the contributions of Montanans to the country. The design is also supposed to feel welcoming, timeless and forward-looking.

Artists or artist teams can enter, and the selected creator or team will receive $12,000. That payment is expected to cover design, supply procurement, preparation, installation and sealing. The city also requires the artist to provide contractor’s liability insurance of at least $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate, along with Montana workers’ compensation coverage or an approved exemption.

The schedule is already set. Questions were due April 22, with responses posted April 24. Submissions are due by 8 a.m. MST on June 15, 2026, Helena Public Art Committee review is scheduled for June 17, and a recommendation to the City Commission is expected in July. Installation is planned for August through October, with completion no later than October 31.

The timing matters because the bandshell is not a blank wall waiting for decoration. Helena public-art notes say the structure has been part of community events since the 1940s, and Memorial Park has long served as a stage set for summer kids’ camps, dance performances, picnics, the annual school carnival and weekly Capitol band concerts. The site, about 10 acres at 1203 N Last Chance Gulch, also includes three reservable picnic shelters and a nearly 3-mile wellness trail connection.

This is also a memorial-adjacent project. The bandshell sits behind the Lewis & Clark Veterans Memorial, which was first dedicated on August 15, 1949 and currently honors 105 Lewis and Clark County residents killed in military action. Helena’s public art committee said in February that the bandshell wings had damage and needed repair, which is why the mural call expanded beyond the interior surface.

The bandshell has already been painted four times, in 1984, 1993, 1997 and again in 2011. That history makes the new competition more than a refresh. It is a decision about how Helena wants one of its most visible park landmarks to speak for the city, whether as beautification, historical storytelling or a broader civic brand for a place residents already use and recognize every summer.