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2026 Images that Shape Montana Art Contest Winners
October 16, 2026
Join us in celebrating the grand prize winner and four category winners of the 2026 Images that Shape Montana art contest. Fifty artists shared their creativity and talent, capturing the people, places, and stories that make Montana extraordinary. Thank you to every artist who participated, and congratulations to this year’s winners.
Grand Prize Winner and 2026 Impact Report Featured Cover Art
This image was created as part of a series bringing awareness to the Missing and
Murdered Indigenous Women crisis in Montana. Photographed at night, I used a single flash to bring the subject out of the darkness, a visual reminder of the women and families whose stories too often go unseen. This project was about using art to bring attention, visibility, and a voice to an issue that continues to deeply affect Indigenous communities across our state.
About Jordan Lefler
As a proud descendant of the Bitterroot Salish and a lifelong resident of Montana, I grew up on the Flathead Indian Reservation, where the land itself was my first teacher. The mountains, rivers, and wildlife that surrounded me instilled a deep respect for nature and a desire to tell its stories.
My photography is shaped by that upbringing, each image a reflection of my connection to place and heritage. I’m drawn to the quiet moments between storms, the soft light on distant peaks, and the traces of life that tie people to the land. Through my work, I aim to honor the landscapes that raised me and share the calm, strength, and beauty that can be found in Montana’s untamed spaces.
Category Winner: Community & Economic Vitality
Danielle O'Malley, Helena
Danielle O’Malley is a Montana-based sculptor whose hand-built, large-scale ceramic work increases people’s environmental awareness. O’Malley received her MFA from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, in May 2021. In addition to an active studio practice, O’Malley teaches, exhibits nationally, and serves her community as Executive Director for the Art Mobile of Montana and Coordinator for Montana Clay.
O’Malley’s work is monumental in scale and symbolic message, and inventive in materials such as crocheted plastic bags, upcycled fabric, and woven flagging from construction sites. Her combinations of scavenged materials, re-contextualized through textile processes with her earthen forms, are startling in scale and create a sense of urgency about the eco-crisis. The confrontational feeling of larger-than-life work in one’s space is unavoidable and highlights concepts of environmental concern and warning. The exaggerated scale increases the artwork’s significance and challenges the viewer by altering familiar forms.
Category Winner: Education, Equity & Culture
Kami Love, Red Lodge
Kami Love is a Montana based photographer originally from Huron, South Dakota. Her passion for photography is inspired by adventure, world travel, and capturing authentic moments that tell a story. Outside of photography, Kami serves in the Air National Guard, pursues a career in nursing, and volunteers with local fire and EMS departments and a veterans nonprofit. She enjoys hunting, fishing, horseback riding, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. Through her lens, she hopes to preserve meaningful moments, celebrate Western traditions, and share the beauty of the world around her.
https://www.kamilovephotography.com/
Category Winner: Health & Well-Being
Juli Pace, Bozeman
Juli Pace is a Bozeman-based photographer, creative director, and visual storyteller with a genuine love for people, animals, and the stories that connect us. As founder of Raven’s Frame Media, she brings an artistic perspective to branding, architecture, and equine fine art, believing that people and places alike hold stories worth telling. A creative educator and mentor, Juli has helped emerging artists find their voices and build businesses of their own. She finds the greatest joy in discovering stories through conversation and the lens of her camera, capturing not just what we see, but what we feel. Juli lives in Bozeman with her husband and two boys.
Category Winner: Land & Resiliency
Emilee Luke, Havre
A military brat born in Italy, Emilee grew up moving between Missouri, Alaska, and Colorado, then earned her degrees in Alabama before finding her home on Montana’s Hi-Line. A life of constant moves taught her to pay close attention to any new environment she’s in, and her landscape and aerial photography explores how our experiences shape the way we perceive the land around us. A few years after her mother’s death, she left her higher education job to run her business, Emilee Rose Photography, full-time. She lives with her partner and pup, and plays piano in a local band.
