'Craft and Act': Wheelhouse studio helping community prep for No Kings Day

A third national No Kings Day protest is coming to Bozeman on Saturday, and Wheelhouse, a community art studio, is helping people prepare.

On Friday, people gathered in Wheelhouse’s colorful studio to make posters for the upcoming protest. The event was a partnership with Forward Montana and Indivisible, both of which are nonpartisan civic engagement organizations.

Forward Montana and Wheelhouse have had a strong partnership these past few years and have worked together on “Craft and Act” events.

Lauren Myli works for Forward Montana as lead organizer in Bozeman. She said these events usually have a call to action, whether that’s writing postcards for different causes or making protest art for rallies.

“It’s a nice way to build community and solidarity,” she said.

Myli noted that Forward Montana likes events like this but does a lot more than just protest organizing and community-building. The whole ethic is to be a “political home for young people,” she said.

Myli was also there to help people update their voter registration, and have them sign CI-132, “a constitutional initiative that amends the Montana Constitution to require that judicial elections remain nonpartisan,” according to the official ballot initiative. Forward Montana will also be at No Kings Day.

She thinks building relationships in the community is crucial.

“Our democracy is stronger together and it’s not a spectator sport,” she said.

Wheelhouse has hosted other similar political events.

On March 13, it hosted a night market to fundraise the National Immigration Law Center. Wheelhouse raised $1,200 in one night through silent and an online auctions.

Sarah Washko, co-founder and co-owner of Wheelhouse, was “blown away by the support from the community.”

“We’ve been doing these types of events since the beginning, raising money for causes that we believe in,” she said.

Wheelhouse was created to be an accessible, welcoming place that anyone could afford to rent. It’s also meant to be a “third space,” a place outside of work and home for people to build community.

Washko said she thinks Bozeman is lacking in these third spaces and wanted Wheelhouse to be a place where someone could meet new people and express themselves creatively. She also wants this place to feel comfortable about talking about political ideas, “everyone feels safe in this space.”

“Protest art is invaluable, in my mind, because it’s a way to express what you believe and show others that it’s OK to express themselves as well,” Washko said.

Erin Corsi is another co-founder of Wheelhouse.

“Events like this are kind of why we have this space,” she said. “We love working with Forward Montana.”