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Wendy Red Star’s The Soil You See… (2023) was recently installed on the art center’s main campus.  Photo by James Florio.

The 2024 summer season is here!

June 14, 2024

Cue the sunshine and songbirds – Tippet Rise is now open for the 2024 summer season! As we welcome our first hiking, biking, and sculpture van tour guests, we invite you to read about several new tours, programs, and events, all of which offer different ways to experience Tippet Rise.

Geo-Paleo Tours of Tippet Rise
We are delighted to welcome back the Yellowstone Bighorn Research Association (YBRA) for the sixth annual Geo-Paleo Tours of Tippet Rise. These specialized tours educate guests about the various geological and paleontological features scattered across the art center, which is poised at the convergence of two vastly different regions – the Beartooth Mountains and the Great Plains.

Tours will take place on three upcoming Thursdays – July 11, 18, and August 1 – beginning at 9 am and lasting approximately 2.5 hours. Reservations, which are required, can be made  here. Tickets are $10 per person, free to anyone 21 and under. GEO-PALEO TOUR TICKETS ARE NOW SOLD OUT. Should any tickets become available through cancellations, they will be added back for sale

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John Weber of the Yellowstone Bighorn Research Association leads a Geo Paleo Tour.

A weekend of poetry, film, and prose 
Throughout the weekend of August 3 – 4, Tippet Rise will present three separate events in collaboration with guests including poet Jenny Xie, photographer James Florio, and actor and professor Dr. Ben Leubner.

First, on August 3 from 10:30 am – 1 pm, New York-based poet Jenny Xie will lead a workshop on the ekphrastic poem—one provoked by or in response to a work of art. Jenny Xie, who will be at Tippet Rise as part of a weeklong residency, is the author of Eye Level, a finalist for the National Book Award and the recipient of the Walt Whitman Award of the Academy of American Poets, and The Rupture Tense, a finalist for the National Book Award in 2022.

At 4 pm that same day, Tippet Rise’s longtime collaborator and artist-in-residence, photographer James Florio, will present a screening of the stunning film James Florio at Tippet Rise, followed by a Q&A with the film’s director Jeffrey Peixoto, moderated by Iker Gil of MASContext. This 17-minute documentary follows James as he moves through the radical landscape of Tippet Rise, struggling against the elements to create images of deep expressive power.

Then on Sunday, August 4, actor and MSU professor Dr. Ben Leubner returns to Tippet Rise for a literature recital at 11 am. Beginning outdoors at Xylem, Leubner will recite Elizabeth Bishop’s 1971 dramatic monologue “Crusoe in England,” followed by an excerpt from Virginia Woolf’s 1931 lyrical novel, The Waves, performed in the Olivier Music Barn.

Reservations for these special programs are available starting today on the Events page. Tickets are $10 per person, free to anyone 21 and under.

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James Florio adjusts his large format camera on a photo shoot at Tippet Rise. Film still by Jeffrey Peixoto.

Hiking, Biking, and new Sculpture Van Tour reservations
For those still interested in exploring the trail system at Tippet Rise, each week this summer we will add new hiking and biking reservations to the website for the following week. Additionally, we are adding two sculpture van tours per day – on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays beginning next weekend through August 11.

Hiking and biking reservations are free to everyone. Reservations are required and can be made here. Van tours are ticketed and priced $10 per person, free to anyone 21 and under, and reservations can be made here.

Please note that anyone who has already made reservations to visit Tippet Rise this summer will receive a confirmation email the week of your visit, containing additional information and reminders.

To receive the very latest information and announcements about newly added events and programs, please sign up for our e-newsletter. We hope to see you this summer!