New Sculpture Park in Bozeman, Mont.

This exhibition is going to knock people’s socks off,” says Zak Zakovi, an artist in Bozeman, Mont. “Almost every great art town in the world has a sculpture garden, and let me tell you something, Bozeman is a great art community.”

Zakovi worked to establish the park after seeing a similar one in Redding, Calif. Bozeman’s version opened on August 27 in a green space by the city’s public library. Zakovi has a sculpture in the inaugural show, a selection of offbeat mixed-media pieces that include a tower of steel doughnuts twisting in the breeze and a massive columnar birdbath.

Thanks to prodding by Zakovi and civic-minded colleagues, the park lies adjacent to Bozeman’s downtown on one of the city’s especially scenic corridors—the Main Street to the Mountains trail [3], a magnet for hikers, cyclists, and birders. The new park also abuts woodsy Lindley Park, where the city holds its annual Sweet Pea arts festival.

“We see the park as a gathering point for people of all ages,” says Collin Letts, president of the park’s board. “Its mission is to inspire, to draw attention to the arts, and to just be a place where you can stop and reflect.” Best of all, he says, the park is open free of charge come sunshine, rain, or snow.

Photography by Janie Osborne [4]

This article was first published in September 2011. Some facts may have aged gracelessly. Please call ahead to verify information.