Krys Holmes of the Myrna Loy was our speaker this week

Krys Holmes, Executive Director of the Myna Loy Center, was our speaker this week. Montana’s First Lady of Film was born Myrna Williams, on August 2, 1905, in Radersburg, Montana, 40 miles southeast of Helena. Her father, David Williams, served in the Montana state legislature. He was the youngest person ever elected to the Montana State legislature. At age seven, Myrna moved with her father, mother, and brother to Helena, where they lived on 5th Avenue, a few blocks from the Lewis and Clark County jail, which is now the Myna Loy Center. Krys told us that the Center was named after Myrna Loy because she had given almost everything she had to support the Arts.

 

We all know the Myna Loy as a great movie theater, specializing in Indie films that would otherwise not be available to the Helena audiences. But she told us that the Myrna is much, much more. As a Center for the performing arts, the bring in many challenging and culturally enriching programs.

 

They have an Art Education program that brings in artists to help inform students in Helena schools about the arts. They will also partner with other organizations to help them with their missions. For example, they recently partnered with the YWCA for a special showing of the film Suffragette, with the proceeds from the film going to the YWCA. They are one of the few organizations in the northwest that provide grants to aspiring artists, many of whom have gone on to become nationally recognized for their works.