The Reclaimed Spirit Gallery held its grand opening this past First Friday, featuring work from twelve local artists who exclusively use materials diverted from the landfill. The space occupies the ground floor of the former Miller’s Hardware building, which sat vacant for three years before a developer from Missoula purchased it and converted the upper floors into luxury lofts starting at $2,800 a month.

Owner Maren Whitlock, who moved to Bozeman from Portland in 2019, said the gallery’s mission is to “honor the energetic imprint of discarded objects.” Her centerpiece installation, “Breath of the Valley,” consists of 400 used coffee cups collected from the Co-op over six months, suspended on hemp thread from reclaimed barn beams. The beams came from a dairy barn in Manhattan that was demolished to make room for a subdivision called Heritage Meadows.

“I want people to sit with the discomfort of consumption,” Whitlock said, pouring a kombucha flight for a visitor in a mason jar. “But also to feel the hope. These cups held someone’s morning intention. That energy doesn’t disappear.” The cups are priced at $45 each, or $1,200 for the full installation if a collector wants to keep the energetic field intact.

Across the street, the longtime Frame & Canvas Gallery showed new landscapes by Tom Hedges, who has painted the Bridgers from his porch on Durston Road for thirty years. His oils start at $3,500. Hedges said he hasn’t been inside Reclaimed Spirit yet. “I’m sure it’s nice,” he said. “I’ve just been busy framing. The new lofts need a lot of art.”

First Friday foot traffic was heavier than usual, with several attendees noting the irony of driving from Four Corners to walk three blocks between galleries. The city’s new parking kiosks on Main accept credit cards and the ParkMobile app. They do not accept crystals, though Diane from the Crystal Cabin on Mendenhall said she asked.

The Reclaimed Spirit Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday. Whitlock hosts a weekly “Grief Circle for Objects” on Wednesday evenings. Sliding scale, ten dollars suggested.