FIRST FRIDAYS:
APRIL 2025
Photo courtesy of Alicia Smith
FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2025 | 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Tulsa Artist Fellowship - Studios
109 MLK Jr. Blvd E. Tulsa, OK 74103
Tulsa Artist Fellowship - Flagship
112 N. Boston Ave, Tulsa, OK 74103
FREE AND OPEN TO ALL
Since its inaugural program year in 2016, Tulsa Artist Fellowship has hosted First Fridays, a free monthly series highlighting our awardees, alum-in-residence, and Tulsa community members. First Fridays features artistic workspaces, exhibitions, workshops, performances, and food across our studios, roof terrace, and gallery spaces. As always, First Fridays are free and open to all. Come for the art, stay for the community.
Tulsa Artist Fellowship welcomes our neighbors and friends to celebrate the April First Friday open studios, exhibitions, performances, and programs! Que Gusto is thoughtfully preparing a spring-inspired menu alongside beverages from Heirloom Rustic Ales.
Programming at Flagship features awardee video work by composer and sound artist Micaela Tobin and multidisciplinary artist and activist Alicia Smith. From 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM, Alicia Smith will perform Citlalicue (Skirt-of-Stars). Audience members are encouraged to participate in this drop-in style event. Smith, acting as a Teixpitla, a “Flayed face” or impersonator of a deity. In this case, Citlalicue, “Skirt-of-Stars,” the Aztec goddess of the Milky Way galaxy. During the performance, participants are invited to share their heart's desires with the Universe and create ritual space to envision it becoming reality together. At its conclusion, there is an embrace, a moment of connection and comfort with our cosmos.
At the studios in 102, meet Stephen Towns, renowned American artist and the inaugural Gilcrease Museum ‘Gillies Artist-in-Residence’, whose short-form studio #102 will be open for visitor engagement. Trained as a painter, Towns has developed a rigorous, self-taught quilting practice, His work is featured in collections across the country including the National Museum of African American History and Culture and National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri; Art + Practice in Los Angeles, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Rockwell Museum in Corning, New York, among many others.
Upstairs in 216, artists Theodore "Ted" Moore, Dr. Moira RedCorn and Aaliyah Wahwassuck will be in conversation on the topic of ‘new beginnings’, in a panel moderated by awardee alum, writer, and curator Chelsea T. Hicks.
On view in the studio building entry gallery, Queen Rose Art House presents Jackson Augustus Adair: Hard Sayin' Not Knowin', a provocative new zine and exhibition by Oklahoma-born and based portrait photographer and 2D visual artist. With over a decade of experience capturing the vibrant worlds of others, Adair blends photography, film, and sound to create immersive visual storytelling in this multimedia exhibition.
Photo courtesy of Stephen Towns
VISITOR EXPERIENCE
Tulsa Artist Fellowship strives to provide a welcoming and accessible experience. Our exhibitions and events are free, documented, and archived.
Tulsa Artist Fellowship - Studios at 109 MLK Jr Blvd E. Tulsa, OK 74103 accommodates wheelchairs and strollers. Variable seating is provided in addition to areas for distanced standing. Family-scale private washrooms are available to support visitors with disabilities and caregivers who need access to increased square footage and changing tables. The elevator at Archer Studios is located at the main west entrance on Martin Luther King Blvd. Street-side parking is available at both buildings using the Park Mobile App and is free after 5 pm and all day Saturday-Sunday.
Tulsa Artist Fellowship - Flagship is located at 112 N Boston Ave Tulsa, OK 74103. Public hours are Thursday-Saturday from 12-6 pm. The gallery accommodates wheelchairs and strollers. Variable seating is provided, as well as areas for distanced standing and wheelchairs. Family-scale private washrooms are available to support visitors with disabilities and caregivers who need access to increased square footage and changing tables.
ABOUT TULSA ARTIST FELLOWSHIP
Established in 2015, Tulsa Artist Fellowship was created as a place-based initiative by the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) that addresses pressing challenges faced by contemporary artists and arts workers living in and joining Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tulsa Artist Fellowship believes the arts are critical to advancing cultural citizenship and supports community-invested practitioners who intentionally engage with our city.