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FIRST FRIDAYS: NOVEMBER 2025

FIRST FRIDAYS: NOVEMBER 2025

On First Friday, November 7, join us for an evening of open studios, exhibitions, performances, and community as we come together to experience the creative spirit of Tulsa’s Arts District.

At Flagship, experience the exhibition Le’Andra LeSeur: Monument Eternal. LeSeur dissects the ways that monuments erected to commemorate racist legacies have altered the mental psyche of Black communities. Through video, sculpture, photography, and sound, the project builds an embodied archive of presence where absence has long prevailed.

“My practice continuously considers ways in which art can transform violence into something beyond. Monument Eternal transforms memories of violence, remnants of violence, and even physical embodiments of violence into transcendences.” — Le'Andra LeSeur

In the Fellowship’s project space from 7-8:30 pm, join Lead & Coal: A Sounding, a sound performance by NNN Cook, Nokosee Fields, and Josh Levi, with video by Tulsa Artist Fellow Gavin Kroeber and Aaron Owens. One part of a wider, eponymous sound art and critical spatial practice project exploring Ozark mining landscapes, initiated in St. Louis’ constitutive hinterlands: the Old Missouri Lead Belt and Southern Illinois Coal Belt. 19th-century St. Louis can arguably be understood as an extractivist war machine: digging up Illinois coal, melting Missouri lead, producing armaments for the St. Louis Arsenal, and provisioning the genocidal military forces at Jefferson Barracks. Over the past year, artists NNN Cook, Nokosee Fields, Gavin Kroeber, Josh Levi, and Aaron Owens have been visiting these post-industrial territories and performing “soundings”—sonic experiments conducted on, in, at, with, and for the land. During this performance, Cook, Fields, and Levi will mark the culmination of the wider project with a new improvised sound composition, drawing on their work together in the field. A video by Kroeber and Owens will accompany the performance, and copies of a new limited-edition vinyl record by the artists, released by Cook’s Close/Far Recordings, will be available for sale.

At the studios, experience artworks by Los Angeles-based artist Cedric Mitchell, from Tulsa, exhibiting new blown glassworks created at the Tacoma Museum of Glass, alongside a poster installation by Ernesto Yerena. Mitchell returns to his home city with a presentation of irreverent objects in bold colors, playful geometry, and clean craftsmanship rooted in Afro Post-Modernism. Fueled by his cross-national upbringing, Yerena’s art practice reflects his observations of the views and interactions between the Mexican communities living on both sides of the United States-Mexico border.        

The roof terrace features the third iteration of VM Dome Lab by Franky Cruz. The VM Dome Lab functions as both an immersive sculpture and a living butterfly garden, open for drop-in exploration and scheduled programs, including talks on pollinator ecology, conservation, and metamorphosis, as well as sound activations. This project extends the artist’s Vivarium Meconium Laboratory practice, raising butterflies from egg to chrysalis as a metaphor for transformation, resilience, and ecological interdependence.

Explore works-in-progress throughout the Tulsa Artist Fellow studios. Enjoy autumnal bites by Que Gusto, and refreshing pours from our friends at Heirloom Rustic Ales.

We look forward to welcoming you.

ABOUT FIRST FRIDAYS

Since its inaugural year in 2016, Tulsa Artist Fellowship has hosted First Fridays, a free monthly series highlighting our awardees, alum-in-residence, and Tulsa community members. Discover artistic workspaces, exhibitions, workshops, live music, and food throughout our studios, roof terrace, and galleries. First Fridays are free and open to all. Come for the art, stay for the community.

VISITOR EXPERIENCE

Tulsa Artist Fellowship is committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive, and accessible experience for every visitor. All exhibitions and events are free, open to the public, and thoughtfully documented and archived for continued community access.

Flagship | 112 N. Boston Ave, Tulsa, OK 74103
Our Flagship location is fully wheelchair- and stroller-accessible. Visitors will find a variety of seating options, including designated wheelchair seating and distanced standing areas. Family-scale private washrooms support visitors with disabilities and caregivers who need additional space or changing tables. Street-side parking is available via the Park Mobile App and is free after 5 p.m. and all day Saturday and Sunday.

Project Space | 205 E. Archer St, Tulsa, OK 74103
The Project Space is designed for easy navigation and accessibility. The venue features flexible seating, designated standing zones, and a family-sized private restroom for caregivers or those who need extra room. Street parking can be managed through the Park Mobile App and is free after 5 p.m. and on weekends.

Studios | 109 E. MLK Jr Blvd, Tulsa, OK 74103
The Studios location welcomes all visitors with wheelchair and stroller access, variable seating, and dedicated areas for standing and wheelchair users. Family-scale private washrooms with changing tables accommodate caregivers and guests requiring more space. An elevator is conveniently located at the main west entrance on Martin Luther King Blvd. Street-side parking is available through the Park Mobile App, free after 5 p.m. and all weekend.

 
Earlier Event: November 1
DÍA DE MUERTOS: VOCAL INCANTATIONS
Later Event: November 7
LEAD & COAL: A SOUNDING