TULSA ARTIST FELLOWSHIP ANNOUNCES 2025-2027 AWARD COHORT
Marking the tenth anniversary of Tulsa Artist Fellowship, 10 awardees working across various arts disciplines were selected to receive $2.35 million in resources by a panel of esteemed arts leaders to live and work in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, Speaking to Falling Seeds. Image courtesy of the artist.
January 23, 2025 – Tulsa, OK – Tulsa Artist Fellowship is pleased to announce the 2025—2027 Tulsa Artist Fellowship awardees, the second cohort since the program’s expanded award structure was introduced in 2024. Ten visionary artists and arts workers whose practices span painting, sculpture, film, sound, science, performance, public art, curatorial, photography, writing, and social engagement were awarded from an impressive national pool of 1,117 open call submissions. The submission process drew applicants from 39 U.S. states and 11 international U.S. citizens residing in nine countries. Their work reflects a thoughtful commitment to innovation and community impact, aligning with the Tulsa Artist Fellowship’s mission to strengthen Tulsa’s arts identity through meaningful and forward-thinking projects. The 2025–2027 award term begins in January 2025 and concludes in December 2027.
This year marks the tenth anniversary of Tulsa Artist Fellowship and the milestone of awarding 135 arts practitioners. Established in 2015, the Fellowship was created as a civic enhancement initiative by the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) to address the most pressing artistic challenges for contemporary artists and arts workers living in and joining the city of Tulsa, OK. The award identifies and supports established community-invested awardees, including those exploring Oklahoma for the first time, reconnecting with the state’s rich culture, and thriving in place-based arts practices.
Each year, the Fellowship welcomes ten artists for a three-year award term. Individual awardees will receive $195,000 in stipends and studio space to actualize groundbreaking projects in Tulsa, Oklahoma, over the three-year program term. The cohort group will receive more than $2.35 million in resources.
“Oklahoma is the center stage for cultivating a profound national understanding and advancement. Long-form commitment and care are at the heart of the Tulsa Artist Fellowship’s distinct place-based framework. The incoming awardees will join an established second-year cohort, alumni, dedicated staff team, and vibrant creative community that proudly and passionately calls Tulsa home. Together, our presence, stewardship, and collaborative contributions powerfully shape Tulsa’s arts ecosystem and cultural identity.”
The complete list of 2025–2027 Tulsa Artist Fellowship Awardee Cohort is below:
Lindsay Aveilhé, Curator, Arts Writer and Editor – Brooklyn, NY / Tulsa, OK
Franky Cruz, Interdisciplinary, Science – Hialeah, FL
Rehab El Sadek, Installation, Architecture, Language – Austin, TX
Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, Multimedia, Interdisciplinary, Social Practice – Brooklyn, NY
Adrienne Keene (Cherokee Nation), Nonfiction Writer – Providence, RI
Gavin Kroeber, Social Practice, Writer, Curator – St. Louis, MO
Melissa Lukenbaugh, Photojournalist, Film, Ecology – Tulsa, OK
Alicia Smith (Xicana), Performance, Interdisciplinary – Oklahoma City, OK
Colleen Thurston (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), Filmmaker, Film Curator – Tulsa, OK
Micaela Tobin, Sound, Composer– Los Angeles, CA
Franky Cruz, Between Destiny and a Hard Place, 2024. Image courtesy of the Miami-Dade Public Art Collection.
“As a diasporic Cherokee writer, the opportunity to move to Tulsa and reshape my writing practice around the lands that raised my family and ancestors is a gift beyond my imagining. The Tulsa Artist Fellowship allows me to return to my homelands to create and write while also being engaged in the vibrant and growing arts community in the city of Tulsa.”
During their term, the new cohort will undertake a diverse array of projects that explore themes of identity, ecology, and community. Projects range from a dynamic platform enhancing curatorial pedagogy, immersive installations created in collaboration with butterflies, a documentary series on restoring the Arkansas River ecosystem, geo-social engagement research and practice, Indigenous stories and films, site-specific performances around themes of colonization and diaspora, to paintings, sculptures, and public art installations with Oklahoma’s natural elements—all contributing to Tulsa’s evolving cultural landscape.
The selection for the 2025–2027 award term of the Tulsa Artist Fellowship featured eight esteemed reviewers from a wide range of artistic disciplines, each contributing unique expertise, cultural identities, geographic backgrounds, and perspectives. The panel included: Kalup Linzy (Artist and Tulsa Artist Fellowship Alum-in-Residence), Laura Hughes (Writer and translator, Co-Founder of Basket Books & Art), Edwin Smalling (Artist, Co-Founder of Basket Books & Art), Mathew Rodriguez (Writer), Risa Puleo (Curator and Historian), Jessica McEver (Film producer, Co-Founder of The Tulsa Film Collective), Kate Green, PhD (Curator and Historian), and Alicia Chesser (Critical writer, dancer, and choreographer).
Tulsa Artist Fellowship invites applicants from all arts disciplines to apply for its 2026–2028 award term. Applications will open on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, and close on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. For more information, visit tulsaartistfellowship.org.
ABOUT TULSA ARTIST FELLOWSHIP
Established in 2015, Tulsa Artist Fellowship was created as a place-based arts initiative by the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF), that addresses pressing challenges for contemporary artists and arts workers living in and joining the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. A central part of the Fellowship’s initiative is to bring, enliven, and participate in Tulsa’s growing and thriving arts community. TAF supports contemporary artists across all mediums and is committed to celebrating diversity in all its forms and freedom of expression.
ABOUT GEORGE KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION
George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) is a charitable organization dedicated to providing equal opportunity for young children through investments in early childhood education, community health, social services, and civic enhancement. GKFF believes that Tulsa is a land of opportunity. A generous and welcoming community, this city is not bound by traditional conventions. GKFF is dedicated to making Tulsa the best city for children to be born, grow, and succeed.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Georgina Zhao | FITZ & CO | gzhao@fitzandco.com | +1 212 444 4046
Grace MacDonald | FITZ & CO | gmacdonald@fitzandco.com | +1 650 823 7333