WELCOMING SESSION
A PUBLIC-FACING ENGAGEMENT SERIES HOSTED BY TULSA ARTIST FELLOWS.
Announcing the Tulsa Artist Fellowship Welcoming Session_Spring/Summer 2021, a series of art-centered public engagement events hosted by Tulsa Artist Fellows. The series, which takes place May through August 2021, is free and open to all. Series activity includes various public platforms including readings, artwork viewing, film screenings, performance/sound, workshops, artist talks, interviews, panel discussions, studio tours and podcasts.
With the belief that the arts are critical to the advancement of cultural citizenship, Tulsa Artist Fellowship supports both local and national artists while enriching the Tulsa community. Tulsa Artist Fellowship is a George Kaiser Family Foundation initiative.
Tulsa Artist Fellowship welcomes people with disabilities. For questions about accessibility or to request an accommodation, please email caroline@tulsaartistfellowship.org or call 918.591.2461. Requests should be made at least one-week prior to event/viewing.
For more updates on events, please follow TAF Facebook and Instagram accounts @tulsaartistfellowship.
SHANE DARWENT HOSTS TULSA SOUND AS PART OF CYCLING THE GAP: INFRASTRUCTURE RIDE // SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2021 // 5-6PM // N. BOULDER AVE BETWEEN EASTON & FAIRVIEW IN THE TULSA ARTS DISTRICT
Tulsa Sound is a site-specific, sound art installation that will take place underneath I-244 at Boulder Ave in the Tulsa Arts District. Using contact microphones, local artist and musician Natty Gray will rework the sounds of the highway itself to create an immersive, sonic experience. Gray’s performance is the culmination of a community engaged bike ride that explores the detrimental effects, and unlikely possibilities of eminent domain and urban renewal efforts across North Tulsa.
KARL JONES HOSTS STUDIO 66: DRAG EXTRAVAGANZA // SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2021 // 9PM- 2:00AM // 473 BAR, 2224 E. ADMIRAL BLVD., TULSA, OK 74110
Studio 66 is a queer dance party in Tulsa, Oklahoma where the sounds of Studio 54 meet the vision of Route 66. Hosted on the outdoor patio of 473 in Kendall-Whittier neighborhood, May 8 event is ar eturn to in-person, outdoor gatherings. In addition to outdoor dance DJ sets, members of the Tulsa community will appear and perform on the open-air stage in a variety of drag lewks.
ARTIST TALK WITH ANDY ARKLEY // TUESDAY, MAY 18 // 6PM {FULLY VIRTUAL}
Andy Arkley, visual artist, designer, musician, animator and technologist and current Tulsa Artist Fellow, will present past and current projects and talk about his artistic process. Arkley strives to make work that fosters inclusion, positivity and elation. Some of his work combines sculpture, light, music, animation and interactivity, while other projects are static installations. His interactive pieces encourage creative collaboration between strangers, while his static installations use brightly colored, simple forms that are meant to invoke a sense of joy about being alive. Arkley’s work has been commissioned by the Bellevue Arts Museum, the wndr museum in Chicago, MadArt Studio, Bumbershoot and Pictoplasma. He currently has two collaborative interactive installations at AHHA Tulsa and the Science Museum Oklahoma in Oklahoma City.
LIZ BLOOD PRESENTS READ THIS: ALTERNATIVE PUBLISHING IN TULSA FEATURING FERRELL DIXON (ASLUT ZINE), MICHAEL MASON (CENTER FOR PUBLIC SECRETS) AND JOSEPH RUSHMORE (DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHER) // MAY 22-JUNE 6 // 12PM {FULLY VIRTUAL}
A one-hour panel discussion, plus a 30-minutes Q&A, on alternative publishing in Tulsa, featuring editors from entities like Center for Public Secrets and ASLUT zine discussing how and why they began their publications, how local writers and artists can get involved, practical considerations for anyone else thinking of starting a publication, and a 30-minute Q&A at the end for audience members to ask the editors questions. Intended audience is mature, anyone interested in journalism and writing in/about Tulsa, anyone with an interest in media (particularly alternative/not mainstream media), writers and editors in Tulsa, and visual artists in Tulsa who might be interested in alternative outlets for their work. Anticipated takeaways include broadening awareness of and audiences for these alternative publications, engendering public support for alternative media, and inspiring audience members to become involved in Tulsa media somehow, whether through financial support, writing and artistic participation, or beginning their own publications.
PHETOTE MSHAIRI CO-HOSTS, RELEASE ME, THE SPIRITS OF GREENWOOD SPEAK ANTHOLOGY LAUNCH SPEAKEASY WITH CYMONE DAVIS AND REY ROBINSON // SUNDAY, MAY 30, 2021 // 5PM {HYBRID OF VIRTUAL AND OUTDOOR} // LIVING ARTS OF TULSA, 307 E. RECONCILIATION WAY TULSA, OK 74120
Party like it’s 1920! The 1920’s speakeasy themed official launch party, presentation, and signing for "RELEASE ME, the Spirits of Greenwood Speak" anthology at Living Arts of Tulsa is gonna be the bee’s knees! Sure, we could have a traditional reading with people reciting excerpts from a swell book like regular book releases, but where’s the fun in that? The event is part of the history making and commemorating Greenwood Art Project. It will be presented on Sunday May 30, 2021 at 5pm during the Centennial for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Although it won’t cost any clams to get in, a secret password will be required to get into the speakeasy, (which is in step with speakeasies in the 1920’s). The event will also be streamed online for those who can’t make it to the live event.
KALUP LINZY PRESENTS, 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL PORTFOLIO FOR BOMB MAGAZINE // MONDAY, MAY 31, 2021 // {FULLY VIRTUAL}
This project is a curation by Kalup Linzy for BOMB Magazine and will feature a group of artists including Sarah Ahmad; Lex Brown, Crystal Z. Campbell, Adam Carnes, Joy Harjo, Tina Henley, Quraysh Ali Lansana and Phetote Mshairi. Kalup Linzy is a video and performance artist born in Clermont, Florida and raised in Stuckey, Florida. Linzy has been the recipient of numerous awards including a grant from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellowship, Creative Capital Foundation grant, a Jerome Foundation Fellowship, an Art Matters Grant, The Headlands Center for the Arts Alumni Awards Residency, a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Film and Video, a BAU Institute Travel Grant, and a Tulsa Artist Fellowship Arts Integration Award.
SARAH AHMAD PRESENTS THE AMERICAN DREAM // MONDAY, MAY 31, 2021 // 5:30-6PM {HYBRID OF VIRTUAL AND OUTDOOR} // OXLEY NATURE CENTER, 6700 MOHAWK BLVD, TULSA, OK 74115
The American Dream will be a destination within the network of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial sites inviting visitors into the forest preserve to participate in creating a space for collective healing. Visitors are invited to bring flowers to the site as a way of offering a healing process for the innocent victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre and of massacres in the US, Pakistan and all parts of the world. The American Dream offers a solemn memorial to the weight and tragedy of what was lost, as well as a message of hope, renewal, and solidarity.
KARA LYNCH PRESENTS, DREAM | SHROUD | SHELTER // MONDAY, MAY 31 - JUNE 1, 2021 {HYBRID OF VIRTUAL AND OUTDOOR} // OXLEY NATURE CENTER, 6700 MOHAWK BLVD, TULSA, OK 74115
dream | shroud shelter, is a sound installation sited at Oxley Conservation Center. In conversation with Sarah Ahmad's engagement with the Tulsa Race Massacre and legacies of U.S. state sanctioned imperialist violence, this ambient sound installation will draw from deep listening of the installation sites and the archive. 'dream' speaks to Sarah's investigation of the American Dream and the Dream deferred that the Tulsa Race Massacre reifies -- and it literally welcomes dreaming. 'shroud' and 'shelter' propose a sonic remembrance, shield, refuge and sanctuary within which to remember those lives lost to racial violence and its aftermaths, honor those who have survived, and draw close, the restorative power of the natural world around us. The installation will run from May 31-June 1, 2021. Following the in situ installation, audiences will be able to download the audio files to listen on their own.
KITE PRESENTS ‘L-SYS’ (LAKOTA SYSTEM) // FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2021 // 7PM {HYBRID OF VIRTUAL AND OUTDOOR}
This presentation is a co-production between Kamloops Art Gallery, Kamloops, BC and Tulsa Artist Fellowship. Programming will be transmitted live, gallery to gallery. This is where Listener begins: with a wanderer Listening, an Oglala woman, equipped with Listening devices, which are passed down from woman to woman. Alone, her devices work in ways she cannot quite understand, they seem to listen farther than technologically possible, beyond time and place. She has a suspicion that she is receiving scrambled transmissions from a good place, but a Far Place. She feels they Listen back. This growing and changing shape is projected during performance, constructed from shapes traditionally only used and created by Lakota women. The movement and growth of this projection is decided by the computer.
JONATHAN DURHAM HOSTS, JUST MAKE COOKIES PODCAST // FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 2021 {HYBRID OF VIRTUAL AND OUTDOOR}//
Archer Alleyway | Just Make Cookies Podcast: This project will involve a series of pre-recorded interviews staged around an interactive sculpture. Topics covered in the interviews will include environmental justice, housing gentrification, petrochemical industries, and neighborhood and local justice initiatives around living in a cleaner, safer and more just environment. Interviewees will include local activists, scientists, residents and environmental reform representatives from the Oklahoma region.
SARAH PERRY HOSTS, AN EVENING WITH POET, RAYMOND ANTROBUS, INVESTIGATOR OF MISSING SOUNDS // THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 2021 {FULLY VIRTUAL} //
Archer Rooftop | In celebration of the release of his highly-anticipated book, The Perseverance, poet Raymond Antrobus will give a reading of his work. A dedicated educator, dynamic performer, and award-winning writer, Antrobus explores deafness, race, masculinity, and family in his poems, which have been praised by Kaveh Akbar, Ocean Vuong, Malika Booker, and many others. His awards include the Geoffrey Dearmer Award, The Guardian Poetry Book of the Year 2018, and fellowships from Cave Canem, Complete Works, and Jerwood Compton Poetry.
ALLISON HERRERA HOSTS GHOST OF TOMMY ATKINS PODCAST/ ARTIST TALK/ PUBLIC TOUR WITH /RUSSELL COBB AND APOLLONIA PINA // SATURDAY, JULY 10, 2021 {HYBRID OF VIRTUAL AND OUTDOOR}
Every Oklahoma oil man had heard the stories about the missing Muscogee (Creek) boy worth millions of dollars. Some people said the boy ran off to Mexico. Others said he died in a flood. His tribe said he was a fiction. One oil man found his mother and brought her back to Oklahoma with promises of riches. That's the premise of a podcast Herrera and her collaborators Russell Cobb and Apollonia Pina have been researching and working on for nearly two years. The story has been almost completely forgotten, but the mystery of Tommy’s fleeting life was never resolved. Russell, Apollonia, and Allison go on a journey to figure it all out and what it means at the intersection of oil money, whitewashed history, and Indigenous sovereignty. Our first virtual event will involve listeners downloading our first podcast episode followed by a virtual talk by Apollonia Pina and Russell Cobb. After you've listened to the podcast and heard from the creators, go on a public bike tour of some of the places mentioned in the podcast.
STEVE BELLIN-OKA PRESENTS, AN EVENING WITH THE FIRST-YEAR TULSA ARTIST WRITING FELLOWS FEATURING PHETOTE MSHAIRI, JENNIFER HOPE CHOI, ARTHUR MALCOLM DIXON, SARAH PERRY, PRESTON WITT AND TRACI SORELL // THURSDAY, JULY 22, 2021 // 7PM {FULLY VIRTUAL}
A group of six first-year Tulsa Artist Writing Fellows working in the genres of young adult literature, poetry, translation, creative nonfiction, and fiction will read from their work and discuss it with the audience and Steve Bellin-Oka, session facilitator and third-year Tulsa Artist Fellow in writing. Participants include Traci Sorell, Phetote Mshairi, Jennifer Hope Choi, Arthur Malcolm Dixon, Sarah Perry, and J. Preston Witt. Each participant will read for approximately 10-minutes followed by a facilitated group discussion.
ARTHUR MALCOLM DIXON PRESENTS, TRANSLATION NOW! SYMPOSIUM FEATURING STEVE BELLIN-OKA AND RHETT MCNEIL // THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 2021 // 6-7:30PM AND FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 6-7PM {FULLY VIRTUAL}
What is the place of translation in the world? How do we read one another across lines of language, and who makes the decisions that make such reading possible? How does the craft of translation make its mark on the current literary landscape? We will reflect on these questions, discuss the challenges and rewards of translation, and share literature that has only just landed in English at the second iteration of the Tulsa Artist Fellowship’s Translation Now! symposium, hosted by Fellows Arthur Malcolm Dixon, Steve Bellin-Oka, and Rhett McNeil. Join us on the evening of Thursday, August 12 for a virtual panel discussion featuring renowned literary translators George Henson, Denise Kripper, and Christopher Lupke, and again on the evening of Friday, August 13 for a group translation reading with our guests.
IMAGE: "AMERICAN DREAM" PROVIDED BY SARAH AHMAD.