Oklahoma Arts Council News
September 2012
Oklahoma Arts Conference registration deadline October 12
Register soon for the 2012 Oklahoma Arts Conference - deadline is Friday, October 12!
Be sure to reserve your hotel room and review conference parking information too...
What to expect at this year's Oklahoma Arts Conference
The 2012 Oklahoma Arts Conference schedule is taking shape! Take a look at some of the sessions, panels and events planned for the two-day conference, happening October 23-24 in Oklahoma City. Registration is $75.
Arts Management
- Cultivating New Partnerships and Diversifying Your Support Base
- Packaging the Perfect Pitch: Making a Sponsorship Proposal
- Crisis Management: Are You Ready?
- Developing a Dynamic Board: How Board Members & Staff Work Together to Ensure Success
Artists
- Open New Markets: New Public & Private Venues for Your Art & Performances
- Paint by Numbers: Tax Tips for Self-Employed Artists and Small Business Owners
- Sponsorships: Tapping Into Community Resources
Community Development
- Opening Doors: Building and Revitalizing Communities through the Arts
- Creating and Implementing a Cultural Plan for Your Community
- How Arts and Music Festivals Build and Strengthen Communities
more...
- Sessions for emerging arts leaders
- Performing artist consultations (sign-up required)
- Networking breakfast & two lunch sessions
- Evening receptions
- Tours (sign-up required)
- Performances
Register for the 2012 Oklahoma Arts Conference. (register by October 12)
View the schedule for the 2012 Oklahoma Arts Conference. (subject to change)
Museums for America grants
Did you know the Institute of Museum and Library Services offers Museums for America grants for a wide range of projects including collections management, community engagement, conservation, formal education, informal learning, and more? Grants ranging from $5,000 to $150,000 are available for up to three years with a 1:1 match requirement. Deadline to apply is January 15, 2013.
For more information click here.
Performing Arts Corps offers arts introduction for students
While some of us may take the performing arts for granted, many students in Oklahoma have never attended a concert or seen a live dance performance.
Through our Performing Arts Corps program, schools can give students an introduction to the performing arts. The one-day program for elementary schools involves two 50-minute workshops, a schoolwide performance and arts-integration curriculum teachers can use in future lesson planning. With a low grant match requirement, schools statewide can bring in one of four performing artists to inspire students through modern dance, music, songwriting or storytelling.
Click here to learn more about the program and the artists.
Efforts continue to preserve historic Capitol art
Working to preserve the historic artwork at our state Capitol, which has been generously donated over the years, the Oklahoma Arts Council has been "going green" to reduce damage-causing heat levels in the Betty Price Gallery, home to the State Art Collection. Recent efforts have included replacing 174 halogen bulbs with LED lights in the gallery and replacing 50 bulbs in the North and East galleries. As a result, not only is the art, which belongs to the citizens of Oklahoma, now being protected, taxpayers are realizing an estimated 80 percent savings on related energy costs!
Next up? We're working with the Capitol Preservation Commission to shield the monumental murals in the rotunda from harmful sunlight. We're researching cost-effective solutions...
Read about it in an article in The Oklahoman.
New Council staff members announced
Several new faces joined our office over the summer, some of which were very familiar:
Clint Stone, former director of IAO Gallery in Oklahoma City joined us as our new visual arts director July 2. Among other duties, Clint will focus on cultivating and preserving the State Art Collection.
Gaye Williams joined us as our new grants and finance assistant. Gaye previously worked for the Oklahoma Public Employee Retirement System. In her role, Gaye will help grantees navigate the e-Grant system and assist with important database and processing needs to ensure efficient service to our constituents.
Joshua Lunsford is trekking up I-35 from Norman where he was on staff with the Norman Arts Council. Joshua is our new Community Arts Director. He will work closely with grantees and organizations offering arts programs for their communities, manage the Oklahoma Performing Artist Roster and work with the Oklahoma's New and Emerging Arts Leaders network (ONEAL).
Each of our new team members bring a strong focus on building Oklahoma's arts and cultural industry. We're excited to have them on board!
Leran more about our staff here.
Remembering Jamie Jacobson
On July 27 the arts in Oklahoma lost a much-loved and respected member of its community. For over 16 years Jamie Jacobson taught dance at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond where she touched the lives of many of her students. One former student, Michelle Dexter of Perpetual Motion Modern Dance in Oklahoma City, reflects on Jamie's influence on her life and career:
Jamie Jacobson was an inspirational woman who I looked up to as an educator, artist and mentor. I had the pleasure of being her student at UCO, where I later became faculty, and my life has been tremendously impacted by her. She always reminded us that as educators, we weren't just teaching a set of skills to a group of faceless students, but we were shaping the lives of humans through dance. Jamie was always positive and encouraging of my goals as an artist and I truly believe that if is wasn't for Jamie, the dance community, including Perpetual Motion and many K-12 dance programs, wouldn't exist. What I will always remember most is when we dragged in to class during college, feeling tired and uninspired, Jamie would remind us that we are blessed with the facility, opportunity, and freedom to be dancers and we should never take that for granted.
~Michelle Dexter, Perpetual Motion Modern Dance