Leadership Arts
Leadership Arts is a project of the Oklahoma Arts Council whose purpose is to develop a statewide network of community arts leaders and advocates.
The first Class of Leadership Arts graduated in May, 2008 and consisted of 28 individuals representing a broad base of expertise including business, government, arts and education leaders from all quadrants of Oklahoma. Designed for active learning, Leadership Arts promotes building and developing arts active communities based upon regional assets and community capacity.
Oklahoma Arts Council Executive Director Suzanne Tate said state leaders participated in a four month program in order to gain an understanding of how communities can include arts programming and cultural amenities as a vital component of their economic development strategies.
“The first graduating class of Leadership Arts can now take back to their communities how arts and cultural development can be harnessed to create economic opportunity, provide a high quality of community life and ignite the creative potential of Oklahoma’s youth.”
In addition to interviewing community leaders, listing cultural assets and exchanging ideas to grow their individual community culturally, participants also worked on panel and individual presentations, group discussions and took tours of community arts spaces.
Cultural Development Director Georgia Williams said communities that actively develop and support their arts and cultural assets present an image of vitality, creativity and positive economic growth.
“During Leadership Arts, we learned how arts active communities generate income, employment and tax revenue, and are widely recognized for attracting businesses and retaining a creative workforce. If you want to know how the arts have made a significant contribution to the quality of life in Oklahoma, just ask arts active communities and the 1st Class of Leadership Arts.”
Graduates will attend the Statewide Conference on the Arts scheduled to be held in November in Enid. Leadership Arts is a project of the Oklahoma Arts Council in cooperation with Eastern Oklahoma State College and the communities of Muskogee, Ardmore, and Enid and is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Work is under way to plan the next class of Leadership Arts. For more information, please contact:
Georgia Williams, Cultural Development Director
Phone: 405.521.2931 ext. 228
Email: georgia@arts.ok.gov