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For Immediate Release
January 12, 2012

Media Contact:
Joel Gavin
Director of Marketing and Communications
(405) 521-2037
joel.gavin@arts.ok.gov

Oklahoma City - The Oklahoma Arts Council today announced the names of 31 individuals from 21 communities throughout the state that will participate in its 2012 Leadership Arts program. Members will participate in sessions that will equip them to become community arts leaders.

Oklahoma Arts Council executive director, Kim Baker said she’s happy about this year's class. “We had a number of excellent applicants this year. People are learning about the program and how graduates are doing great work in their communities, and they want to learn to do the same.”

The Leadership Arts program consists of four two-day sessions during the spring that focus on the arts’ role in community and economic development, education, and quality of life. Sessions include panel presentations, group activities and discussions, and tours of community arts spaces. Each session takes place in a different Oklahoma community so that members can experience and learn from the arts’ role in the development of that community. Class members graduate during the fall Oklahoma Arts Conference.

“This year’s class includes business owners, city managers, teachers, principals, community development professionals, artists, and staff of nonprofit organizations.” Baker said. “Oklahomans from a variety of professional backgrounds want to use the arts to enrich their communities.”

Since the first Leadership Arts class in 2008, 118 individuals have received training through the program. The purpose of Leadership Arts is to develop a statewide network of community arts leaders and advocates.

Leadership Arts is sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council and funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. The program is a project of the Oklahoma Arts Council in cooperation with Quartz Mountain Resort and the communities of Norman, Medicine Park, and Tulsa.

The Oklahoma Arts Council places a high priority on geographic diversity during the application process. Listed by community, members of the 2012 class of Leadership Arts include: