Skip navigation
Oklahoma Arts Conference

2023 Oklahoma Arts Conference


Conference Schedule
Pre-conference
Tuesday, October 17, 2023		Wednesday, October 18, 2023Thursday, October 19, 2023
7:30am - 8:00am Replenished for the Road Ahead
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Bison Room B&C
Presenters: Lauree Dash - Featured Presenter
Whether serving staff, students, audiences, neighborhoods, or communities, our work in the arts is often about leading or meeting the needs of others. However, effective leadership and service to others is not sustainable when we, ourselves, are experiencing compassion fatigue. In order to give back, we must devote time to personal replenishment. In this session, incorporating a series of breath awareness exercises, Lauree Dash will guide us to be more intentional in starting each day with a level of attention to self-care. Start day two of the conference with greater attention and intention!
9:00am - 10:00am Coffee, Networking, and Resource Sharing for Teaching Artists
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Elk Room A&B
Presenters: Jennifer Allen-Barron - Co-Facilitator, Erika Wilhite - Co-Facilitator
Designed for arts educators, cultural practitioners, and artists who teach in community settings, this morning meet-up is a chance to get plugged in to the statewide network for teaching artists. Bring your business cards and ideas to share with new peers from across the state. Artists who are considering becoming teaching artists or educators are encouraged to attend!
9:00am - 10:00am Preparing for the Oklahoma Arts Sector ARPA Grant
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Great Plains Ballroom A&B
Presenters: Thomas Tran - Moderator, Chandra Boyd - Panelist, Jennifer Bryan - Panelist, Chad Oliverson - Panelist, Jenyann Roig - Panelist
In the spring of 2023, a transformational $10 million investment of state American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for Oklahoma's arts and cultural sector was overwhelmingly supported by the Oklahoma State Legislature and approved by the Governor. The proposal was submitted by the Oklahoma Arts Council in partnership with Allied Arts OKC and Arts Alliance Tulsa, designed to boost the rebuilding of the sector across all 77 counties while catapulting it forward as an asset for developing creative workforce and strengthening the economy. This fall, applications for grant funding made possible by this historic investment will be available to organizations across Oklahoma. During this session, a panel of representatives from the partnering organizations administering the grant awards will walk participants through the guidelines and requirements of the grant program. Organizations considering applying for funding are strongly encouraged to send staff and related personnel to this session. Time will be set aside for a Q&A. Participants will also be able to sign up for "office hours" to get further assistance.
10:15am - 11:15am A Conversation with Artist Robert Peterson
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Bison Room B&C
Presenters: Robert Peterson - Featured Artist, Beto Divino - Moderator
Lawton-based artist, Robert Peterson, is igniting the international art world with his contemporary figurative and portrait paintings. A self-taught artist from a very young age, art was a source of hope for Peterson, providing him with a pathway toward a successful career. Join Robert Peterson and Beto Divino for an inspiring conversation, where Robert will share his personal story about how art transformed his life.
10:15am - 11:15am Accessibility Planning 101
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Great Plains Ballroom C
Presenters: Erika Wilhite - Moderator, Beth Bienvenu - Presenter
In this session, participants will gain an understanding of developing a comprehensive ADA/Accessibility plan to ensure their arts programs are accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities. Participants will discover why a plan is important and they will learn how to create one. Beth Bienvenu, Director of Office of Accessibility for the National Endowment for the Arts, will join this session virtually to present to the group and offer guidance on best practices.
10:15am - Artist Talk with Jenny Perry
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Bison Room A: Artist Engagement Space
Presenters: Jenny Perry - Featured Artist, Karen Neurohr - Moderator
10:15am - 11:15am Imaginative Communities - The Idea Friendly Way
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Great Plains Ballroom E
Presenters: Becky McCray - Presenter
You don’t have to know all the answers. You just have to be open to new ideas. Today you can put your ideas into action with less overhead, less drag, and more meaningful participation by more people. Learn three practical ways the research-backed Idea Friendly method will help you improve the climate for new ideas and position your small town or neighborhood to thrive, no matter what the future brings.
10:15am - 11:15am Innovative Community Engagement
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Great Plains Ballroom D
Presenters: Eyakem Gulilat - Moderator, Alena Jennings - Panelist, Virginia Sitzes - Panelist, Jeremy Stevens - Panelist
Throughout Oklahoma, arts leaders are implementing new strategies to engage community members, develop new audiences, foster cross-community collaborations, and train new leaders. Representatives from The Doodle Academy (Ponca City), Sunny Dayz Mural Festival (Oklahoma City), and Orbits Arts presented by the Tulsa Performing Arts Center will discuss how their respective programs are building community.
11:30am - 1:30pm General Session Luncheon
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Great Plains Ballroom A&B
Presenters: AdyLynn Anderson - Featured Performer, Sunny Cearley - Panelist, Todd Cunningham - Panelist, Kym Koch Thompson - Presenter, Molly O'Connor - Presenter, Amber Sharples - Presenter
A special luncheon program featuring the Oklahoma Arts Council and their regional partners, Allied Arts OKC and Arts Alliance Tulsa, who led efforts to secure $10 million in state American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) pandemic relief funding to rebuild the arts and cultural sector. During the panel discussion, the partners will detail the behind-the-scenes work by sector leaders and arts advocates that took place over more than two years to successfully secure transformative funding that will soon be available statewide to nonprofit organizations with arts programming. Following the panel discussion, the Oklahoma Arts Council will present a special graduation ceremony for members of Leadership Arts XII. The luncheon will include live music by Cecil Gray Native Blues.
1:45pm - 2:45pm Artist Co-Ops of Oklahoma
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Great Plains Ballroom E
Presenters: Jarica Walsh - Moderator, Melody Allen - Panelist, LaVerna Capes - Panelist, Raegene Riggs - Panelist
The artist co-op business model is one way that visual artists can organize to support collective artistic growth, visibility, and career development. For this session, representatives from Oklahoma-based artist co-ops Oklahoma Indian Arts & Crafts Cooperative of Anadarko and BlackMoon of Tulsa will discuss the history and work of their co-ops, sharing information on best practices and keys for success. This session is recommended for artists who are considering the possibility of starting a co-op.
1:45pm - Artist Talk with Wallace Charles Moore Sr.
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Bison Room A: Artist Engagement Space
Presenters: Wallace Charles Moore, Sr. - Featured Artist, Karen Neurohr - Moderator
1:45pm - 2:45pm Building Resilience and Wisdom through Equanimity
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Elk Room A&B
Presenters: Lauree Dash - Featured Presenter
It can be exceeding difficult to manage our reactive minds in stressful situations. However the research shows that learning to care for our reactivity leads to greater resilience and wiser choices both at work and in our lives. In this experiential session, Certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Lauree Dash will present on the mindful heart quality of equanimity. A brief keynote and talk will illuminate the core qualities of equanimity, including letting go, the ability to release resistance, and embracing things just as they are, which leads to greater resilience, balance, and inner wisdom. The talk will be followed by an equanimity meditation practice designed to help participants find greater peace and acceptance with an issue in their own lives.
1:45pm - 2:45pm Community Partnerships in Alternative Education Schools
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Great Plains Ballroom C
Presenters: Jennifer Allen-Barron - Moderator, Rob Glaubitz - Panelist, Joshua and Anna Smith - Panelist, Randy Tinker Smith - Panelist, Allyson Taylor - Panelist
What makes a school-community partnership not only successful, but transformational for both students and partner organizations? Participants in the Oklahoma Arts Council's Arts in Alternative Education Community Partnerships worked side by side with program sites to develop new arts education experiences for some of our state’s most vulnerable students. Alternative education school sites serve students who are at a greater risk of not completing high school for a variety of reasons, which may include inconsistent housing, traumatic experiences, excessive absences, pregnancy or parenting, or juvenile justice involvement. These students often require specific educational interventions. Arts programs can help these students build new skills and develop healthy methods of creative self-expression while allowing them to complete a Fine Arts credit—a requirement for high school completion. During this session, participants in the program’s first year will discuss how their organizations developed meaningful educational programs with local alternative schools. They will offer guidance to help other organizations launch their own school partnerships.
1:45pm - 2:45pm The Big Voices Project (featuring Perpetual Motion Dance)
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Great Plains Ballroom D
Presenters: Erika Wilhite - Moderator, Kayla Jenkins - Panelist, Amy Nevius - Panelist, Caitlin Robinson - Panelist
Created by Perpetual Motion Dance, The Big Voices Project is a contemporary dance performance that coalesces the honest narratives of veterans and military-connected individuals with music and abstract choreography, resulting in a powerful artistic experience. Perpetual Motion Dance leaders will share how the project was conceived and developed and how grant support from the Oklahoma Arts Council and Mid-America Arts Alliance was key for producing an original work that continues to evolve and tour beyond Oklahoma.
1:45pm - 2:45pm Working Through Organizational Grief and Trauma (Part One):An Oklahoman Experience
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Bison Room B&C
Presenters: Carolyn Sargentson - Featured Presenter, Thomas Brent Smith - Presenter
Featured presenter Carolyn Sargentson and Thomas Smith, Director of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma, will present on their experience working together in 2022-23 to rebuild the museum's team and the organization’s health after a challenging pandemic experience.
3:15pm - Artist Talk with Jennifer Reeder
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Bison Room A: Artist Engagement Space
Presenters: Jennifer Reeder - Featured Artist, Karen Neurohr - Moderator
3:15pm - 4:30pm Connecting with Community for Engaged Public Art
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Great Plains Ballroom C
Presenters: Sterling Hayes - Presenter, Amber Sharples - Presenter, Jarica Walsh - Presenter
During this session, Oklahoma Arts Council staff will explain how new works of art recently commissioned and installed in the Oklahoma State Capitol expand the history of the state told through the artwork in The People's House. A six-year renovation of the Capitol building allowed for an overhaul of the curatorial plan by which art is displayed in the historic building. And for the first time, museum standards were introduced for the Capitol art collections. Learn how the Oklahoma Arts Council's curatorial team used the new commissions to connect with Oklahomans and broaden community investment.
3:15pm - 4:30pm Creative Placemaking Exchange
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Great Plains Ballroom A&B
Presenters: Miranda Gilbert - Co-Facilitator, Eyakem Gulilat - Co-Facilitator
The Creative Placemaking Exchange is an open forum for community developers to share resources, innovative tactics, and ideas for creating spaces where people can gather and experience culture. Whether you are interested in cultural districts, public art, or creative placemaking, this session is for you. This lively discussion will provide participants a place to ask questions, share feedback on best practices, and connect with a statewide network of creative community developers.
3:15pm - 4:30pm Innovation in Lawton's Arts Education Programs
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Great Plains Ballroom D
Presenters: Jennifer Allen-Barron - Moderator, Chance Harmon - Panelist, Charlotte Oates - Panelist, Scott Smith - Panelist
Students in Lawton Public Schools and lifelong learners in Lawton have access to a multitude of engaging opportunities to develop their creative skills and talents. Lawton’s arts education leaders from the Life Ready Center and Lawton Community Theatre will discuss their innovative methods for engaging youth and adults in transformative and multifaceted learning experiences.
3:15pm - 4:30pm The Big Rocks of Artist Time Management
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Elk Room A&B
Presenters: Diane Scott - Presenter
This interactive workshop will have artists and creatives of all disciplines working together to understand time management. Artists are their own bosses, and often not very nice bosses to themselves. This workshop will help participants with decision-making around time, while aligning time with their creative purposes. This fun session includes rocks, paint pens, group challenges, and opportunities to engage with peers.
3:15pm - 4:30pm The Keys to Sustainable Funding
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Great Plains Ballroom E
Presenters: Beto Divino - Presenter
In the ever-evolving world of fundraising what is it that will grab the attention of today’s donor? What should a nonprofit be focusing on to ensure sustainability? In this session, Beto Divino will engage participants to help refocus, rethink, and reimagine their approach to donor cultivation, fundraising, events, sponsorships, and more. Whether you’re an executive director, development director, board member, employee, or volunteer, this session is geared towards approaching sustainable funding in a unique and fun way.
3:15pm - 4:30pm Working Through Organizational Grief and Trauma (Part 2)
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Lawton-Ft. Sill, 135 NW 2nd Street
Room: Bison Room B&C
Presenters: Carolyn Sargentson - Featured Presenter, Amanda Boehm-Garcia - Presenter
What aspects of your organization, your team, or yourself, has not been fully acknowledged and released? Join featured presenter Carolyn Sargentson and Amanda Boehm-Garcia, Director of Learning + Engagement at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art (FJJMA), to reflect on what you can take away from the FJJMA experience (as presented in Part 1).
5:00pm - 10:00pm Evening Gathering at Medicine Park
Location: TBD
Room: TBD
Wrap up your conference experience by gathering in one of Oklahoma's most unique communities. Located just a 10 minute drive from central Lawton, Medicine Park is known for its cobblestone architecture and is a must-see community for anyone who is interested in creative placemaking. Grab dinner with friends at any of the local restaurants and enjoy live music at the Park Tavern. Several options are available for lodging including the Plantation Inn. Visit medicinepark.com for more information.

Receive updates about the Oklahoma Arts Conference.

Questions?
For more information contact our Director of Rural and Creative Community Outreach.