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PrintA visual arts double-whammy
Two art exhibitions featuring young talent are showing soon.
So now you know: Art is here. And so are the artists.
In fact, there are two exhibitions right around the corner. They will sate your appetite for visual art and they both feature Tulsa’s young talent. Put down that Eloté burrito, get out your iPhone and mark down these dates:
Next/Now art show (presented by TYPros)
Gilcrease Museum
Opening reception: Sept. 22, 6-9 p.m.
www.typros.org
Momentum Tulsa
Living Arts (Check out their new space!)
Oct. 10, 8 p.m.-midnight
www.momentumoklahoma.org
NEXT/NOW ART SHOW
This will be the fourth annual Next/Now exhibition showing artwork by Tulsa’s young professionals. It is an intimate show and the work ranges from people who exhibit frequently and those who are showing their art for the first time. This year’s event also adds some of the performing arts to the mix through improv performances by Crayons and live music by the Dead Sea Choir. The show’s organizers aptly say, “The show is open to anyone looking to expand the right side of their brain.”
The opening reception is (shockingly) chock-full of young professionals, and is one of the least-threatening art openings I’ve attended. Most others in the crowd are new to exhibits, too, and chances are — with the size of this town — you’ll see someone you know. It’s a good way to dip your toe into the waters. It’s also free.
MOMENTUM TULSA
Momentum Tulsa has grown over the past six years to an all-out event with bands, performance art and interactive installations to supplement the visual arts. An annual exhibition run by OVAC (the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition), a statewide arts organization, Momentum has had an Oklahoma City counterpart in the spring since 2002. Limited to artists under age 30, for many, this show is the first time to submit or exhibit their work. Last year more than 600 people attended and 150 pieces of art were on display.
It’s an edgy, fast-paced show, and it will leave you feeling as if you live somewhere things are really happening. It’s definitely a candidate for a “you’re not the weirdest one in the room” experience, and begs for you to don that funky outfit in the back of your closet that never comes out because it’s not quite right for a plain-old night on the town.
So, Tulsans, there you have it — a double-whammy of visual arts culture. Two great events, one demographic in need of some love and no more excuses for missing out.
See you at the shows …
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Elizabeth Downing is not an art critic, but a local photographer of the urban landscape and a devoted Midtowner. She and her husband own Avansic, a digital forensics and electronic discovery company in downtown Tulsa. She is the president of the Tulsa Artists’ Coalition and serves on the board at the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition and the Tulsa YWCA.
