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PrintArts appreciation starts here
Elizabeth Downing provides insight into Tulsa's prolific arts community.
If there were a ranking for “best cities for art,” Tulsa would be right up there. Stop making that face at your computer screen. It may be hard to believe, but that doesn’t make it any less true.
We have phenomenal artistic talent here. You might already know that, but if not, it bears repeating to everyone you know and especially those you don’t. Tulsa’s artists show their work everywhere from festivals to local galleries to museums and international art fairs. And Tulsa, let me tell you that Tulsa has way more artists than you think, living and working right here in your back yard.
In the world of “the arts,” visual art gets short shrift because — let’s face it — an exhibition doesn’t have quite the sex appeal of a headlining BOK Center concert or a traveling Broadway musical. I’m an artist and even I admit that. Part of it is the nature of the beast, because art shows don’t (always) have flashy lights or pyrotechnics, but part of it is that The Art Opening intimidates people. You know, it’s that place where you feel a little awkward because you’ve never been to one of these before and you don’t know anybody in the room and don’t really know anything about art and these people don’t even have the courtesy to turn down the lights like they do in the theater so no one else can see you looking out of place. Right? So let’s take care of at least one of those issues right here.
Most people think they can’t appreciate art because they don’t know enough about it. And sure, you probably won’t be writing a treatise on postmodern performance art unless you have some kind of training. But I’ve never taken a dance class and can tell you that Tulsa Ballet’s Karina Gonzalez wipes the floor with any other dancer I’ve ever seen. I hear so many people say, “I like that piece, but I don’t know anything about art, so I’m not sure if it’s good or not.”
I cannot say this loudly enough: You don’t have to know anything about art to go to an exhibition, whether it’s in a gallery or in a museum or the Denver airport. You like what you like, so don’t even think about apologizing for it. The best discussions I’ve had at exhibitions have begun with “Did you see that awful thing in the corner?” Sometimes I change my mind and sometimes they change theirs, but the benefit of visual art is that it stands still long enough to be seen, contemplated, discussed (sometimes even laughed at) and re-considered. Especially after a glass or so of wine, which is provided gratis at most local gallery openings.
Yes, now for the good stuff. Nothing says swanky urban fun like dressing up, arming yourself with a group of friends, having a few cocktails and hopping gallery openings on Thursday or Friday nights — Brookside, the Brady District, Cherry Street and the Pearl District all have regular art walks. The museums have extended Thursday and weekend hours, good for a visit before dinner. For more weekend-casual, there are tons of neighborhood arts festivals, plus the Blue Dome Arts Festival and Mayfest in the spring. Art is everywhere and art listings abound; just don’t skip over the visual arts section anymore.
Like many things about Tulsa, our arts scene deserves some attention — you are a citizen of this great town, so it’s up to you to change that. Give our artists some love and go to an exhibition soon.
And come back next week to meet two of our young artists with very different paths to Tulsa …
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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.
