Arts | Oklahoma Gazette

Transitional terrain

Exhibit C’s newest gallery show features three artists in different stages of their careers.

Transitional periods for artists can be complicated.

By Jeremy Martin Apr 20, 2018

Exhibit C Native American Native art Native American art visual art street art mural murals Bricktown Paige Williams Shepherd Chickasaw Nation Yatika Starr Fields Hoka Skenandore Josh Johnico painting Standing Rock

Funny friendship

Jewel Box Theatre stages female friendship and a few weddings in its upcoming production of Always a Bridesmaid.

One way to define a comedy is that it usually ends in marriage, so what about a play that’s built around four friends and their four weddings?

By Ian Jayne Apr 20, 2018

Jewel Box Theatre Always a Bridesmaid doobie potter Larrissa Garvin McDonald-Walley Denise Hughes Teri Hood Amy Kelly Christine Jolly

Answering calls

The Free Food Pantry and Educational Center serves seniors and more through its programs providing groceries, clothing and furniture.

Back in 1990, when Sister Mable Stoss founded the Free Food Pantry and Educational Center, she saw a need going unmet.

By Laura Eastes Apr 19, 2018

Sister Mable Stoss Free Food Pantry and Educational Center Free Food Pantry donations senior citizens food clothing furniture Gift of Sight program vision care domestic abuse victims

Narrative novelty

Pollard Theatre Company brings Disney’s The Little Mermaid to the stage with an innovative take on the classic tale.

Fantasy and realism — in theory, they’re worlds apart, as different as sea and earth.

By Ian Jayne Apr 18, 2018

The Pollard Theatre Guthrie The Little Mermaid Disney feminism W. Jerome Stevenson

Downtown tradition

Festival of the Arts will bring 750,000 people to downtown OKC for the convergence of food, art and music.

There are plenty of reasons Arts Council of Oklahoma City’s Festival of the Arts, which attracts an average of 750,000 visitors to downtown Oklahoma City, has become the city’s unofficially official spring party: plenty of food, music and, of course, art.

By Jacob Threadgill Apr 18, 2018

Bicentennial Park Festival of the Council OKC Downtown OKC events art music food strawberries newport cooking demonstrations

Letting loose

Nick Swardson gasses up his Too Many Smells Tour for a pit stop at The Criterion.

Nick Swardson’s new stand-up special is about bowel movements, which is not a euphemism for an acrid modern news cycle or the politically correct internet call-out culture that works so many other comedians into a tizzy.

By Ben Luschen Apr 13, 2018

Nick Swardson The Criterion comedy Adam Sandler Reno 911! Happy Madison Productions Comedy Central Almost Famous Malibu's Most Wanted Grandma's Boy Typical Rick Dirt Nasty Simon Rex Nicholaus Goosen Todd Phillips The Buddy Games Neal McDonough Olivia Munn Josh Duhamel Dax Shepard Danny McBride Minnesota Vikings Stefon Diggs

Bright lights

Once again, top Dodgers prospects begin the season in Oklahoma City.

In what has become a trend since the Dodgers became the Oklahoma City affiliate four years ago, the top-rated prospects in Los Angeles’ system will begin the season playing their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

By Jacob Threadgill Apr 13, 2018

OKC Dodgers Alex Verdugo Walker Buehler prospects Oklahoma City Dodgers Los Angeles Dodgers prospects Bricktown Ballpark

Petal pusher

Vibrant growth and newness mark Dylan Bradway’s solo exhibition at DNA Galleries.

Spring is here, and the never-ending cycle of changing weather has once again returned to the time of color, freshness and new beginnings.

By Ben Luschen Apr 12, 2018

DNA Galleries spring flowers Dylan Bradway 16th Street Plaza District Plaza District Amanda Zoey Weathers Live! on the Plaza murals Plaza Walls Lindsay Harkness Oklahoma Mural Syndicate Kristopher Kanaly Classen Senior Center Selena Skorman Tree & Leaf

‘Point of change’

Emerging artist collective Art Group launches OKC’s next wave of art leadership ahead of its first group show.

Five months ago, Art Group was no more than a vague idea shared between two friends.

By Ben Luschen Apr 11, 2018

Art Group visual art art emerging artists Virginia Sitzes Katelynn Noel Knick Skyline Ink Animators + Illustrators Mycah Higley Theresa Hultberg Chandler Domingos Allison Hix Cub Olson Emma Difani Eric Maille Evan Ward Katrina Ward Lexi Dickens Malcolm Zachariah Nate Ward Ryan Pack Taussen Brewer William Walker Larason Zan Miller Prefix Shawn Perkins Prairie Wolf Spirits COOP Ale Works Anthem Brewing Company Annie Oakley Panhandlers Oklahoma Visual Coalition OVAC

Saving sofas

Fancy Couches brings the past into the present by renting out unique antiques for photo shoots, weddings and other events.

Sofas are the places we sit, the sites of family gatherings and, sometimes, objects of historical consideration.

By Ian Jayne Apr 6, 2018

Aubrey York-Ketner Brad York Fancy Couches couch couches furniture Bethany antiques sofa design fashion

OKG Shop: Hibernation over

Bring on the sun! This winter felt like a particularly chilly one for many in the Oklahoma City area.

By Ben Luschen Apr 6, 2018

Shop shopping OKG Shop outdoor living backyard spring Seasonal Living Tin Lizzie's Doc Sprinkler Statuary World & Fireside Calvert's Plant Interiors ReModernOK

Open house

Fun Home brings Alison Bechdel’s autobiographical graphic novel to musical life.

In the 21st century, a few musicals revisiting the past might be the key to the art form’s future.

By Jeremy Martin Apr 6, 2018

Mateja Govich Lyn Cramer Mandy Jiran Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma Lyric at the Plaza Fun Home Michael Baron Alison Bechdel Sandra Mae Frank

Royal revelry

The Medieval Fair of Norman continues its time-honored tradition of free fun and learning.

In a modern atmosphere totally saturated with technology and the internet, there is at least one annual state event showing guests that long ago, people actually survived and thrived without the assistance of smartphones and computers.

By Ben Luschen Apr 5, 2018

Ann Marie Eckart Medieval Fair of Norman medieval history Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum Reaves Park University of Oklahoma Norman Medieval Fair King Edward III Black Oak Shillelagh

Poetic possibilities

Nearly a year after the release of his debut poetry collection, Chen Chen will bring poetic prospects to a reading at UCO.

It’s a common question: What do you want to be when you grow up?

By Ian Jayne Apr 5, 2018

Chen Chen University of Central Oklahoma poetry books

Contemporary shift

OKC Ballet embraces modern ballets by prestigious choreographers with this season’s triple bill.

Celebrating a decade of work with Oklahoma City Ballet, artistic director Robert Mills has seen the company’s abilities increasingly recognized on the national and world stage, but they’re still waiting for some people in their hometown to get with the program.Just securing permission to perform Petite Mort, the featured work on the triple bill opening on April 11 at Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., was a feat, Mills said.

By Jeremy Martin Apr 4, 2018

Oklahoma City Ballet OKC Ballet ballet dance Robert Mills Petite Mort Civic Center Music Hall Jiří Kylián Cora Bos–Kroese Salzburg Festival George Balanchine William Forsythe Ballet Frankfurt Philip Glass Thomas Montgomery Newman Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart So You Think You Can Dance Helen Pickett

Folding science

Science Museum Oklahoma’s new smART Space exhibit explores the art of origami.

Introduced to many through instructional books showing how to fold simple cranes or hopping frogs, the centuries-old Japanese art of paper folding known as origami is more complex than children’s crafting projects might suggest.

By Jeremy Martin Apr 4, 2018

Science Museum Oklahoma origami Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami

Béisbol

Before the first pitch, OKC Dodgers focuses this season on serving its diverse fan base.

Jorge Hernández drew cheers when he said the name “Fernando Valenzuela” in his speech in Spanish to introduce Minor League Baseball’s Copa de la Diversión, a new multicultural campaign for baseball, to south Oklahoma City baseball fans.

By Laura Eastes Apr 4, 2018

Oklahoma City Dodgers Jorge Hernández Copa de la Diversión Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Michael Byrnes Minor League Baseball Los Angeles Dodgers Cielo Azul de Oklahoma City OKC Dodgers Rookie League Douglas Kupper Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation

Reel wranglers

Tulsa’s Circle Cinema welcomes sister theater Rodeo Cinema to Historic Stockyards City.

A new player is stepping into Oklahoma City’s film culture arena, and it looks to be one tough hombre.

By Ben Luschen Mar 30, 2018

Rodeo Cinema movies film Circle Cinema Centennial Rodeo Opry Stockyards City deadCenter Film Festival Kim Haywood National Saddlery Stockyards Sarsaparilla Clark Weins

Motion pictures

The film work of Thai artist Apichatpong Weerasethakul breaks new ground at OKCMOA.

Most Americans are likely unaware of Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s film work, and even fewer dare even attempt to pronounce the contemporary Thai filmmaker’s given name. But for those entrenched in the world of art-house cinema, the past winner of the prestigious Palme d’Or prize at Cannes Film Festival is a genuine superstar.

By Ben Luschen Mar 29, 2018

Apichatpong Weerasethakul film movies filmmaking art visual art Oklahoma City Museum of Art OKCMOA Thailand Cannes Film Festival Michael Anderson Buddhism reincarnation Star Wars Andy Goldsworthy Tilda Swinton Columbia

Hidden identity

Artist Ebony Iman Dallas reflects on her improbable reconnection with lost family in Through Abahay’s Eyes.

Artist Ebony Iman Dallas has made it her life’s mission to learn as much about her birth father and his story as possible. She never had the chance to meet him in person, as he was killed by police before she was even born.

By Ben Luschen Mar 28, 2018

The Paseo Plunge Ebony Iman Dallas art painting Through Abahay's Eyes Somalia The Project Box Women in War Zones Charles Martin Literati Press