Story and image provided by Oklahoma Arts Council
Stillwater is set to welcome hundreds of individuals involved in the arts and cultural industry throughout the state as it hosts the 2016 Oklahoma Arts Conference, October 25-26 at the Wes Watkins Center on the campus of Oklahoma State University.
Organized by the Oklahoma Arts Council in partnership with Oklahomans for the Arts and members of the conference community committee in Stillwater, the event will feature nationally recognized presenters along with regional and local panelists leading sessions for artists, nonprofit administrators and board members, community developers, civic leaders, educators, students, and others. Session topics will include career development for artists, audience building, inclusion and diversity, social media, fundraising, arts education, storytelling, and community development.
Featured presenters are Anna Metcalfe, artist development coordinator at Springboard for the Arts in St. Paul, Minnesota; Jeff Poulin, arts education program manager at Americans for the Arts in Washington, D.C.; Emily Reed, a certified nonprofit professional and vice chair for the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Oklahoma City; Rachel Reynolds Luster, founder of Missouri’s Oregon County Food Producers and Artisans Co-op and founding member of Art of the Rural; and, Donna Walker-Kuhne, vice president of community engagement at New Jersey Performing Arts Center and one of the nation’s foremost experts in audience development.
Pre-conference activities on Monday, October 24 will include the Oklahoma Arts and Military Summit presented in partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, a bus tour of Stillwater community art spaces, and The ONEAL Deal networking event for new and emerging arts leaders. Free and open to the community, the ONEAL Deal does not require conference registration.
The conference will conclude with a special concert and supper on Wednesday, October 26 beginning at 5:00 p.m. at the Oklahoma Territorial Plaza in Perkins, Oklahoma. The concert will feature noted Red Dirt singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave and his band, The Night Tribe. Conference registrants can purchase concert tickets, which include a catered supper, for $40 through October 1.
Stillwater community partners for the 2016 Oklahoma Arts Conference include Allied Arts of Oklahoma State University, City of Stillwater, Lockmeyer Art Center, Multi Arts Center, Oklahoma Territorial Plaza and the Perkins Arts Council, Inc., Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma State University Museum of Art, Stillwater Arts and Humanities Council, Stillwater Community Center, Stillwater Public Library, Town and Gown Theatre, and Visit Stillwater.
Registration for the 2016 Oklahoma Arts Conference is $85 through September 16. After September 16, registration is $135. For more information visit arts.ok.gov.
About the Oklahoma Arts Council
The Oklahoma Arts Council is the official state agency for the support and development of the arts. The agency’s mission is to lead in the advancement of Oklahoma’s thriving arts industry. The Oklahoma Arts Council provides approximately 500 grants to almost 250 organizations in communities statewide each year, organizes professional development opportunities for the state’s arts and cultural industry, and manages hundreds of works of art in the public spaces of the state Capitol. Additional information is available at arts.ok.gov.
