Happenings

In light of the COVID-19 public health crisis, Oklahoma Contemporary has temporarily postponed the opening of our new arts center, including all public programs.

We appreciate your understanding as we navigate this ongoing situation, and we look forward to welcoming you soon.

ARTIST TALKS
Artist Talks continue Oklahoma Contemporary’s commitment to providing a platform for artists to share their creative processes and studio practices with the public in an effort to connect artists more deeply with their communities. Free and open to the public. Tickets and reservations not required unless otherwise noted.

Jen Lewin
Doors: 6 p.m. | Talk: 6:30-7:30 p.m. | Thursday, April 23, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater

Jen Lewin joins us to discuss her work Aqueous, on view in Campbell Art Park. An internationally renowned new media and interactive sculptor currently based in New York, Lewin has leveraged her architectural background to fabricate a large-scale interactive, public sculpture that encourages community interaction and play. Following her talk, join Lewin for a meet and greet in Campbell Art Park to experience Aqueous fully illuminated at dusk.

Abelardo Morell
Doors: 5:30 p.m. | Talk: 6-7 p.m. | Thursday, May 14, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater

Abelardo Morrell joins us to discuss his work Camera Obscura: View of Times Square in Hotel Room, on view in Bright Golden Haze. Employing camera obscura techniques for nearly 30 years, Morrell’s imagery explores the marriage of indoor and outdoor environments. Hear from the Boston-based artist and learn more about this photographic process as we celebrate National Photography Month.

Camille Utterback
Doors: 5:30 p.m. | Talk: 6-7 p.m. | Thursday, July 23, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater

Camille Utterback joins us to discuss her work Entangled, on view in Bright Golden Haze. An internationally acclaimed artist and leader in the field of digital and interactive art, Utterback’s work explores the visual and experiential possibilities of linking computational systems to human movement. Hear from the artist directly, then stick around to experience Entangled for yourself.

PANEL DISCUSSION
Two or more individuals explore, interrogate and discuss exhibition-related topics. Free and open to the public. Tickets and reservations not required unless otherwise noted.

Illuminating Perspectives
Doors: 5:30 p.m. | Panel: 6-7 p.m. | Thursday, April 30, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater

This panel discussion highlights the contributions of Native artists to opening exhibitions Bright Golden Haze and Shadow on the Glare as well as to contemporary art more broadly. Featuring artists Yatika Fields (Osage/Cherokee/Creek), Marianne Nicolson (Dzawada’enuxw First Nations) and Ryan RedCorn (Osage), the discussion is moderated by Dr. heather ahtone (Chickasaw citizen/Choctaw), senior curator at the First Americans Museum. Panelists will reflect on tangible and metaphysical elements of light from an Indigenous perspective, sharing insight into the culturally grounded narratives that inform concepts they present and examine in their work.

PERFORMANCES

Spotlight Concerts with Arts Council Oklahoma City
As one of the Kirkpatrick Family Fund-supported Bright Golden Haze: Reflections projects, Arts Council Oklahoma City’s Spotlight Concert series will celebrate the “bright future” of OKC’s entertainment community with unforgettable live performances inspired by Oklahoma Contemporary’s inaugural exhibition, Bright Golden Haze.

Shortt Dogg
40-minute sets on the hour: 7 and 8 p.m. Thursday, April 9, 2020
Main Building | North Lawn

DOSSEY
40-minute sets on the hour: 7 and 8 p.m. Thursday, May 14, 2020
Main Building | North Lawn

Steelwind
40-minute sets on the hour: 7 and 8 p.m. Thursday, June 18, 2020
Main Building | North Lawn

Latin Mojo Band
40-minute sets on the hour: 7 and 8 p.m. Thursday, July 9, 2020
Main Building | North Lawn

Charles Burton Band
40-minute sets on the hour: 7 and 8 p.m. Thursday, August 13, 2020
Main Building | North Lawn

Elemental by Oklahoma City Ballet
Doors: 7:30 p.m. | Performance: 8-8:20 p.m. | Thursday, May 7, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater

As one of the Kirkpatrick Family Fund supported Reflections projects, Oklahoma City Ballet will present Elemental, an original ballet inspired by Oklahoma Contemporary’s opening exhibition, Bright Golden Haze. Choreographed by trainee program coordinator and recently retired professional dancer Amanda Herd-Popejoy, this premiere work will feature 15 members of the trainee program at Oklahoma City Ballet’s Yvonne Chouteau School and incorporate light into the dancers’ costumes.

RACE Dance Collective
8:30-9 p.m. Thursday, May 28, 2020
Campbell Art Park

RACE Dance Collective joins us to perform an original work inspired by Jen Lewin’s Aqueous. RACE has produced over 25 full-length shows since its inception in 2008, including an annual compilation of world-renowned choreographic works. Performed outdoors at dusk for optimal viewing of the illuminated sculpture, this experience is not to be missed.

Dead Languages by Jonathan Wei
Doors: 6:30 p.m. | Performance: 7-7:45 p.m. Thursday, July 16, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater

Dramaturg Jonathan Wei joins us for a reading of Dead Languages, a powerful telling of his own coming-of-age story. Growing up as an anomalous, biracial kid in small Southern and Midwestern towns, Wei became attuned at a young age to subtext – the stories behind the stories. This performance is offered as an additional reflection on the concept of belonging as relates to Tavares Strachan’s I Belong Here (White).

CREATIVE LECTURE
Learn about current exhibitions, installations and projects and current topics and perspectives in contemporary art through individual lectures by leading thinkers, curators and scholars. Free and open to the public. Tickets and reservations not required unless otherwise noted.

Seth Riskin
Doors: 5:30 p.m. | Lecture: 6-7 p.m. | Thursday, June 4, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater

Seth Riskin joins us from MIT to discuss Bright Golden Haze through the intersection of visual art and vision neuroscience. As a visual/performing artist and the manager of MIT Museum Studio and Compton Gallery, Riskin collaborates with neuroscientists to develop an interdisciplinary approach to human perception and visual art. Check out his performative lecture to learn more about the science of vision as it relates to our relationship with light.

FILM SCREENINGS

Sunday Matinee | Art21
Drop in the theater to view curated selections fromArt in the Twenty-First Century (Art21) handpicked to complement our opening exhibition. Art21 provides a window into contemporary art that is ordinarily hidden from public view, presenting artists in their private homes and studios, going behind-the-scenes to reveal how artworks and exhibitions are created. During Bright Golden Haze, join us on the last Sunday of the month for approximately 30-minute screenings featuring artists in the exhibition as well as additional artists exploring related themes or working in similar media. Courtesy Art21, art21.org, founded 1997.

James Turrell and Olafur Eliasson
30-minute screenings on the hour: 2, 3 and 4 p.m. Sunday, TBD
Main Building | Te Ata Theater

James Turrell in “Spirituality,” 2001 (12:47) and Olafur Eliasson in “Berlin,” 2018 (13:28)
From Art21’s Art in the Twenty-First Century series

Vija Celmins and Roni Horn
30-minute screenings on the hour: 2, 3 and 4 p.m. Sunday, April 26, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater

Vija Celmins in “Time,” 2003 (12:27) and Roni Horn in “Structures,” 2009 (13:09)
From Art21’s Art in the Twenty-First Century series

Carrie Mae Weems and Graciela Iturbide
30-minute screenings on the hour: 2, 3 and 4 p.m. Sunday, May 31, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater

Carrie Mae Weems in “Compassion,” 2009 (14:47) and Graciela Iturbide in “Investigation,” 2014 (17:01)
From Art21’s Art in the Twenty-First Century series

Florian Maier-Aichen and Trevor Paglen
30-minute screenings on the hour: 2, 3 and 4 p.m. Sunday, June 28, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater

Florian Maier-Aichen in “Fantasy” (12:34) and Trevor Paglen in “Secrets” (16:44)
From Art21’s Art in the Twenty-First Century series

Brian Jungen and John Feodorov
30-minute screenings on the hour: 2, 3 and 4 p.m. Sunday, July 26, 2020
Main Building | Te Ata Theater

Brian Jungen in “Vancouver” (12:41) and John Feodorov in “Spirituality” (9:01)
From Art21’s Art in the Twenty-First Century series

GALLERY TALKS
Gallery Educators, Oklahoma Contemporary staff, artists and special guests facilitate lively discussions about works on view in the current exhibition(s). Free and open to the public. Tickets and reservations not required unless otherwise noted.

Jennifer Scanlan
6-6:45 p.m. Thursday, TBD
Main Building | Eleanor Kirkpatrick Main Gallery

Oklahoma Contemporary’s curatorial and exhibitions director, Jennifer Scanlan, joins us to share her intimate knowledge of our opening exhibition Bright Golden Haze. With works by artists from around the world and in Oklahoma, the exhibition provides a unique perspective on how environment, identity and perception are shaped through the medium of light. Join Scanlan in the gallery to gain new insights into this visual journey exploring varied manifestations of light in artistic practice.

Pablo Barrera
6-6:45 p.m. Thursday, April 2, 2020
Main Building | Oklahoma Gallery

Oklahoma Contemporary’s curatorial fellow, Pablo Barrera (Wixáritari), joins us to share his curatorial perspective on Shadow on the Glare. This first exhibition in our third-floor gallery features photo and video works that critically respond to Bright Golden Haze’s themes of light and place — in this case, focusing particularly on the landscapes of Oklahoma. Join Barrera to learn more about this space dedicated to celebrating Oklahoma’s contributions to the contemporary art world, and the resonance between our local artists and their globally recognized peers in the main gallery.

Shadow on the Glare Artists
Join us to hear directly from artists featured in Shadow on the Glare. Examining how light contextualizes space, this exhibition amplifies the unique visions of Oklahoma artists contemplating Oklahoma settings. Learn more about these photographic, video and multimedia explorations of the Oklahoma landscape as we celebrate National Photography Month.

Keli Mashburn and Billy Palumbo
6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 7, 2020
Main Building | Oklahoma Gallery

M.J. Alexander and Marjorie Bontemps
6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21, 2020
Main Building | Oklahoma Gallery

Sam Charboneau and Gary Mason
6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 28, 2020
Main Building | Oklahoma Gallery

Jeff Price
6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 18, 2020
Main Building | Eleanor Kirkpatrick Main Gallery

Jeff Price, chair of game design and animation at Oklahoma City University’s School of Visual Arts, joins us to share his perspective and insights on John Gerrard’s Farm (Pryor Creek, Oklahoma). Gerrard’s work features simulated environments built from detailed photographic surveys. Following his talk, join Price for a demonstration in our digital lab to learn more about methods of 3-D modelling and building virtual realities.

Francesca Giani
6-6:45 p.m. Thursday, June 25, 2020
Main Building | Eleanor Kirkpatrick Main Gallery

Art history PhD candidate and Kerr fellow Francesca Giani joins us to discuss the Light and Space movement. In 1960s Southern California, Light and Space emerged as a loosely affiliated group of artists who explored light as a medium, using it to manipulate space and the viewer’s perceptual experience. Bright Golden Haze includes work by Robert Irwin and James Turrell, as well as other works inspired by the movement. Join Giani in the gallery to learn more about the context of Light and Space.

Allison Glenn
6-6:45 p.m. Thursday, July 16, 2020
Main Building | Eleanor Kirkpatrick Main Gallery

Allison Glenn, associate curator, contemporary art at Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, joins us to more closely examine Tavares Strachan’s I Belong Here (White). A seemingly simple statement, the work offers viewers the opportunity to reflect on who “I” is, where “here” is and what it means to belong. Join Glenn to engage with the work more deeply and take part in the conversation.

OTHER HAPPENINGS

Contemporary Cocktails
6-9 p.m. Thursdays, April 16, May 21, June 18, July 16, 2020
Main Building

Oklahoma Contemporary periodically invites local mixologists to develop cocktail offerings inspired by exhibitions on view. These creative libations are available for purchase by visitors 21 years and older during Thursday Night Late.

Architectural Tour | Rand Elliott
7-8 p.m. Thursday, April 9, 2020
Main Building | Herman and LaDonna Meinders Main Lobby

Hear directly from architect Rand Elliott about his vision and process for designing our new home. Our nearly 54,000 square-foot building is divided into four floors, featuring 8,000 square feet of gallery space, a theater, café, studios and more. Learn more about the building’s moniker, Folding Light, hear behind-the-scenes insights and get familiar with Oklahoma City’s new home for contemporary art.

Star Party | Oklahoma City Astronomy Club
7-9 p.m. Thursday, April 2, 2020
Main Building | Sculpture Park

Join the Oklahoma City Astronomy Club (OKCAC) for an evening of stargazing on the lawn. Volunteers from OKCAC will be on site with a number of telescopes to highlight different planets, stars and features in the sky. Bring your questions about space or astronomy – OKCAC volunteers will be excited to answer them all! Weather permitting.

Closing Party | Bright Golden Haze
6-9 p.m. Thursday, August 6, 2020
Multiple locations

Join us as we celebrate the closing of our opening exhibition! Surprises will be programmed throughout the Main Building and across campus.