Your guide to the goings-on at your new arts center in February

Detail photograph of an angle of a metal building set against a blue sky

There's plenty happening throughout February at your new arts center in downtown Oklahoma City. (Photo: Alex Marks)

It might be cold out, but things are heating up at your new arts center in February. With the opening of our upcoming Ed Ruscha: OKLA exhibition, along with the ongoing Fieldworks: Beyond Measure and tons of related public programming and education opportunities, there's plenty to see and do at Oklahoma Contemporary -- both virtually and in person -- over the next 30 days. From a Valentine's Day weekend linocut screenprinting workshop to captivating conversations, performances and more, take a look at a few of the events planned for February and start marking your calendars for a month of art-forward fun.

Four people work on hands-on art activities while sitting in the grass

General registration for Camp Contemporary: Spring Break opens Feb. 8.

Feb. 1 and 8: Camp Contemporary - Spring Break | Registration opens

Want to get your kids out of their online rut and into something creative this spring break? Spring Camp Contemporary will be held in person in our socially distanced studios and across our campus, March 15-19. To ensure a fun, engaging and safe environment, each camp -- led by professional local teaching artists and studio assistants -- will be limited to 10 students. As part of the week’s experiences, campers will take a Gallery Guide-led, interactive tour of the Ed Ruscha: OKLA exhibition. Make this spring break one to remember by registering your young artist in Camp Contemporary.

Member registration opened Monday, Feb. 1 at 10 a.m. CST. General registration opens Monday, Feb. 8 at 10 a.m. CST.

A masked person demonstrates watercolor painting techniques on a video conference call

Feb. 7: Studio School | Register for four-week February classes

Resolving to be more creative in 2021? Studio School at Oklahoma Contemporary is here to help. Registration for online, in-person and hybrid four-week February classes -- including Public Sculpture 101, Stop Motion Animation, Experimental Screenprinting and Color Theory -- closes on Sunday, Feb. 7. Unlike browsing YouTube tutorials or sitting in on an impersonal open course, Studio School’s live, small courses emphasize individualized instruction and coaching in a fun atmosphere for adults and teens. Some of our February options are via Zoom, others are in our outdoor studio -- and one course utilizes both formats.

February will also feature two fun workshops from our Friday Night Series courses taught by experienced working artists. Immortalize your favorite non-human companion with Pet Portraits in Acrylic on Feb. 5, or double up with that special someone for a Valentine's Day Weekend workshop on linocut printmaking on Feb. 12.

A person creates sounds using effects peddles nd natural materials near a riverbank underneath an overpass

Feb. 11: Performance | Warren Realrider responds to Fieldworks: Beyond Measure

Join us online for an experimental sound response to our current exhibition Fieldworks: Beyond Measure, on view in the Mary LeFlore Clements Oklahoma Gallery. Warren Realrider (Pawnee/Crow) is a multidisciplinary sound artist who uses contemporary music technology to process and deconstruct sound and create compositions that respond to location, context and space. Warren’s in-gallery performance expands upon Fieldworks’ exploration of landscapes in the American Southwest and the ways humans leave traces on the land.

Realrider's performance kicks off at 7 p.m. CST on Thursday, Feb. 11. Tune in on Facebook, YouTube or right here on our website.

An artistic drawing of the letter "E," with doodles inside the design containing the words "Oklahoma" and "Comics"

Oklahoma E (1962) by Ed Ruscha

Feb. 18: Exhibitions | Ed Ruscha: OKLA opens

Don't miss this free exhibition from one of the most important figures in contemporary art. Visitors to Ed Ruscha: OKLA at Oklahoma Contemporary’s new 4.6-acre campus at NW 11th and Broadway in OKC can expect a rich retrospective exploring Ruscha's connection to his home state, structured around four major themes running throughout his diverse body of work.

"We’re excited to share this landmark exhibition with our visitors, and hope the programs created by our incredible educational and curatorial teams can leverage Ruscha’s work to inspire the next generation of artists in Oklahoma," said Oklahoma Contemporary Artistic Director Jeremiah Matthew Davis.

Ed Ruscha: OKLA runs from Thursday, Feb. 18 through Tuesday, July 5 in the Eleanor Kirkpatrick Main Gallery. Free tickets available beginning Thursday, Feb. 4. (Members get exclusive sneak-peek access!)

A book cover with the title "Ed Ruscha's Los Angeles" depicts a detail from an artistic rendering of a cafe sign

Feb. 25: In Conversation | Jeremiah Davis and Alexandra Schwartz with Jeff Briley

With Ed Ruscha: OKLA, Oklahoma Contemporary presents the first solo exhibition of the artist’s work presented in the city of his childhood. Join us for a conversation between Jeremiah Matthew Davis, Oklahoma Contemporary’s artistic director, and Alexandra Schwartz, co-curator for Ed Ruscha: OKLA, to explore how Oklahoma has influenced the artist’s aesthetic sensibility. Moderated by Jeff Briley, deputy director of the Oklahoma History Center, this conversation will shed light on how much the visual culture and language of Ruscha’s upbringing have served as sources of inspiration throughout his decades’ long artistic career.

This illuminating discussion kicks off at 7 p.m. CST on Thursday, Feb. 25. Tune in on Facebook, YouTube or right here on our website.