Paintings of horses, deer and bulls on a cave wall

Cave paintings at Lascaux, France, circa 15,000 B.C.E.

Inspired by Abstract Remix’s innovative artworks, Second Saturday offers enormous good times with Mural Madness

Humans began making murals thousands of years ago – the cave paintings at Lascaux, France, are generally believed to be 17,000 years old, and the paintings of horses and deer created by those early cave dwellers were impressive even by modern standards. Even older are the ochre drawings in Blombos Cave in South Africa, which most archaeologists agree were created over 70,000 years ago.

Thousands of years later, in 2021, USA Today's 10Best declares Oklahoma City the "Best City for Street Art." And Second Saturday’s Mural Madness, inspired by our new exhibition Abstract Remix, is here for it, opening our campus to big imaginations. From noon to 3 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 9, families can make their own amazing indoor and outdoor murals at Oklahoma Contemporary. Christine Gibson, manager of Youth and Family Programs, said there will be plenty of large spaces to cover during Mural Madness.

“We're going to have everything going on,” Gibson said. “This Second Saturday, we’ll activate both our outside and our inside. So, inside, visitors will have the option to do a texture mural wall with some fabulous local artists. They're called Chriff n’ Kyn, and they're really super-fun. This is our first time working with them – they've done a lot of kid things or things around town – and they're kind of known for their texture mural walls.”

a figure crouches over colorfully chalked pavement with three figures out of focus in background.

Broadway Drive will be blocked off for chalk murals at Second Saturday.

In addition, B.C. Summers, an artist and Camp Contemporary instructor who works with light and projection, will be helping visitors create light murals.

“In our Creative Lounge, we'll be having fun with some Post-it Notes and show everyone how you can create murals with light and paper,” Gibson said.

But that is just on the inside of our beautiful building. Outdoors, visitors of all ages can complete a mural created by artist Katelynn Knick and design some moveable murals of their own. Adding to the fun will be DJ Kora Waves, who returns to Oklahoma Contemporary after DJ’ing our May 22 Teen Night. She will set up near the outside murals to keep the beats throughout the day.

“Outside on our street here, our little Broadway, we will be doing chalk murals,” Gibson said. “Katelynn is designing a spray paint chalk mural for us, and then the visitors will fill in with powder chalk, which is really fun.”

But that’s not all. “We're going to have one more mural project. We're going to use our moveable mural walls, and then for little visitors, we get some paint from paint sticks that they can just go to town on. They can do whatever they want to do on our mural walls.”

If visitors need an idea jump-start, they can enjoy a kid-friendly tour through the Abstract Remix exhibition.

A moveable mural wall at Oklahoma Contemporary.

“I would say it's a little bit more interactive,” Gibson said of the approach staffers take in helping young visitors understand works in our galleries. “We never talk down, because kids know what's up. So, instead of just telling them what a piece is, we have them respond it.”

“We share a little bit about the artists, but we’re really letting the kids give their thoughts about a piece of art. They can make up their own minds what it is before we tell them what the artists’ intentions were.”

Most of all, Second Saturday’s Mural Madness is a chance for kids to make an artistic mess — one of the most fun ways to express yourself.

“Oh, this is going to be a messy one,” Gibson said, laughing. “But sometimes it's great to get into a little mess.”