The Oklahoma Contemporary blog, New Light, is your source for dynamic, original content surrounding the exhibitions, public programming and educational initiatives of your new arts center. Now we're making it easier for you to find the best of this content in one place with our new Read page, designed to be your guide to exploring the world of contemporary art and sparking your own creativity through stories, interviews, guest posts, at-home activities and so much more.

Two people look at paintings hung on white walls in a gallery.

Works by inaugural ArtNow Focus award winner Bert Seabourn inside ArtNow 2021. (Photo by AJ Stegall Photography)

Exhibitions

Get up close and personal with exhibiting artists at Oklahoma Contemporary through Q&A interviews, longform profiles, articles and more.

What Is in a Name?
Food is More Than Sustenance
Fugitive Speech: Narratives Through Art
From Guadalajara to OKC: A Look at La casa
A Brief History of Gonzalo Lebrija
"Don't Sweat the Technique": A Farewell to Nature's Course
From Dust Bowl to Vietnam
#ThursdayThree: John Newsom
Bumbling Bees and Slithering Snakes: An Immersive Experience
A Challenge to the Traditional
#ThursdayThree with Bert Seabourn
Artist Spotlight: Kyle Larson
Artist Spotlight: Mandy Messina
Inside Crystal Z Campbell: Flight
We Believed in the Sun Conjures Memories
Inside Ed Ruscha: OKLA
Artist Spotlight: Jen Lewin
#ThursdayThree with Leo Villareal
Inside Bright Golden Haze with the Teen Arts Council
Artist Spotlight: Sam Charboneau
Artist Spotlight: Gary Mason (nosamyrag)
#ThursdayThree with Camille Utterback
#ThursdayThree with Yatika Fields
Inside Fieldworks: Beyond Measure

A group of four people sits on a blanket outdoors in a designated circle on a green lawn

Second Saturdays at Oklahoma Contemporary are just one of the public programs brought to you by your new arts center.

Public Programs

When it comes to the dynamic public programming at your new arts center, there are plenty of stories to tell. Check out the selections below to get an idea about how Oklahoma Contemporary encourages creativity in all its forms through dynamic public happenings.

A Breathtaking Duet at the Bottom of the Sea
*Clink clink*: Art of Beer Is Almost Here
Guadalajara and OKC: Welcome to Open House
'The World of Sonic Possibilities'
Sanctuary Redefined: Listening to Black Women
"My Role Is to Listen: My Role Is to Yield"
Survival Stories
Jonathan Wei explores the stories behind desegregation in Dead Languages
Painted Sky Opera brings contemporary opera As One to the Te Ata Theater
History livestreams from the North Lawn with Fire in Little Africa
OKC dance company brings original performance to Campbell Art Park
Curator Pablo Barrera takes you inside Shadow on the Glare
Spotlight Concert Series wraps up its celebration of local music
#ThursdayThree with Christina Beatty
Two Indigenous artists talk craft ahead of Second Saturday event

A detail shot of a building's upper corner at dusk, with a sign containing the following text: The Studios

The Studios at Oklahoma Contemporary

Studio School

Want to pick up a new skill or master an old one? Below you'll find some of our best content surrounding Studio School, our arts education program connecting the community with teaching artists through four and eight-week classes and workshops.

Building Creative Foundations
Cake and More: A Studio School Winter Roundup
Studio School Spotlight: Taylor Martin
Autumnal Vibes Ahead
Studio School Spotlight: Iman Knox
Find Your Fit
A Summer Staycation
Studio School Spotlight: Amy Young
Remind Your Fingers They Can Do More than Scroll
The Art of School: new creative adventures
#ThursdayThree with James Cooper
Fall into Studio School
Studio School Heats up Summer
#Thursday Three with Jacob Frost
#Thursday Three with Monica Jo Raphael
Studio School returns with a new slate of winter classes and workshops
Quillworker Monica Jo Raphael brings a family tradition to Studio School Online
Studio School instructor Tess Elliot on her new ecology-minded art app
#ThursdayThree with Adrienne Lalli Hills
Studio School Online takes arts education into the virtual space
Oklahoma Contemporary's new digital residency program explores community and resilience in the time of COVID-19

A photo of a square, black box made of fabric, resembling a starry night sky and containing a small light source that faintly illuminates its surroundings

Starry Night Light #AtHomeArt project from Oklahoma Contemporary Youth and Family Staff

#AtHomeArt

Need to scratch that creative itch? Sponsored by SONIC Drive-In and presented by Oklahoma Contemporary Youth and Family staff, our #AtHomeArt series has a creative project for everyone.

#AtHomeArt: Hanging Sculpture
#AtHomeArt: Aqueous Mobile
#AtHomeArt: Abstract Art Dice Game
#AtHomeArt: Natural Dyes
#AtHomeArt: Starry Night Light
#AtHomeArt: Blackout Poetry

An artistic rendering based on the film Twister, featuring two people with a tornado and flying cow in the background

Twister (1995) is one of the Oklahoma Contemporary staff selections featured in the ongoing #FridayFilms series.

#FridayFilms

Wondering what to stream next weekend? Our #FridayFilms series is here for all your viewing needs. Featuring staff picks, curated selections, essays and more, you'll find something for everyone in these regular installments of art-forward flicks.

#FridayFilms: From New York with Love
#FridayFilms: Movies about Painters
#FridayFilms: Women Animators
#FridayFilms: Oklahoma Native Filmmakers
#FridayFilms: Portraying Black Lives
#FridayFilms: Movies About Music
#FridayFilms: The Art of Cuisine
#FridayFilms: Road Trip Movies
#FridayFilms: Future Freakouts
#FridayFilms: Okie Cinema

A person wearing a headset mic sits at a operating multiple computer screens at a cluttered desk

Carl Faber, lighting designer for Oklahoma Contemporary's Odyssey livestream reading

Etc.

Of course, not all of our dynamic online content fits in the above categories. For everything else -- from technical insights into our public virtual public programs to guest posts from exhibiting artists and more -- check out the selection below.

#ThursdayThree: Steve Boyd
#ThursdayThree: BC Summers
#ThursdayThree: OCTAC's Teen Night
#ThursdayThree: Laura Rice
Lighting Designer Carl Faber on Oklahoma Contemporary's epic Odyssey livestream
#ThursdayThree with Quraysh Ali Lansana
Oklahoma Contemporary Teen Arts Council amplifies adolescent voices
Purposeful Playlists: Sounds from the Field
Studio-in-Place artist Tess Elliot on her ecology-minded art app
Oklahoma Contemporary Associate Curator Pablo Barrera on the value of bringing Indigenous perspectives to contemporary art

To explore the complete New Light archive in chronological order, click here.