NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
December 22, 2008
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Ann Dee Lee
Public Information Director
Oklahoma Arts Council
(405) 521-2931
anndee@arts.ok.gov
GROUP EXHIBIT FEATURES MANGUM’S ARTISTS ALLEY
AT STATE CAPITOL
Oklahoma City, OK –Historic downtown Mangum is the home of Artists Alley, a group of studios and galleries that serves as an example of entrepreneurship in a small community. An exhibit by four artists from Artists Alley will be on display through February 22nd in the Governor’s Gallery at the State Capitol. Curated by the Oklahoma Arts Council, the Governor’s Gallery is located on the 2nd floor and open Monday through Friday from 8:30-5:00.
Pleasant Nest Pottery, a studio, instructional space and gallery, features Norma Williams’ raku and high-fire stoneware. Williams also works with naked raku, coloring her pottery through exposure to smoke. Denise Alexander’s Darka Designs is an art gallery that exhibits her own mosaic work, as well as the works of local artists and those as far away as Boise City. Laurie Thompson focuses on animals and unique wildlife pieces of various media in the Rockin’ T Studio. Thompson’s work consists of photographs of wildlife, works on traditional media and painting on bone. At Kate Johnson’s OK Cowboy Art, her pen & ink and pencil art reflects the traditional and vanishing ways of cowboy life in southwest Oklahoma.
In 2007, the artists petitioned the City of Mangum and were successful in changing the name of West Court Street, located just to the west side of the town square, to Artists Alley. The artists worked successfully as a loose consortium and in conjunction with the area art club, Art on the Square Association, began to develop plans to add more arts and culture to their community. As they entered local shows and were successful in bringing home prizes, the artists brought regional and state recognition to Mangum and Greer County and have had an impact on the local economy.
Now this quaint little street has been recognized by several state agencies and promoted in broadcast and print. In 2007 Artist Alley received the Oklahoma Department of Commerce Century Program Award for Community Support and the Red Bud Merit Award for outstanding New Attraction by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation. Their works of arts have been featured by several media outlets including Art Focus Magazine by the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition and Discover Oklahoma on OETA.
For more information, contact Ann Dee Lee, Public Information Director, Oklahoma Arts Council, (405) 521-2931 or anndee@arts.ok.gov.
ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA ARTS COUNCIL
The Oklahoma Arts Council is a state agency whose mission is to improve lives through the arts by promoting and sustaining the development of a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education and economic vitality for all Oklahomans.
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