Oklahoma Arts Council News
February 2022
New Rural Grant Offering Provides $5,000 for Programs, Capacity-Building
A new grant program announced by the Oklahoma Arts Council in January offers up to $5,000 to organizations in select rural counties to support programming, capacity-building, and professional development.
Nonprofit organizations, units of local government, tribal nations, and libraries in 36 Oklahoma "Opportunity Counties" can apply for Rural Arts Opportunity Grants. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis for programs that are new or ongoing.
Eligible expenses that can be paid for using the grant include artistic and administrative payroll, consulting contracts, program-related marketing, and more.
The new grant program represents a strategic effort by the agency to reach areas of the state with limited or decreasing access to arts and cultural opportunities and resources. Opportunity Counties were identified through an analysis of Oklahoma Arts Council funding history and award distribution.
Organizations not located in an Opportunity County are encouraged to review funding available through our Small Grant Support, which provides three grants of up to $2,500 each per fiscal year.
Grant guidelines, an application preview, and more are available here.
Creative Aging Trainings Coming in March, April
The Oklahoma Arts Council's Creative Aging Initiative moves forward in March and April, with two online trainings featured for interested individuals. The trainings are being conducted in partnership with Lifetime Arts.
Creative Aging Design and Development for Teaching Artists will take place in two-hour increments over three days, March 28-30. Sessions will run from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Participants will learn about the development of skill-based, sequential instructional lessons for older adults. Best practices and exemplary programming will be highlighted. Register here.
Creative Aging Foundations Training for Arts, Senior Service, and Community Organizations will take place in two-hour increments over three days, April 4-6. Sessions will run from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Participants will learn about current research on arts and aging, best practices in the field, responsive programming development, and more. Register here.
Individuals who register for trainings will receive instructions at a later date for accessing the training portal in advance of the sessions.
The trainings follow the Oklahoma Arts Council's January town hall on Creative Aging, available to view here, which provided an update on the agency's initiative.
The initiative is made possible through support from the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) and Aroha Philanthropies.
DUNS Switching to UEI: Action Required
The use of DUNS numbers is coming to an end, as the federal government has announced it will soon transition to Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) numbers. With the impending changes, all entities applying for and receiving Oklahoma Arts Council grant funding will need to register for a UEI number. There is no cost to register and receive it.
In the coming weeks, organizations will receive instructions from the Oklahoma Arts Council on how to provide us your UEI number. UEI numbers will soon be required for the Oklahoma Arts Council to process FY2022 grant awards and all future grant awards.
The only action recommended at this time is that entities register for their UEI number.
For more information, visit the federal government's UEI transition resource page.
Apply to Be a Grant Review Panelist
Every year, as the Oklahoma Arts Council determines how to invest grant funding across the state, it relies on individuals outside the agency to provide valuable input. With more than 65 percent of the agency's budget dedicated to providing grant support statewide, outside grant review panelists play an important role in the agency's commitment to transparency as a steward of public funding.
The Oklahoma Arts Council accepts applications on an ongoing basis from Oklahomans interested in serving as grant review panelists. In addition to earning compensation, grant review panelists gain helpful insight into the grant application and assessment processes. The experience is also a means for advancing one's professional development.
Funding for the Creation of New, Original Artwork
Individual artists and arts-based nonprofits in Oklahoma and the six-state Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) region can receive up to $15,000 to support the creation of new, original artwork through M-AAA's Artistic Innovations program. The program encourages experimentation and exploration in the art-making process.
Projects supported through Artistic Innovations funding must include at least two public-facing events, including a premiere feature presentation of the work and an educational outreach event.
Deadline for submissions is February 16. The grant period of activity is July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.
Learn how to apply at maaa.org/grants/artistic-innovations.
NEA Announces Funding for Oklahoma Organizations
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced grant awards in several program areas in January. Ten Oklahoma organizations and one individual are among the list of applicants recommended for funding, totaling an investment in the state by the NEA of $715,000.
Grantees are:
- Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa (ahha Tulsa) – $10,000, Grants for Arts Projects
- Brady Craft (108 Contemporary, Tulsa) – $10,000, Challenge America
- City of Miami – $10,000, Challenge America
- Delaware Nation (Anadarko) – $150,000, American Rescue Plan Act
- Dewaine Farria (Harrah) – $25,000, Literature Fellowships: Creative Writing
- Greenwood Community Development Corporation (Tulsa) – $150,000, American Rescue Plan Act
- Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma (OKC) – $150,000, American Rescue Plan Act
- Oklahoma Arts Institute (OKC) – $50,000, Grants for Arts Projects
- Oklahoma Philharmonic Society (OKC) – $100,000, American Rescue Plan Act
- Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma (Miami) – $50,000, American Rescue Plan Act
- Poetic Justice (Tulsa) – $10,000, Challenge America
Applications due soon
Applications for the NEA's Grants for Arts Projects are being accepted through February 10, 2022. Learn how to apply.
Art Supplies Can Be Funded through OSDE, DonorsChoose Partnership
Art supplies are among the items teachers can purchase for their classrooms with funding available through the Oklahoma State Department of Education's (OSDE) newly announced partnership with DonorsChoose.
The partnership, which includes OSDE's dedication of $6 million in federal relief funds, allows any Oklahoma public school teacher to seek funding for projects.
Starting February 4, teachers can sign up to submit their project requests on the DonorsChoose website. Submissions require an essay with goals linking requested resources to student learning. Projects will be funded on a first-come, first-served basis.
Emerging Native Artists Can Apply for LIFT through March 16
Native Arts and Culture Foundation is accepting applications for its LIFT – Early Career Support for Native Artists program through March 16. The program provides one-year awards of $10,000 to develop and realize new projects. It also features professional development and an artist convening. Awardees will participate in trainings centered on project management, small business development, career advancement, and more. Artists working in a wide variety of disciplines can apply. Artists must have 10 years or less of experience. Through the program, artists are encouraged to uplift communities, advance positive social change, and foster communal meaning making. LIFT – Early Career Support for Native Artists aims to support artists as they develop their voices, serving as a launching point in their career.
Details about eligibility and an application overview are available here.
Chickasaw Governor Honored with National Arts Award
In January, Chickasaw Governor Bill Anoatubby was awarded the National Medal of State Arts Leadership by Americans for the Arts (AFTA) during the United States Conference of Mayors' 90th Winter Meeting. Anoatubby's honor was one of three awards presented at the 2022 Public Leadership in the Arts Awards, which took place during the conference.
Nolen V. Bivens, president and CEO of AFTA said Anoatubby and his fellow award recipients, "embody the best of what civic leaders can do to support the arts...They understand the important role that the arts play in advancing equity, uniting communities, preserving culture, and boosting the economy."
Bivens said AFTA was especially pleased to present the honor to an elected leader of an Indigenous nation for the first time.
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt was in attendance to accept the award on Anoatubby's behalf.
Elected Governor of the Chickasaw Nation in 1987, Anoatubby's three-plus decades of leadership have included a strategy for economic expansion with a focus on supporting and elevating Native art and artists. Among Anoatubby's awards for supporting the arts is a Governor's Award presented to him at the 1997 Oklahoma Governor's Arts Awards.
Curriculum Spotlight: Williams Blends Art, Science in Lessons for Young Students
Lead teaching artist for High Five Integrated Arts and longtime member of the Oklahoma Arts Council's Teaching Artist Roster, DWe Williams has designed a set of interdisciplinary lessons for her Oklahoma Online Fine Arts Curriculum.
"The Mighty Magnificent Monarch Butterfly" curriculum is written for young students, Kindergarten through 2nd grade, but is adaptable for other age groups. Addressing visual art concepts such as line, shape, value, color, texture, and space, activities in Williams' sessions focus on the design of symmetrical and assymetrical butterflies and other pollinators. Using colored pencils, crayons, paint, watercolors, markers, and more in their creations, students follow step-by-step instructions, employing art concepts as they learn about the science of butterflies and flowers.
Download Williams' three sessions here.
Oklahoma Online Fine Arts Curriculum is designed to address Oklahoma Academic Standards.
Raglin Excited to Reopen Capitol Galleries in Fall 2022
Few artists can claim they’ve held a residency at a 100-year-old hotel, in a “fish bowl” where hundreds of people can watch them work. Marissa Raglin is one. “It was truly magical,” she said of her 2017 stint as artist-in-residence at The Historic Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City. The unique experience was a forerunner to her latest one-of-a-kind opportunity – spearheading the reopening of art exhibitions in the galleries of the Oklahoma State Capitol.
In December, Raglin assumed the position of Curator of Capitol Exhibitions at the Oklahoma Arts Council, where she will work with Oklahoma artists showcasing their work in three spaces at the Capitol – the East, North, and Governor’s galleries. After a five-year hiatus, due to the restoration of the century-old building, exhibitions will resume later this year. Raglin is excited to have a lead role in giving people a new experience when they visit the Capitol.
“The Capitol has gone through so much,” said Raglin. “The cherry on top will be for the artwork to be back.”
In addition to reopening the three rotating galleries, Raglin has immersed herself in researching exhibition themes for returning the State Art Collection to the Betty Price Gallery, which is being relocated from the Capitol’s first floor to a highly trafficked area of the second floor.
It’s a tall order for Raglin, who must have exhibitions ready for all four galleries by fall 2022. Raglin is leaning on experience to accomplish the feat. In addition to the Skirvin residency, Raglin worked six years at the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, where, as Director of Museum Experience, she led the opening of new gallery space and curated exhibitions. Prior to the pandemic, Raglin managed events for the Myriad Gardens in Oklahoma City, where curating art exhibitions was among her duties. Internships with three Oklahoma museums and the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition also line her resume.
A common thread among Raglin’s varied experience is a love of bringing people together and fostering community. It’s a passion she aims to bring to the Capitol exhibitions, where her goals include expanding the types of art displayed and ensuring diverse representation of Oklahoma communities. Raglin wants the exhibitions to captivate the everyday visitor to the Capitol and provide them with a complete experience.
A few short years removed from her momentous 2017, where she used art to give people a unique, engaging, and unforgettable experience at a treasured 100-year-old hotel, Raglin is again ready to leverage the power of art in another historic space.
Raglin’s Other Ventures
Raglin’ passion for cultivating community through creativity keeps her busy. Outside her work with the Oklahoma Arts Council, she is a resident artist at Studio Six in the Paseo Arts District in Oklahoma City. She also co-founded Rally, a platform through which she integrates local artists and their art into unexpected spaces to create unique experiences that introduce visual art to new audiences. An artist herself, Raglin has exhibited her collage and mixed media works nationally.
Raglin can be contacted at marissa.raglin@arts.ok.gov or (405) 522-0143.