OKLAHOMA CITY – Thirty-two individuals from 22 Oklahoma communities are set to join a growing list of community arts leaders in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Arts Council today announced the names of its 2013 Leadership Arts program class members. Members receive in-depth instruction on how to use local arts and cultural resources for economic development, improved education, and enhanced quality of life.
The 2013 class includes business owners, civic leaders, chamber of commerce and convention and visitor bureau officials, nonprofit art organization directors, artists, and educators. Seven Oklahoma communities will be represented by participants for the first time.
During four two-day spring sessions, class members participate in panel discussions, group activities, and tours of community art spaces. 2013 sessions will take place at the Quartz Mountain Resort and Arts Conference Center near Lone Wolf (February 20-21), the Coleman Theatre in Miami (March 20-21), the Forest Heritage Center and the Red River Museum near Broken Bow (April 24-25), and Oklahoma City (May 22-23). Class members will graduate during the Oklahoma Arts Conference in Ardmore October 22-23, 2013.
Molly O’Connor, Oklahoma Arts Council cultural development director said, “We’re excited to be reaching new communities through the Leadership Arts program this year. Past graduates are actively utilizing what they learned through Leadership Arts to advance the arts in their home communities. We are seeing this across the state in the metro areas as well as smaller communities such as Alva, Ada and Tahlequah. With this year’s class, we are able to further expand our reach to community representatives from places like Altus, Miami, Woodward, and Kingfisher.”
Since the first Leadership Arts class in 2008, 147 individuals have graduated from the program.
Leadership Arts is sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council and funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. The program is a project of the Oklahoma Arts Council in cooperation with Quartz Mountain Resort, Forest Heritage Center, Red River Museum, and the communities of Miami, Oklahoma City, and Ardmore.
The Oklahoma Arts Council places a high priority on geographic diversity during the application process. Listed by community, members of the 2013 class of Leadership Arts include:
Ada, Debra Collins Bailey (Chickasaw Nation Division of Arts and Humanities)
Altus, Jennie Buchanan (Museum of the Western Prairie)
Altus, Kathy Hale (Southern Prairie Library System)
Ardmore, Nicki Wood (Greater Southwest Historical Museum)
Broken Arrow, Benita Brewer (Focal Point Artists Studio and Gallery)
Chickasha, Jonathan Manning (Oasis Studios & Gallery)
Cleveland, Shannan Freeman (Cleveland Chamber of Commerce)
Cromwell, Mary Richardson (Seminole Nation Museum)
Duncan, Stacy Cramer Moore (Chisholm Trail Heritage Center)
Edmond, Ebony Iman Dallas (Afrikanation Artists Organization)
Edmond, Lisa Allswede (Funky Box Studios)
Enid, Marcy Jarrett (Enid Convention & Visitors Bureau)
Eufaula, Selian Jayne-Dornan (City of Eufaula)
Guthrie, Lucy Swanson (Guthrie Chamber of Commerce)
Guthrie, Mary Coffin (Guthrie Chamber of Commerce and CVB)
Kingfisher, Shel Wagner (Discover Oklahoma)
Lawton, Shelley Lytle (Lawton Community Theatre)
Miami, Ann Neal (First National Bank and Trust Co. of Miami, OK)
Miami, Jessica Stout (NEO A&M College)
Norman, Jonathan Fowler (Fowler Volkswagen of Norman)
Norman, Kevin Smith (Cimarron Opera)
Norman, Stephen Koranda (Norman Convention and Visitors Bureau)
Oklahoma City, Amy Young (Sixtwelve)
Oklahoma City, Cassie Gage (Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department)
Oklahoma City, Gayle Curry (Paseo Arts Association)
Shawnee, Daniel Lay (Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art)
Tahlequah, Doug Moore (City of Tahlequah)
Tulsa, Isaac Rocha (The Bama Companies, Inc.)
Tulsa, Janet Duvall (Tulsa Glassblowing School)
Tulsa, Marjorie Bontemps (AHHA Hardesty Art Center)
Westville, Brenda Bradford (Northeastern State University)
Woodward, Charles Burns (Woodward Arts Theatre)
About the Oklahoma Arts Council
The Oklahoma Arts Council is the official state agency for the support and development of the arts. The Council’s mission is to lead, cultivate and support a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education and economic vitality for all Oklahomans.
And Mary is going too!