OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Arts Council has announced the names of individuals selected to participate in the 2015 Leadership Arts program. The list includes 35 individuals from 27 Oklahoma communities who will convene throughout the spring to learn how to develop and advance their communities through the arts.
The 2015 class includes artists in the literary, performing and visual arts, college professors, community developers, educators, gallery owners, military veterans, nonprofit arts managers, professional designers and writers, small business owners, and others. Members of the 2015 class will join more than 200 individuals from 70 communities statewide who have completed the program since its inception in 2008. Eleven communities will be represented for the first time in 2015.
Related story: Leadership Arts 2015 set for Guthrie this week
Oklahoma Arts Council Executive Director Amber Sharples said the Leadership Arts program is generating success for Oklahoma.
“Throughout our fifty year history as a state agency, the Oklahoma Arts Council has made the arts accessible across the state. With eleven new communities represented in this year’s Leadership Arts class, we continue to see the potential for developing leaders who can amplify our efforts and strengthen the role of the arts in communities statewide,” Sharples said.
The Oklahoma Arts Council places a high priority on geographic, cultural, and professional diversity during the application process.
Guthrie Agenda
Wednesday, March 25
12:30 p.m. Check-in
1:00 p.m. Welcome to Guthrie
1:30 p.m. About the Oklahoma Arts Council’s Cultural District Initiative
2:45 p.m. Small Group Activity: Cultural Arts Districts
4:15 p.m. Walking Tour of Guthrie Arts Spaces
6:30 p.m. Dinner at Stables
Thursday, March 26
9:00 a.m. Check-in
9:15 a.m. Presentation – Oklahomans for the Arts
9:45 a.m. Quality of Life Presentations
11:00 a.m. Small Group Activity: The Economic Impact of the Arts
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:15 p.m. Small Group Activity
3:00 p.m. Adjourn
***Events scheduled at Prairie Gothic located at 115 N. 2nd Street
About Leadership Arts
Through the Leadership Arts program, individuals receive in-depth training and strategies for using arts and cultural resources to strengthen local economies, improve education, and enhance quality of life. Approximately 30 class members are selected each year to meet during four two-day spring sessions where they participate in panel discussions, group activities, hands-on learning, and tours of community art spaces.
Class sessions for the 2015 program will take place at the Chickasaw Conference and Retreat Center in Sulphur (February 25-26), Guthrie (March 25-26), Bartlesville (April 22-23), and Oklahoma City (May 20-21). Class members will graduate during the Oklahoma Arts Conference in Tulsa on October 21-22.
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 the communities of Sulphur, Guthrie, Bartlesville, and Oklahoma City.
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