TULSA ARTIST FELLOWSHIP"s announces it's OPEN CALL AWARD PROGRAM

TULSA ARTIST FELLOWSHIP ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF ITS PLACE-BASED OPEN CALL AWARD PROGRAM, ANNUALLY WELCOMING A TEN ARTIST COHORT FOR A THREE-YEAR RESIDENCY EACH ROUND OF COHORTS TO RECEIVE MORE THAN $1.95 MILLION IN SUPPORT AND STUDIO SPACES IN TULSA   Fortifying its commitment to fostering a vibrant art community, Tulsa Artist Fellowship seeks the best artistic minds of today’s cultural landscape  to work on impactful projects in Tulsa, Oklahoma Visitor at Tulsa Artist Fellow Karl Jones’ studio during July First Friday Open Studios. Photo: Melissa Lukenbaugh.

Tulsa, Oklahoma – Tulsa Artist Fellowship (TAF) announces the expansion of its place-based open call award program. Under the new paradigm, TAF will annually welcome ten artists for a three-year award term. Each round of cohorts will receive more than $1.95 million in support and awarded resources such as TAF’s studio spaces and shared art-making facilities in Tulsa. The new award model advances TAF’s mission to support independent arts practitioners and serve as a global model for mobilizing communities through the transformative power of the arts.   The transformation will commence with the 2024 cohort. Awardees will commit to actualizing proposed work during the three-year program term, offering the required expertise necessary to achieve the project goals while engaging with the community of Tulsa and broader audiences.   With the intention of seeking out exceptional candidates, TAF will annually appoint 30 arts experts, including regional, national, and international professionals who represent a wide spectrum of artistic disciplines, to join the review process while leveraging their network of experienced creatives. Implementing this structure will deepen TAF’s connection to diverse communities and practices that constitute the field of art. Top project proposals will be evaluated by a selection panel composed of TAF stakeholders, including but not limited to program advisors, collaborators, past award recipients, and TAF staff.   TAF continues to contribute to the city of Tulsa by supporting and encouraging a dynamic and ever-changing community of artists and arts workers who are eager to engage, inspire, and creatively invest in the city. TAF fosters an equitable environment where a diverse and inclusive   community of artists have the opportunity to thrive and express their artistic practices freely.   Carolyn Sickles, Tulsa Artist Fellowship Executive Director, remarks, “Building on the work that Tulsa Artist Fellowship has achieved so far in collaboration with the George Kaiser Family Foundation, we are thrilled to expand the residency program with additional support provided to our artist and arts worker award recipients. Mindful of the challenges that artistic practitioners often experience while gathering and sustaining resources, we strive to remove these barriers. Centering the needs of creative community builders and innovators will further our overarching mission of fostering a thriving cultural community in Tulsa.”   Underscoring TAF’s commitment to establishing long-lasting relationships with fellowship recipients, Tulsa Artist Fellowship recently appointed past awardee Nathan Young. Young joined TAF’s leadership team with film producer and curator Michelle Lee Svenson, both as Artistic Program Producers. In their new roles, Young and Svenson support TAF’s overarching mission to champion contemporary artists and art workers within the Tulsa community by providing vision and guidance for the artistic functions of the fellowship.   Reporting to Executive Director Carolyn Sickles, Young and Svenson started their new posts while TAF inaugurated its Flagship public project space located at 112 N Boston Ave E, Tulsa, OK 74103, in Tulsa’s historic downtown district. The 2,421 square-foot space was designed as an integrated and dynamic space for arts-centered community exchange. Under the innovative vision of TAF’s leadership, the 2022 artistic season has included TVLSE: Converging Indigenous Artcurated by Lois Taylor Biggs (White Earth Ojibwe/Cherokee) and Jordan Poorman Cocker (Kiowa/Tongan) in collaboration with Tulsa Artist Fellow Yatika Starr Fields (Osage/Cherokee/Muscogee) recently featured in First American Art Magazine; Tulsa Artist Fellow Kalup Linzy’s inaugural Queen Rose Art House resident performances and Not Ready to Say Goodbye (Green Country Edition) with Price Tower Arts Center; Sun Smoke performance featuring Tulsa Artist Fellow Shane Darwent and musician Lea Bertucci with New York City-based Spencer Brownstone Gallery; DOSSIER: TRANSLATION IN TULSA highlight in Latin American Literature Today featuring awardees Arthur Malcolm Dixon, Jennifer Croft, George Henson, Steve Bellin-Oka, and Rhett McNeil; War Club: Intergenerational Practices of Activism co-hosted with Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, The University of Oklahoma; International Transgender Day of Visibility Mural & Augmented Reality Installation organized with Karl Jones of Studio 66, Tulsa Artist Fellow book launches of A Calm & Normal Heart by Chelsea T. Hicks, The Black Girls Left Standing by Juliana Goodman, and The Creative Field Guide of Northeastern Oklahoma by Liz Blood.   How to Apply Tulsa Artist Fellowship's 2024-2026 award application will open for submissions from January 18, 2023 – February 16, 2023. Arts and arts workers of all disciplines demonstrating an established practice and innovative project proposal are encouraged to apply.   For more information, please visit https://www.tulsaartistfellowship.org. Follow Tulsa Artist Fellowship on Instagram and Facebook.   About Tulsa Artist Fellowship Established in 2015, Tulsa Artist Fellowship was created as a place-based arts initiative by the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF), that addresses pressing challenges for contemporary artists and arts workers living in and joining the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. A central part of the Fellowship’s initiative is to bring, enliven, and participate in Tulsa’s growing and thriving arts community. TAF supports contemporary artists across all mediums and is committed to celebrating diversity in all its forms and freedom of expression.   About George Kaiser Family Foundation George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) is a charitable organization dedicated to providing equal opportunity for young children through investments in early childhood education, community health, social services, and civic enhancement. GKFF believes that Tulsa is a land of opportunity. A generous and welcoming community, this city is not bound by traditional conventions. GKFF is dedicated to making Tulsa the best city for children to be born, grow and succeed. #tulsaartistsfellowship#fineartmagazine#fellowshipartistfun