Now Accepting Exhibition Proposals for MAINSITE Contemporary Art

After a brief pause of accepting exhibition proposals for MAINSITE Contemporary Art while transitioning between executive directors, Norman Arts Council is happy to again accept those from interested artists and curators.

While generally booked out upwards of two years in advance, MAINSITE has availability beginning in 2025 that Norman Arts desires to showcase exciting artistic voices from Oklahoma and beyond. Exhibition proposals for both the entire main gallery and half of the space will be considered.

Emerging artistic talent can also submit to be featured in the Library Gallery, a smaller exhibition space at the back of the main gallery that has been utilized for new art talent over the past decade.

MAINSITE Contemporary Art has been operated by Norman Arts Council since 2012, becoming a hub of 2nd Friday Norman Art Walks and displaying work from the likes of local, regional, national and international art talent. It boasts 4,000 square feet of exhibition space with 13.5 foot ceilings and floor to ceiling glass fronts bringing in bountiful natural light from Main Street in the Walker Arts District of Downtown Norman.

Exhibition proposals should include:

• Exhibition narrative to illuminate the purpose and themes behind the proposed exhibition

• Artist statement

• CV

• Examples of previous work and/or link to portfolio

• Social media handles and/or artist’s website

• Any other relevant information

If you are interested in an exhibition in the Main Gallery of MAINSITE Contemporary Art, please email Leslie Nottingham at leslie@normanarts.org, while those interested in the Library Gallery should reach out to Travis Catalano at travis@normanarts.org.

Proposals are currently being accepted on an ongoing basis, but availability fills fast, so those interested in exhibiting at MAINSITE should submit their exhibition proposals in a timely manner.

For more information on exhibiting at MAINSITE, please reach out to the aforementioned contacts for each gallery space.

Call for Artists: Stillwater Regional Airport Mural RFQ

Stillwater Regional Airport Mural
Deadline: July 1, 2024

Submit Qualifications
Download the RFQ

The Oklahoma Arts Council, in partnership with Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, and Stillwater Regional Airport, seeks an artist or artist team to create a dynamic and visually impactful mural that will welcome people from around the world to Oklahoma. The mural will benefit state tourism and commerce objectives while fostering pride for residents.

For the mural, artists will include their interpretation of the Official Brand of the State of Oklahoma, incorporating the phrase, "Welcome to Oklahoma." The vision for the work is a signature mural that projects Oklahoma as an ideal place for people to live, work, and thrive. Colorful imagery and a unified aesthetic are priorities.

The artwork will be located on an exterior wall at the terminal's entrance, in a publicly accessible area where passengers arrive at and exit the terminal. The walls that will accommodate the mural measure approximtely 312 square feet.

The artist or artist team selected will receive $6,000 to create the mural. Artists will be responsible for design, fabrication, delivery, and installation of the artwork within the given budget. All costs associated with the project are covered by the budget. 

This opportunity is open to artists living in Oklahoma.

Deadline for submissions is July 1, 2024. Download the RFQ for complete details about the project.

Submit qualifications here.

Norman Arts Council Announces Mural Incentive Program for Local Business and Property Owners

Prairie Rhythms, a collaborative mural from OU School of Visual Arts students located in Downtown Norman, coordinated in part by the Public Art Committee in Fall 2023

The Norman Arts Council and the Norman Public Art Committee are excited to announce the 2024 Mural Incentive Program. This program is intended to enhance the cultural landscape of Norman, Oklahoma by providing matching funds of up to $10,000 to business and property owners who wish to invest in a mural on the exterior of their space.

The program was born out of equal parts community interest and support from The City of Norman, which provided the funding to launch the program.

“The idea for this began when I was driving around Downtown Norman and took photos of blank walls, posted them to Facebook with captions asking how great these wall would look with a mural on them,” said Cody Giles, the chair of the Norman Public Art Committee. “People seemed to gravitate toward the idea, then I was reached out to by Councilmember Matt Peacock to see how The City of Norman could help make something happen. After a conversation, we had a plan and that plan turned into this incentive program after a generous pilot program of funding from the city.”

Murals must be located in the city limits of Norman and highly visible to the general public. Submitters can apply for 1 to 1 matching funds of up to $10,000, enabling the possibility of significant public murals to give new life to walls across the city. Non-profit organizations and entities are exempt from matching funds, unless the project budget exceeds $10,000

Those submitting for funding can use any mural artist of their choosing, or, utilize Norman Arts Council’s assistance by looking through our Pre-Qualified Mural Artist Pool highlighting three dozen, vetted and talented Oklahoma mural artists or use NAC to manage a Call for Proposals for the intended mural site.

There are funding requirements that ensures that the business or property owners submitting for matching funding not only have a vested interest in the process but also guarantees that artists — most of which are likely to be local to Oklahoma — are properly paid and supported. This includes minimum pay per square foot and design fees to artists.

“The spirit of the incentive program is to not just get murals up on blank walls, but to get more artists paid, and paid better,” Giles said. “The Public Arts Committee intentionally created the requirement that an artist must make at least $25 per square foot in order to be close to the national average for such projects.”

Applications for funding will be reviewed on a rolling basis with no set deadline. There is limited funding available, though, so interested applicants are encouraged to submit as soon as possible.

Hopes are high that with a positive response from local business and property owners, artists and the community at large, the pilot program will become a regular fixture and spur on more and more murals across the entirety of Norman for years to come.

“I am really excited to see this be successful and have this pilot program be something that is re-upped each year,” Giles said. “Public art is so important for a city’s identity as well as its artistic expression. The Public Arts Committee welcomes the public to join us in our efforts of creating more, future public art opportunities.”

Now Hiring: Norman Arts Council Marketing and Communications Manager

Now Hiring:
Marketing and Communications Manager
Applications Due Friday, June 21, 2024

Job Title: Marketing and Communications Manager

Organization: Norman Arts Council

Location: Norman, Oklahoma

Status: Full-time, exempt, salaried

Compensation: $38,000 - $45,000 depending on skills and experience, health insurance, Simple IRA, and flexible work environment including generous time-off policy and some remote work.

Overview:

The Norman Arts Council is a dynamic and influential organization dedicated to fostering the growth and vitality of the arts community in the region. We provide crucial support and leadership to numerous arts organizations, maintain a vibrant community art space, and serve as a model of excellence for state and regional arts groups. We seek an exceptional Marketing and Communications Manager who can champion the arts, collaborate effectively with the, staff, artists, and arts community leaders, and drive innovation and growth within the organization.

The Marketing and Communications Manager reports to the Executive Director.

Key Functions:

1. Marketing & Communications

• Create annual strategies for marketing campaigns and implement them through social media and other digital platforms, website, email newsletters, press releases, and other tools for communication.

• Create a digital marketing plan, monitoring social trends to keep content current and identify weaknesses to take actions for improvement

• Research trends and best practices in marketing, social technologies, new media and peers in similar non-profit arts organizations both locally and nationally

• Produce and distribute press releases and materials to relevant media outlets

• Ensure that Norman Arts Council brand and identity is adhered to across communication channels, website, press releases and when in collaboration with other, outside organizations.

2. Social Media

• Manage social media pages for Norman Arts Council (Facebook, Instagram, X), 2nd Friday Norman Art Walk (Facebook & X) and MAINSITE Contemporary Art (Facebook & X)

• Expand Norman Arts Council into new platforms, as desired and/or needed

• Coordinate the creation of engaging content to share with followers

• Monitor social media regularly to answer questions and comments from public

• Check social media analytics monthly to identify what is and isn’t working

3. Graphic Design

• Maintain graphic standards of the NAC and a vibrant, creative brand befitting of a vital arts organization

• Design and/or refresh materials and collateral needed for promotional efforts of Norman Arts events and artist opportunities

• Create look/brand of new initiatives, programs and events as needed

• Monthly 2nd Friday poster design

• Create materials for in-house use, including but not limited to annual appeal campaigns, stationary/office materials, ONE Event fundraiser, corporate sponsor packets and more

4. Website

• Regularly update websites (NormanArts.org, 2ndFridayNorman.com and MAINSITE-Art.com) to keep content current (all hosted and designed through Squarespace)

• Expand websites as needed to promote and serve the organization

• Monitor website analytics to establish baseline trends and identify strengths/weaknesses

5. Documentation

• Photograph and/or capture video of gallery openings, 2nd Friday Art Walks, public art and other Norman Arts events

• Coordinate hiring of freelance photographers, videographers and video editors as needed and when budget allows

6. Champion the Community

• Use Norman Arts channels to amplify the marketing efforts of arts organizations and businesses around town, especially those who receive grant support from NAC

• Update Norman Arts calendar of events

• Market both Downtown Norman and citywide efforts when aligned with NAC’s mission

Essential Tools

1. Squarespace (website and public email marketing)

2. MailChimp (press email marketing)

3. Google Suite

4. Microsoft Office Suite

5. Adobe Creative Suite (or equivalent)

6. Meta Business Suite

7. Mac operating system

Qualifications:

• Have a basic knowledge of the Norman Arts Council and our role in the community.

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, or a related field.

• 3+ year’s experience in a marketing position. A leadership role and work with marketing the arts are preferred.

• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders.

• Creativity

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.

• Innovative and forward-thinking mindset.

• Graphic design skills preferred

Salary Range: $38,000 - $45,000

Benefits Package:

• Health Insurance

• Retirement Plan

• Generous Paid Time Off

• Cell Phone Reimbursement

• Flexible Work Scheduling

• Supportive Work Environment

Application Deadline:

Please submit your resume, cover letter, and three professional references by June 21, 2024 to leslie@normanarts.org.  In your cover letter, please address your qualifications and how they align with the Norman Arts Council's mission and goals.

The Norman Arts Council is an equal-opportunity employer. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds and experiences to join our team and help us further our mission of supporting and promoting the arts in our community.

Please direct any questions to: leslie@normanarts.org

Norman Arts Announces Winners of 2023-2024 Round 1 Artist Grants, Deadline for Round 2 Fast Approaches

With applications for the second round of 2023-2024 Artist Grants fast approaching, Norman Arts is proud to announce the winners of the first round of $1,000 awards!

Deanna Wong, Reb NoFun and the team of Chase Spivey and Julius were selected from many worthy applications to support their creative endeavors.

Norman-based artists who are interested in applying for their own Artist Grant are encouraged to do so before the deadline this coming Wednesday, May 29. Learn more and apply here!

For more about the selected artists and their projects, read on below.

Deanna Wong

Deanna Wong is a non-binary Chinese-American artist born and raised on Duwamish and Coast Salish land (also known as Seattle). They received a Bachelor in Visual Media Arts with the specialization of Film Production from Emerson College in Boston, leading them to a successful career as a producer for video game marketing in Los Angeles. After several years of working an office job, the pursuit of new challenges and a more meaningful existence beckoned. Deanna returned to the Pacific Northwest to reconnect with land and community, becoming a Harvest Manager at a biodynamic organic farm on Bainbridge Island. In 2020, the pandemic forced another change in work and lifestyle, which birthed the creation of Dwadlings Art - Deanna’s dive into life as a full-time artist. Dwadlings Art utilizes the meditative practice of ceramics to center around glee and whimsy. To dawdle is to waste time. To dwadle is to do so purposefully, recognizing the benefits of taking things slow.

The NCECA Conference is an invaluable meeting of the minds for ceramic creatives. Deanna was offered the opportunity to attend by volunteering my time and was seeking funds to cover costs of transportation to and from this conference. From this experience, she hoped to learn from fellow artists far and wide, be inspired by demonstrations and local galleries, and find areas for future growth. As a self-taught and full-time artist with a limited budget, she struggled to find the resources to grow my art practice while balancing the need to create products for markets and sales. This conference provides a break from production pottery, a rejuvenating breath of inspiration, and a week of intensive learning opportunities.

She was particularly interested in hearing from global voices that I would not normally have the chance to learn from, such as Japanese wheel-throwing techniques, West African philosophies in clay, and adaptive ceramic works during the decolonization of Puerto Rico. There are also practical techniques and classes such as screen-printing on clay and portfolio feedback that will help refine my craft and current artwork.

Reb NoFun

Reb NoFun is an Oklahoma based artist with a lifetime of experience in art and 20+ years in the graphic design industry. She loves to help build the local art community by participating in, and co-producing as many local art shows as possible. She also host workshops and art nights to encourage others to explore art without taking things too seriously. Her public art can be seen around the area at skate parks and alleyways, and she has completed numerous commissions successfully capturing clients’ visions. She often vend at public events, as well as sell online, and she hopes that her love for art inspires and encourages others to pursue their own passions. She paints, draws, collages, sculpts, deconstructs, screen prints, does woodwork, and honestly, whatever else she can get her hands on to create.

In 2011, she organized an event called Art Battle OK, an art show and painting competition designed to raise money for a local charity, as well as participating artists. Four years later, she competed in a similar competition with a much faster time limit (20 minutes per painting, as opposed to 3 hours) in which the proceeds went to the artists and the event coordinators. Since then, she has had a vision to revive Art Battle OK by combining the two events to create a monthly, or possibly semi-monthly speed painting competition that cultivates local artistic talent, stokes some healthy competition, and also serves as fundraising for local charities.

Her artist grant allows for a new Art Battle OK to bring together local artists for adrenaline-fueled speed painting competitions, where they’ll showcase their skills under time constraints, to produce paintings that will then be voted on by attendees, and auctioned at the end of the event. There will be collaboration with local businesses which will include donated prizes for competition winners and also goodies for the event itself. Proceeds from art sales are distributed among the artists and funding future events, and all other proceeds, which will include donations, voting tickets, entry, etc going to a chosen charity.

Chase Spivey & Julius

Chase Spivey and Julius were able to attend the opening reception for their project "Toci," establishing a connection with the Field Projects Gallery in the Chelsea District of New York in the process. In the Spring of 2023, Chase and Julius were approached by Alicia Smith, a graduate of Oklahoma University, to produce an art performance video that will be part of a several year series introducing themes of Mexican indigenous heritage and lore by mixing scifi and surrealistic aesthetics using video and multimedia. The first story in the series features a collection of women whisked away by Toci, the bat woman warrior who is awakened to relieve them of the trauma of colonization by transporting them to Mars where they can establish their own society and process grief from their time on Earth. The video itself is elusive and resembles a ritual where the women slowly descend into madness after arriving in their new home.

The video was filmed in July of 2023 with choreography by Maggie Boyett. The video debuted at the Field Projects Gallery on January 13th at 6 p.m. and also featured a large mural photographed and produced by Julius to accompany the work. This was an incredible opportunity to have two local Norman artist's represent Oklahoma creativity and connect with a gallery in one of New York's thriving and active art districts. The goal of this trip was to meet and generate long term connections between our communities.

Chase Spivey was born in 1983 in rural Texas, but has called Norman home since 2000. He has been a part of several artistic projects over the years, including Ghost of Monkshood, Penny Hill, Welcome to the Ranchero, Prairie Folk Circus, Universe City Art Co-Op, Form & Function Lab, and Uncanny Alley Art House. He serves as a board member for the Norman Music Festival and Norman Arts Council and has four public art works on display throughout the City of Norman. He co-founded the Norman Film Festival in 2017, which he still volunteers for, and is now on the screening committee for deadCenter Film. He is a Film & Media Studies graduate from the University of Oklahoma, and currently owns and operates the digital creative agency Spivey Media.

Julius is a long time resident of Norman Oklahoma getting their start in multimedia and installation through collaborations with Dope Chapel and Resonator. They received their Bachelors in painting from Cameron University in 2015, moving to Norman shortly after graduation to work as a screen printer and has worked in the commercial print industry for the last 8 years. Their experience in freelance video and new media has led to many collaborations with a variety of creatives and organizations around the metro including Chat Pile, 1984 Studios, ArtSpace Untitled, and Oscillator Press. They currently serve as a worker owner at the Opolis in downtown Norman.

More about the Artist Grants

Norman Arts Council operates its artist grant program to serve Norman-based artists and further our creative community. While the longstanding Norman Arts Grant Program has benefited local artists through its support of dozens of arts organizations around town, this furthers NAC’s commitment to directly benefit local artists in a variety of ways.

The program offers three grants of $1,000, each in a different category.

The categories include Community Project, Creative Project and Education/Travel.

• Community Project grants help artists initiate a community-based project that leads to artistic creation. Evaluation is based on quality, the community impact and overall concept. Apply here!

• Creative Project grants support creation of new work or body of work. Evaluation is based on quality of creative opportunity, career building potential, and overall concept. Apply here!

• Education/Travel grants support opportunities to participate in conferences, residencies or workshops that provide education and further one’s artistic practice. Evaluation is based on quality of educational opportunity, career building potential, and overall concept. Apply here!

Artists can apply for all three grant opportunities in each cycle, but a maximum of one grant will be awarded to any artist in a given grant cycle.