Art Documenting Quarantine Amid Health Crisis Goes on Display at MAINSITE

Between Art and Quarantine is inspired by the Instagram #tussenkuntsenquarataine which started circulating in late March 2020. It was followed quickly by the Getty Museum Challenge on social media and numerous others.

The idea was for people to recreate famous works of art in their own homes, with whatever objects and costume bits they had available to them. The results were fascinating, comical, and heart warming. A way for people to interact with creativity, art, and museums found its way through a world-wide pandemic and lock-down.

We began to notice, here in Norman, that our very own creatives were quickly finding their own ways through the lock-down with their own versions of quarantine creativity. This exhibit features works by Norman artists Joshua Boydston, Cody Giles, Brad Stevens, and Shevaun Williams — all of whom found ways to create in isolation. Many of these works made their way to social media locally and beyond, and for the first time, thanks to funding from the Kirkpatrick Foundation, we are able to exhibit them in real (if socially-distanced) life.

When Norman Arts Council Executive Director Erinn Gavaghan and artist Giles first began discussing this exhibit in May of 2020, Gavaghan asked Giles, “What do you think? Will this still be relevant in November? Will people be over this and have moved on?”

Giles, in his infinite-future-seeing-wisdom said, “Nah. I think people will still want to see this.”

Neither could have imagined that the entire world would still be struggling with COVID by the time the exhibit opened.

In addition to the four Norman artists, Between Art and Quarantine will also feature over 70 images of life during COVID-19 in Norman’s Sister Cities of Seika, Japan and Arezzo, Italy taken by the citizens of those communities.

The exhibit will open with a digital showcase during the November Virtual 2nd Friday Art Walk on Friday, November 13 and be available for in-person viewing beginning on Wednesday, November 18 at MAINSITE Contemporary Art from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each Wednesday through Saturday through Saturday, December 19.

pARTner Support for the Norman Arts Council provided by Mid-America Arts Alliance, Kirkpatrick Foundation, Oklahoma Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, The City of Norman, Fowler Automotive, Armstrong Bank, Oklahoma Electric Cooperative, and Valir Pace.

Fashion Masking by Shevaun Williams (Model: Jahruba Lambeth)

Pía by Brad Andrew Stevens

Pandemic Family Portraits by Cody Giles

When A Fire Starts To Burn by Joshua Boydston

Our Heart Is Norman Arts

Norman loves its festivals, its art walks, its theatre productions, its concerts, its galleries and all the other art happenings that have helped entertain, nourish and enliven us. Art is huge part of our community’s identity, steadily growing over the past 40 years as our hotel tax funding has helped us annually kickstart, stabilize and support over 20 arts organizations in Norman. 

Since March, Norman Arts Council has watched our portion of the hotel funds go through cuts, go into deficit, and have projections for future revenues reduced by more than 60%. To make sure that the continued existence of a vibrant arts community is a part of our city’s recovery plan, we hope you will let our City Council know that they have the power to help us by allocating a fraction of the CARES Act funding the City of Norman is receiving to help keep our arts community afloat. 

We know our community understands and values the important role the arts plays in Norman’s economic impact, quality of life, and health, but would like to reiterate a few things that we hope will help you make a case for arts support with the Council and understand the necessity thereof:

• In addition to the reduction in hotel funds, arts organizations lost nearly $700,000 in revenue from programs that were cancelled or moved to a virtual format between March and June 30th.

• Arts Organization were unable to serve nearly 300,000 people due to programs that were cancelled or moved to a virtual format for the same period

• The loss of economic impact in Norman was over $11,000,000 in direct audience spending in the community and almost $1,000,000 in sales tax revenue for the same period

This is such a trying time for all, but for so many of us, it has been art — be it music or film or books or crafts or any of the other marvelous forms creativity can take — that has helped carry us through it. We feel so strongly that that the arts will help us unite and heal, both emotionally and, eventually,  economically, as the tide starts to turn, and to bring color to a world that can all too cruelly turn gray. 

But we need your help in spreading awareness, share what the arts mean to you with your friends, family and followers and write your Norman city council member encouraging them to make sure that the arts are essential to any recovery effort. 

Thank you for all the support you have given the Norman Arts community over the years, and all that we know you’ll continue to give! 

#OurHeartIsNormanArtsNorman loves its festivals, its art walks, its theatre productions, its concerts, its galleries and all the other art happenings that have helped entertain, nourish and enliven us. Art is huge part of our community’s identity, steadily growing over the past 40 years as our hotel tax funding has helped us annually kickstart, stabilize and support over 20 arts organizations in Norman. 

Since March, Norman Arts Council has watched our portion of the hotel funds go through cuts, go into deficit, and have projections for future revenues reduced by more than 60%. To make sure that the continued existence of a vibrant arts community is a part of our city’s recovery plan, we hope you will let our City Council know that they have the power to help us by allocating a fraction of the CARES Act funding the City of Norman is receiving to help keep our arts community afloat. 

We know our community understands and values the important role the arts plays in Norman’s economic impact, quality of life, and health, but would like to reiterate a few things that we hope will help you make a case for arts support with the Council and understand the necessity thereof:

• In addition to the reduction in hotel funds, arts organizations lost nearly $700,000 in revenue from programs that were cancelled or moved to a virtual format between March and June 30th.

• Arts Organization were unable to serve nearly 300,000 people due to programs that were cancelled or moved to a virtual format for the same period

• The loss of economic impact in Norman was over $11,000,000 in direct audience spending in the community and almost $1,000,000 in sales tax revenue for the same period

This is such a trying time for all, but for so many of us, it has been art — be it music or film or books or crafts or any of the other marvelous forms creativity can take — that has helped carry us through it. We feel so strongly that that the arts will help us unite and heal, both emotionally and, eventually,  economically, as the tide starts to turn, and to bring color to a world that can all too cruelly turn gray. 

But we need your help in spreading awareness, share what the arts mean to you with your friends, family and followers and write your Norman city council member encouraging them to make sure that the arts are essential to any recovery effort. 

Thank you for all the support you have given the Norman Arts community over the years, and all that we know you’ll continue to give! 

#OurHeartIsNormanArts

Famed Neustadt Lit Fest for 2020 Goes 100% Online

World Literature Today, the University of Oklahoma’s award-winning magazine of international literature and culture, announced today that the 2020 Neustadt Lit Festival will be held entirely online from Oct. 19-21.

The festival will feature numerous panels exploring 2020 Neustadt laureate Ismail Kadare’s multi-decade legacy.

Robert Con Davis-Undiano, World Literature Today’s executive director, said that the decision to move the annual festival online can make the event more accessible than ever before.

“While we made this decision with our stakeholders in the interest of safety, we are excited about the great potential to reach viewers from all over the world to enjoy what has always been more of a campus event,” Davis-Undiano said.

Interested attendees are invited to sign up for any of the 10 virtual events here. The full schedule for the virtual festival can be found here.

This year will also mark the 50th anniversary of the Neustadt Prize, which was first awarded in 1970. Dispatches from the Republic of Letters — an anthology that features the first 25 laureates of the prize, compiled by WLT editor-in-chief Daniel Simon — will launch on the opening night of the Lit Fest.

In addition to panels celebrating Kadare’s impressive body of work, attendees can enjoy readings and book giveaways from the nine writers who will serve on the jury to select the next winner of the 2021 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature. The 2021 Laureate will be announced during the Lit Fest.

Kadare is an Albanian novelist, poet, essayist and playwright who has written a large body of work. He rose to fame in Albania on the strength of his poetry and first novel, The General of the Dead Army (1963). He has won many international awards and is regarded by some as one of the greatest of contemporary European writers, often cited as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Kapka Kassabova, a writer of poetry, fiction and narrative nonfiction, nominated him for the Neustadt Prize in 2019. She is a native Bulgarian who writes in English.

Highly respected within the literary community for its recognition of excellence, the Neustadt Prize is often referenced as the “American Nobel” for its reputation as a lead-up to the Swedish Academy’s annual selection. Any living author writing from anywhere in the world is eligible for the Neustadt Prize. The jury is composed of acclaimed international authors, and its decisions are shielded from external pressures by booksellers, publishers, and others who may have an interest in influencing the outcome.

The Neustadt Prize is the first international literary award of its scope to originate in the United States and is one of the very few international prizes for which poets, novelists, and playwrights are equally eligible. Laureates are chosen by a jury process and can only be nominated for consideration by eligible jurors. Winners receive $50,000, a replica of an eagle feather cast in silver, and a prize certificate. A generous endowment from the Neustadt family of Dallas, Denver, and Watertown, Massachusetts, ensures the award’s existence in perpetuity.

Take a Look into Norman Arts' Annual Report for FY 19-20

Norman Arts Council’s annual report for fiscal year 2019-2020 is live, now! Read to learn about the Norman Arts budget and how it is allocated, grants, programs and the unique challenges that the pandemic has caused Norman Arts and the greater arts community.

A look at Norman Arts Council's budget, grants, programs and more for the past fiscal year of 2019-2020.

Norman Cultural Connection Takes Sacred Arts of Tibet Program Online

Norman Cultural Connection is pleased to announce they will be hosting the Sacred Arts of Tibet tour group, virtually.

They’ll host the Sand Madala activities via livestream on the Norman Cultural Connection Facebook page, including:

Opening Ceremony - 7 p.m. Monday, September 21

Sand Mandala Viewing - 12-1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Tuesday, September 22 through Saturday, September 26

Sand Mandala Viewing - 5 p.m. Sunday, September 27

Closing Ceremony - 11 a.m. Saturday, October 3

Norman Cultural Connection will also offer a lecture series via Zoom. They ask that you register in advance here with a suggested donation of $10. Lecture schedule is as follows:

Karma and The Law of Cause and Effect - 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 22

The Meaning & Benefits of the Chant: Om Mani Padme Hung - 7 p.m. Thursday, September 24

The Wisdom and Blessing of Manjushri - 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 29

Compassion for a Troubled World - 7 p.m. Thursday, October 1

Norman Cultural Connection (NCC) is committed to enhancing awareness, understanding, and appreciation of cultural diversity, social differences, and the wisdom of world cultures. NCC believes cultural traditions, rituals, practices, art forms, and music are important parts of our shared experience and understanding of the world.

Through outreach — which includes educational programs, lectures, and opportunities for dialogue—NCC seeks to create a supportive community for the development of personal and collective well-being.