Norman Mardi Gras Parade Celebrates 30 Years on February 10

Norman's first night parade will celebrate its 30th birthday Downtown on February 10.  This year's theme is Dancing With Dragons. The Society is encouraging entries to represent dragons from their culture. Danza Azteca Tonantzin will dance in the parade for the Meso-American dragon, Quetzalcoatl. Other groups are also scheduled to perform in the parade and the line up will be announced soon. Rumor has it a rogue T-Rex group will be among them. 

Music typically ranges from high school students to professional musicians to rank amateurs. This year, the society hopes to bring in a 105 member high school marching band with a dance team. Costs are high, though, and sponsors are being sought to help with these and other expenses. 

Drawing crowds of up to 6,000, depending on weather, the parade begins at dark (approx. 7 p.m.) with an awards ceremony immediately following at The Depot. Expect plenty of beads, marching bands of all kinds, roller derby queens, unidentified rolling objects and a pack of T-Rexes to be among the weird and wonderful sights typical of the Norman Mardi Gras Parade. The parade and awards ceremony are free to watch and family-friendly.

Prospective sponsors and parade entries can find more information at Normanmardigrassociety.org.

King Jahruba Lambeth, Queen Lori and the Fabulous Flanigan will be joined by marching bands from Millwood High School, Putnam City High School and more.

For more information, see https://www.facebook.com/NormanMardiGrasSociety for the event listing.

Norman Arts, City of Norman To Dedicate New Public Art at Young Family Athletic Center

Join the City of Norman, the Norman Arts Council, Trae Young Family Foundation, and artist Vito DiBari as we unveil and dedicate "Elevate the Game" on Monday, February 19, at 10:00 am in the Young Family Athletic Center roundabout.

DiBari & Associates' iconic sculpture, "Elevate the Game," for the Young Family Athletic Center embraces the variety of sports activities that will take place in the facility. This three-dimensional installation for the entry roundabout features the figures of a swimmer, a volleyball player, and a basketball player. In the words of Vito DiBari, the 16.5' artwork "is to become a landmark honoring and representing the Young Family Athletic Center, its vision, and the people of Norman."

We invite you to join us in celebrating as a community as another Norman Forward art project elevates our community through art.

Later that afternoon, a grand opening event will celebrate the opening of YFAC with a ribbon cutting and tour of the state-of-the-art facility.

On October 13, 2015, Norman residents passed the NORMAN FORWARD initiative encompassing various quality-of-life projects with a 1/2% sales tax collected over 15 years. The Young Family Athletic Center was one of those projects, and we are ecstatic to see it come to fruition! This dynamic center results from a collaborative endeavor involving the City of Norman, Norman Forward, Norman Regional Health System, and the Trae Young Family Foundation. The center is a HUB for athletics in the community and, through this partnership, is designed to be affordable and accessible to the community.

The Young Family Athletic Center is a new approximate 122,000-square-foot facility built on a 12-acre site on the north side of Norman. The YFAC stands as a pinnacle of excellence, offering premier basketball and volleyball courts, aquatics, sports medicine, youth sports, sports camps, leagues, and a retail Adidas store.

Celebrate 2023 Artist Grants Award Winners, Learn What Grants Made Possible with Artist Talks

Recipients of Norman Arts Council’s first year cycle of Artist Grants will share what their awards helped make possible with Artist Grants Artist Talks at 6 p.m. on Thursday, February 8 at MAINSITE Contemporary Art, 122 E. Main Norman.

Celebrate these talented, Norman creatives as they present their grant winning projects, which took the winners to new places and enabled enriching, community projects, exhibitions, productions and even a runway show. The grant winners will discuss their respective projects will also sharing documentation of the artistic opportunity these grant funds help, in part, make possible.

Presenting artists include: Lacy Jo Burgess-Cady, Ander Cardinale, Rai Fordyce, Hannah Harper and Dennis Spielman.

The Artist Grants Artist Talks are free and open to anyone to attend.

Norman Arts Invites Oklahoma Muralists to Apply for Pre-Qualified Mural Artist Pool

The Norman Arts Council’s Public Arts Committee with funding from the City of Norman, is launching a Mural Incentive program for businesses and commercial property owners in Norman, Oklahoma. Through an application process, the NAC will consider requests for funds of up to $10,000 for mural projects in the City of Norman.

To connect businesses and property owners with muralists, we are inviting muralists to submit their qualifications to a pool of artists. We invite muralists from Oklahoma to submit their portfolios and a statement that describes their mural style and technique. 

Businesses may opt not to use one of our pre-qualified artists, or they may ask the NAC to assist in a selection process. The process would begin with a review of the pre-qualified pool and a short list of appropriate artists for a specific project. 

Businesses who apply to our Mural Incentive program must agree to pay artists a minimum of $25/square foot for a mural commission. 

To be considered for the Pre-Qualified Mural Artist Pool, please complete the application and submit by February 29, 2024. 

We will have future windows to apply to the Pre-Qualified Pool available at dates TBD. 

Norman Arts Seeks New Grants Review Panelists for Upcoming Grant Cycle

Norman Arts Council is seeking new Grants Review Panelists to review grant applications from the upcoming hotel tax granting cycle. Panelists help ensure the most effective use of the grant funds available, steering our local creative future with their recommended allocations — using NAC grant guidelines as the basis for review — in hopes of achieving an exciting, enticing, equitable and interesting landscape for our Norman arts community.

The grants review work takes place from February through April with two required meetings and an electronic review of all grant applications (approximately 25-30 each year).

Those selected to serve on the Grants Review Panel will receive a $100 honorarium.

Elected members will serve a three-year term and shall not be eligible for reelection until the expiration of one year following the last year in office.

More guidelines below:

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The sole purpose of the Grants Review Panel will be to review the grant proposals submitted in compliance  with NAC guidelines and to make awards recommendations to the NAC Board of Directors.  

Although the Grants Review Panel will be autonomous in the review process, it must use NAC grants guidelines as the basis for its review process and for recommending award amounts.

The Panel shall consist of nine seats nominated by the Arts Roundtable and elected by the NAC Board of Directors with sensitivity to community diversity.  The Panel shall select its own Chair. Criteria for selection of the Panel shall be as follows:

• Knowledge or expertise in the area of arts or humanities,

• Knowledge or expertise in the area of financial management,

• Objectivity in the selection of organizations for grants and awards.

• Residency in Norman for at least one year

• Knowledge of or experience with grants and/or grants procedures is recommended.

To achieve a broad perspective, the makeup of the panel shall be representative of the diversity of the Norman community. The distribution between the nine seats shall be:

• Two seats from the business community (e.g. restaurants, banking, service or retail).

• Two seats from the education community (e.g. University of Oklahoma, Norman Public School System, Home Schooling Association, or private teachers).

• Two seats from the arts and humanities community (cannot be a current employee or board member of any Norman arts organization)

• One seat from the hospitality industry (e.g. Norman Hospitality Association, hotels, motels, inns etc.).

• Two alternates elected to substitute for any elected panelist who is unable to serve. The alternates must be individuals with the proven ability to represent a wide cross section of community interests so as to represent the balance intended by this Section.