In the Beginning - Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition

6
On the Cover:
Matt Goad,
graphic design
2
16
John McNeese OVAC Timeline:
ASK November 2000
Julia Kirt and Jim Powers
member agency
This program is supported
in part by the Oklahoma Arts
Council
View this issue with
full color images at
www.ArtFocusOklahoma.org
contents
profiles
3 OVAC Award Recipients:
A Brief Update
6
8
OVAC turns 20
In the Beginning:
The History of OVAC
The Interns
11 OVAC Stories
16 OVAC Timeline
16
OVAC news
21 New & Renewing Members
21 Round UP
22 gallery guide
OVAC Timeline:
Momentum 2002
Molly O’Connor
Art Focus
O k l a h o m a
Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition
P.O. Box 1946 • Oklahoma City, OK 73101
ph: 405.232.6991 • e: director@ovac-ok.org
visit our website at: www.ovac-ok.org
Executive Director: Julia Kirt
director@ovac-ok.org
Editor: Kelsey Karper
publications@ovac-ok.org
Art Director: Anne Richardson
anne@speccreative.com
Art Focus Oklahoma is a bimonthly publication
of the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition dedicated
to stimulating insight into and providing current
information about the visual arts in Oklahoma.
Mission: The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition
supports visual artists living and working in
Oklahoma and promotes public interest and
understanding of the arts.
OVAC welcomes article submissions related to
artists and art in Oklahoma. Call or email the
editor for guidelines.
OVAC welcomes your comments. Letters
addressed to Art Focus Oklahoma are considered
for publication unless otherwise specified. Mail
or email comments to the editor at the address
above. Letters may be edited for clarity or space
reasons. Anonymous letters will not be published.
Please include a phone number.
Art Focus Committee: Janice McCormick, Bixby;
Sue Clancy, Susan Grossman, Norman; Don
Emrick, Tulsa; Michael Hoffner, Stephen Kovash
and Sue Moss Sullivan, Oklahoma City.
OVAC Board of Directors 2008-2009: R.C.
Morrison, Bixby; Richard Pearson, Rick Vermillion,
Edmond; Jonathan Hils, Norman; Jennifer Barron,
Susan Beaty, Stephen Kovash (President), Paul
Mays, Suzanne Mitchell (Vice President), Carl
Shortt, Suzanne Thomas, Sydney Bright Warren,
Elia Woods (Secretary), Oklahoma City; Joey
Frisillo, Sand Springs; Anita Fields, Stillwater;
Cathy Deuschle, Elizabeth Downing, Jean Ann
Fausser (Treasurer), Kathy McRuiz, Sandy Sober,
Tulsa; Eunkyung Jeong, Weatherford.
The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition is solely
responsible for the contents of Art Focus
Oklahoma. However, the views expressed in
articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions of
the Board or OVAC staff.
Member Agency of Allied Arts and member of the
National Association of Artists’ Organizations.
© 2008, Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition. All rights reserved.

OVAC Award Recipients:
A BRief UpdAte
by Christine Faris
Gloria Abella De Duncan
Gloria Abella De Duncan won the OVAC Award of Excellence in 1995. As a
native of South America with an international art career, she welcomed OVAC’s
recognition as it introduced her work to Oklahoma. Gloria served on the
OVAC board in the late 1990s, taught at Oklahoma Baptist University and
Oklahoma City Museum of Art, but concentrates on her own work now.
She describes her winning entry to OVAC: “The works that I presented were
large format paintings dealing with the ambiguities of life and the natural
power of women to balance perceived realities and transformation.”
Concepts of ambiguity, transformation, and mystic subject matter have been
central to her work. She gives form to these thoughts in dream-like quality in
paintings and drawings, and more recently in digital media. Gloria exhibited
in London at Christie’s (XX Century Colombian Art), Israel and Los Angeles.
One of her paintings was added to the Oklahoma State Art Collection in 2007.
A recent stay in Portugal, Spain, and Morocco provided much fuel for her
creative imagination as she observed the daily life there. More recently, Gloria
has been a successful illustrator for award wining books, including Mystic
Siren: Woman’s Voice in the Balance of Creation by Vanessa Paloma, and Praxis and
Ambiguity of the Enemy by Fernando Garavito. She is currently working on a book
of Hebrew art and a series of prints for an exhibit in August in New Mexico.
Rebecca Friedman Wheeler
Rebecca Friedman Wheeler received OVAC’s Award of Excellence in 1998.
On the way to her studio in the garage apartment behind her house, I
negotiate my way around mud puddles in Oklahoma’s spring rain. Her oneeyed,
most friendly three-legged dog follows me. We look at the colorful
flower pots and found objects as sculptures and I am taken in by the warm
and cheerful atmosphere of one of Oklahoma’s consistently productive artists.
The garage holds a good number of large canvases. Her OVAC entry Promise
is among them. She describes herself as a color field painter. She loves the
joys of color, the layering, the “inside” effects she can create. Rebecca is very
comfortable with her work; it is non-judgmental, childlike, and never aims
at political statements. The upstairs studio space is furnished with well-worn
work tables, chairs, wooden storage drawers, and antique quilts. Small pastel
drawings of summer beach scenes are ready for framing. Rebecca pulls a few
prints out of storage – figurative work commissioned as a religious series by
the Santa Fe Arts Council. She goes to New Mexico several times a year to do
monotypes and lithographs.
In addition, Rebecca cherishes work with textiles in collages. They are
magical. Her artist’s statement for her exhibit at Untitled [ArtSpace] in
2007, reads: “Old tattered-torn cloth of our past, Belgian linen, hooked rugs,
half-made, old lace, chiffon, dresses, curtains and women’s handmade works,
sent to market and found again. Textiles, always collected and loved, have
become the medium for my canvas….”
continued on page 4
profile
Gloria Abella De Duncan, The Wedding Ring,
Acrylic on Canvas, 60”x48”
Rebecca Friedman Wheeler, Garden, Antique Fabric on
European Linen, 12”x12”, from her exhibition at Untitled
[ArtSpace] in 2007.
3 3

4
profile
(above) Sunni Mercer, Expiation, Mixed
Media, 48”x48”
(below) Janet Massad, Striped Dream #4,
Stoneware, 36”x18”x10”
continued from page 3
Sunni Mercer
Sunni Mercer was executive director of OVAC from 1996-1999. Prior to her
appointment, she won the 1995 Artist Award of Excellence. She has been
extraordinarily productive since then, working as teacher, consultant, lecturer, and
exhibiting artist.
Sunni’s winning project was part of a 1995 exhibit at OK Harris in New York
City. It included over 350 small assemblages that evolved into her signature style
of Metals, Medals, using found objects for the sculptural constructions. The OVAC
award and a concurrent NEA regional fellowship enabled Sunni to afford a studio
and the necessary equipment. Work done under these conditions solidified her
professional sensibilities and visual lexicon.
After OVAC, Sunni became director of the Oklahoma City National Memorial
Center, overseeing its design. Sunni’s technique of assemblage evokes reflection
and memory, a concept that granted her the ALCA National Merit Award for a
Remembrance Garden. Her Living Room environment (2003), exhibited in Emporia
and Wichita, KS, employs similar ideas of recollection, “recycling something tragic
into something beautiful” according to the exhibit’s curator. Sunni Mercer’s list
of national exhibits is exhaustive, including being archived in the Smithsonian
Institution.
Sunni teaches as adjunct Professor at the University of Central Oklahoma, and
remains a multi-tasking studio artist. She loves variety in her life, journals, gardens
and strives to keep her creativity fresh. She currently gathers materials for a public
awareness and fund raising campaign for a hospital in Swaziland, Africa. Her
dedication to OVAC and all its support programs remains as strong as ever.
Janet Massad
Since Janet Massad received an award for OVAC’s Visionmakers in 1996, she has
been most productive as a ceramicist, painter, lecturer, consultant and writer. Her
professional Statement of Objectives reads: “Education in the arts, emphasizing the
importance of critical thinking in a cross-disciplined atmosphere.”
She has met this goal on many levels. Janet worked with regional public school
projects and held a progressive education appointment at Goddard College in
Vermont. She lectures in ceramics, painting and drawing courses. Janet was a
resident visual arts faculty at the Chautauqua Institute’s School of Art in New York
and received an individual artist grant from the City of Pasadena, CA. Exhibits and
workshops have taken her to various venues across the country.
Janet sees her own work as becoming progressively more sculptural. Painting informs
her ceramic surfaces and serves as a visual distraction. An MFA under Paul Soldner
at Claremont (CGU) still provides contact with international artists and their
conceptual directions.
Janet started writing about clay in 1991 and her most recent article, “Masters of
Fire” in Ceramics TECHNICAL (Sydney) was hailed by the editor as ‘a new theory on
an ancient puzzle.’ Other articles in Ceramics: Art and Perception (Sydney) and Ceramic
Review (London), and Ceramica (Madrid) explore innovative information for artists and
potters.
The Daily Oklahoman named Janet among ten ‘Oklahoma artists to watch in the
new millennium.’ She continues as a studio artist with teaching contracts while also
researching upcoming publications. n
About the Author: Christiane Faris is a retired humanities professor from Oklahoma City
University. She is the author of the forthcoming book JUXTAPOSITIONS: Artist Brunel
Faris and the Visual Arts in Oklahoma City, Full Circle Press. She can be reached at
cfaris@okcu.edu.

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5

OVAC history
6
In the BeGInnInG:
the history of OVAC
by Julia Kirt and Kelsey Karper
John McNeese’s founding principles of the
Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition mirror the
qualities we imagine McNeese hoped for
artists’ careers: intentionality, professionalism,
credibility and integrity. With an idea and
a few supporters, McNeese established this
organization to give money to artists.
The story we usually tell of OVAC’s founding
is a bit funnier—that a group of artists used to
get together for coffee and adult beverages. They
complained regularly about the state of their art
careers in Oklahoma and grumbled that they did
not have enough opportunities or buyers. Out of
those bellyache sessions, OVAC was born.
Some of that myth is true. McNeese and founding
board member Laura Warriner refer to gatherings
of artists at the Classen Grill, called Café Society,
as precipitating the organization. McNeese said,
“There wasn’t much going on for Oklahoma
artists.” He pointed out that at the time artists
were unhappy, the Contemporary Arts Foundation
had closed, the museum juried shows were gone,
IAO was in transition (housed in the garage
of the Classen Arts Center) and the National
Endowment for the Arts rarely funded Oklahoma
artists. These issues and concurrent discussions
spurred the passion of McNeese’s vision.
McNeese ran a gallery next to IAO at the Classen
Art Center, which was in a building that once stood
near 52 nd and Classen in Oklahoma City. During
his time in this space, McNeese developed the idea
for the 12x12 fundraiser and the first one benefited
the IAO gallery, featuring about 20 artists with
each piece priced at $100. The show sold out.
Eventually, he closed his gallery at the Classen Art
Center and moved to a space near Laura Warriner’s
studio a few blocks away. McNeese recalled
that Laura served as a great sounding board and
supporter of his dream for OVAC.
He carefully thought through naming the
organization Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition,
wanting to emphasize educating audiences beyond
just artists by calling it “arts” and employed
“visual” to differentiate it from other disciplines.
He said “coalition” was a popular term at the time
and seemed to define what OVAC was doing by
bringing artists together.
John McNeese
Roger Runge served as the first board
president. His personality and expertise from
his experience working at the Firehouse Art
Center made him an excellent choice. His
ability to convey the ideas and purpose of the
budding organization helped to gain further
support. Others who served on the first board
were Mark Briscoe, Jerry Brown, Marie
Dawson, Nicholas Kyle and Warriner.
In the beginning stages of forming what would
become OVAC, McNeese remembered some
specific people whose support and willingness
to take a chance were instrumental in helping
it get off the ground. Betty Price and the State
Arts Council of Oklahoma gave OVAC a $1,000
grant in the first year. Marilyn Myers, who was
Executive Director of the Kirkpatrick Foundation
at the time and later moved on to the Kirkpatrick
Family Affiliated Fund, also gave financial support
early on. Support from these organizations, as
well as several individuals, made the early efforts
possible. McNeese and Warriner each gave
personally in order to begin a fund for OVAC at
the Kirkpatrick Foundation.
In 1990, McNeese used the 12x12 fundraising
idea again, this time to benefit OVAC. This
was the first of what would become an annual
fundraising event for OVAC. The show was held
at Pickard Gallery and the entire show was sold to
collectors and art supporters Bob Cochran and Jan
Semrod. Their art collection was quite impressive
and McNeese recalled that they would give tours
of their collection as a benefit to OVAC.
In a spark of practical genius, McNeese began the
OVAC newsletter in July of 1988, before OVAC
was even incorporated. As an organization without
a real physical space for recognition, the newsletter
served as a vehicle for getting the word out about
OVAC and other art events. It also helped to
develop a mailing list and to keep in contact with
members. Nicholas Kyle and Rose Allison later
took the newsletter into the Cross Currents format,
making it more of an arts publication with a
sleeker design, more photos and art reviews. The
first issue as Cross Currents was July/August 1990.
In January of 2005, it would evolve again into the
current format of Art Focus Oklahoma.
So, why didn’t OVAC have a public space to be
associated with? Initially, the organization did not
want to compete with neighboring IAO. A public
space was never a part of the focus for OVAC,
believing that the money would be better spent on
programs rather than the overhead cost of running
and maintaining a gallery.
Helping artists financially through grants and
awards was a focus. The first $1,000 artist award
was given to James Seitz in 1989 and was made
possible through many small gifts from individuals.
The Artist Awards of Excellence would change
and evolve over the years to include awards for
excellence in specific media, an art criticism award
and fellowships. McNeese believed it best to give
multiple awards of equal value rather than having a
first, second or third place. Currently, this program
is giving two Fellowship awards of $5,000 each
annually as well as Student Awards of Excellence to
art students in Oklahoma universities.
OVAC also developed a Sudden Opportunity
Fund that would allow artists to take advantage
of opportunities that would assist in the
advancement of their careers. The first Sudden
Opportunity grant was given to artist Jenny
Woodruff to get to Alaska to attend the opening
of her exhibition there. The Sudden Opportunity
Fund would later develop into what is now the
grants program, offering artists assistance in many
areas including professional basics, start up funds,
working with the community and continuing
training.
OVAC also saw a need early on to recognize
individuals who were great supporters of the arts.
The Distinguished Achievement Award was
created to honor a person or organization that had

during the preceding year contributed the most in
support of the visual artist in Oklahoma. The first
award was given to Betty Price and the State Arts
Council of Oklahoma in 1988 for their work on
the VisionMakers exhibition. A reception was held
at the Kirkpatrick Center in honor of the award
recipient. The following year in 1989, J.R. and
Fran Witt were the recipients for their support of
artists through the Contemporary Arts Foundation
and their continued support over the years since.
A reception in their honor was held at Carpenter
Square Theater. Other recipients of the award
included Virginia Myers, founder of Living Arts,
and Alexandre Hogue, artist.
In 1990, OVAC took over the organization
of the VisionMakers exhibit for which it had
applauded the State Arts Council with its first
Distinguished Achievement Award. OVAC felt it
was important to continue this exhibit which was
the only statewide exhibit focused on Oklahoma
art and artists. Since it was, and still is, an exhibit
focused on artists working in high craft and
three-dimensional media, OVAC developed the
Painting Biennial in 1991 to do the same thing
for painters. The Biennial would expand in 1999
to include drawing and again in 2007 to include
photography and printmaking, making it more
inclusive of all two-dimensional media.
As stated above, OVAC always expected and
encouraged professionalism in artists. To help artists
with their professional skills, OVAC developed
a series of Business of Art programs. McNeese
actually taught a Business of Art class at Oklahoma
City University for three semesters. What was
supposed to be a class on how to be a gallery owner
soon became the basics of business for artists. This
knowledge made McNeese an able example for
Oklahoma artists. In 1995, OVAC held an Artist
Weekend and Business of Art Seminar at City Arts
Center. This seminar became an annual event and
later developed into the Artist Survival Kit (A.S.K.)
Workshop series.
In the matters of professionalism and integrity,
OVAC always tried to be the example for artists
to follow. Several incidents involving art and
censorship in Oklahoma City, including the
removal of a series of photographs of pregnant
women by Jenny Woodruff from a local restaurant
by the ABLE commission, prompted OVAC
to create a policy for dealing with the issue of
censorship, should it ever arise at an OVAC
event or exhibit. The policy was clearly against
censorship of art and outlined who would speak for
the organization in these cases. OVAC still holds
this policy as fundamental to the planning and
placement of exhibits.
OVAC history
From this brief summary of OVAC’s founding
twenty years ago, it is clear that this is an
organization that was created not only to fill
a need but also to move artists in Oklahoma
forward by creating new and better opportunities
and developing a supportive environment
for artists to thrive in. John McNeese was a
true visionary in his ability to filter through
those artist get-together sessions and find the
real root of the problems and the most direct
way to change them. His efforts towards this
were recognized in 1996 when he received the
Governor’s Arts Award of Special Recognition.
This may be some of the only recognition
he has received individually for OVAC’s
accomplishments because he consistently pushes
artists into the limelight rather than himself.
His dedication to the mission was evident –
he worked the first three or four years of his
directorship without a salary and for very little
after that. For twenty years now, his vision has
sustained, supporting artists in Oklahoma. His
prescience and gumption in founding OVAC will
continue to benefit artists and our communities
for many years to come. n
About the Authors: Julia Kirt has served as Executive
Director of OVAC since 1999. Kelsey Karper is
OVAC’s Marketing and Publications Manager and
Editor of Art Focus Oklahoma.
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7

OVAC interns
8
the Interns
by Cathy Deuschle
When one considers all that OVAC does: the yearly juried exhibits, Art
Focus magazine, grants, fellowships, numerous workshops, a huge online
gallery, the studio tour, the 12x12 fund raiser and the Tulsa and Oklahoma
City Momentums; it is hard to believe there are just two full time and two
part time employees. How do so few accomplish so much? Well, they are
very good at their jobs and they have a large pool of volunteers.
Part of what fills this volunteer pool is a steady stream of interns. They
are the salmon, if you will, of volunteers. They don’t mind swimming
against the current - an essential quality for most anyone in a non-profit
arts organization. And, though they’ve yet to spawn in the OVAC office,
that office seems to have spawned among many of them a long term
interest in Oklahoma art and the business of art. Some return to the same
OVAC events year after year as artists and volunteers, while others wind
up pursuing art related career paths they hadn’t seriously considered
before. The interns are closer to the top of the volunteer food chain than
they might imagine for they are a highly desirable source of organizational
sustenance. They are part of the OVAC circle of life.
Though there are certain tasks most OVAC interns can identify with,
like updating membership information, putting out bulk mailings and
delivering flyers; the experience diverges depending on the time frame of the
internship and the interest areas of the intern. Wanting to know both the
commonalities and differences of this experience, I asked some past interns
a few questions. Below are the abridged responses of Stephanie Brudzinski,
Sarah McElroy, Paul Mays, Carolyn Deuschle, and Daisy Patton.
1. Why did you decide to intern at OVAC?
Stephanie: I applied because I wanted to learn more about the art business
and non-profit operations. Plus, I thought it would be fun. I wasn’t a
student, I just wanted to learn and meet creative people.
Sarah: I thought it would be a perfect way for me to be introduced to the
Oklahoma City ‘art scene’ after graduating college.
Paul: It sounded like a great way to meet artists and some of the people
who were connected to the Oklahoma art world.
Carolyn: I was most interested in Art Focus. I wanted to know how the
magazine fits into OVAC’s mission, how it survives financially, and how it
benefits art in Oklahoma.
Daisy: I was interested in arts administration as a possible career and I felt
that working for OVAC would be a valuable learning experience.
2. What did you do as an intern?
Stephanie: Along with daily work like mailing and data entry, I helped
with the 12x12 and Momentum shows. I assisted with some of the ASK
workshops and sat in on a grant selection meeting. I also set up their new
gallery database which they plan to utilize for promoting OVAC artists.
Sarah: I was fortunate enough to assist with the Creative Capital workshop. I
was able to work behind the scenes, sit in on the selection process, review all
of the art work and resumes and attend the event.
Paul: I was able to assist with one of the Art Studio Tours and I remember I
Shannon
Crider
was constantly working on bulk mailing
and updating membership information.
Carolyn: I wrote articles for Art Focus and
helped devise ways to increase circulation.
The OKC Momentum was going on so I
also helped set up for that.
Daisy: I was placed in charge of updating
the Resource Guide that has all the
artists, art organizations, galleries, etc.
for OVAC members. This meant that
I contacted many local businesses and
others, especially via phone. I also
helped hang some shows and deliver
flyers, etc. around town.
3. What was the experience like?
how was it the same or different from what you anticipated?
Stephanie: I thoroughly enjoyed my stint there. It was more than I
anticipated. I got to meet so many people and I loved working with Julia,
Stephanie, Kelsey, Jim and Trent. I learned a lot about the art business.
Sarah: I was introduced to the structure of a nonprofit and got to see
how the few positions that are held run the entire program with the help
of many volunteers, board and committee members. I had expected to
be more inspired to produce and show my work but I ended up really
interested in the community work OVAC did in Oklahoma City.
Paul: My intern experience raised my awareness of the thriving art
community around me. If my experience has done nothing else, it has at
least given me the opportunity to meet and befriend some amazing people.
Carolyn: I really enjoyed working alongside Julia and Kelsey. They’re
able to do so much with so little! I didn’t expect to be able to contribute
content to the magazine, so that turned out to be a great surprise.
Daisy: I learned quite a bit from the year I worked there. I loved meeting
new people, finding out more about the arts in Oklahoma, discovering
local artists and learning how the organization worked. I was terrified
of calling people on the phone, so it was good that I was forced to call so
often. I was happy that the OVAC staff had faith in me to complete the
tasks I was assigned.
Carolyn Deuschle

4. how did the intern experience affect your
latter life or career decisions?
Stephanie: It made me want to be an artist even more.
The things I learned motivated me and got me fired up.
Sarah: Since the internship with OVAC, I have held
another non-profit internship with the Chicago Artists
Coalition and several community volunteer positions.
I continue to work in the non-profit sector. My career
goal is to eventually work in a non-profit art education
program. Before this internship, my career goal was
non-existent.
Paul: I volunteered for Momentum and have done so
since. Next year I will serve as a co-chair of this event.
Carolyn: Currently, I’m an intern at Aperture magazine
in New York. Aperture Foundation is a non-profit
organization that supports photography. This summer
I’m going to be attending the Columbia Publishing
Course. My internship at OVAC added to an already
growing feeling that publishing is what I want to do. I remember sitting in a meeting with the Art
Focus Committee. I really was jealous of the decisions they got to make and the thought processes
that were put into each decision. This is also when I began to really understand what “to editorialize”
means - to state an opinion. I am grateful to OVAC for allowing me to do just that.
Daisy: My first job out of college was as an art coordinator, which would have been great if the
position hadn’t been eliminated immediately thereafter. I ended up in an office environment but my
time spent at OVAC helped me with skills acquired for my current position, an understanding of
what schools and other arts organizations look for when applying, etc.
5. What did you learn that you hadn’t planned on learning?
Stephanie: I got to learn the behind the scenes operations of how jurors select work for shows, tips on
how to market your work and how grants work.
Sarah: I learned a lot about the membership at OVAC and how large the artistic community is. After
working and talking with several of the members, I was always amazed to find out that they had great
studio art careers based in Oklahoma.
Paul: I learned about some of the fabulous programs OVAC makes possible such as the fellowship
awards, grants, the Virtual Gallery, and exhibits such as the OVAC Biennial and VisonMakers.
Carolyn: How to work on a shoe-string budget.
Maurice Satterwhite
Daisy: I certainly learned how to call strangers and gather information. I had fairly open minded
expectations of what I would learn from my time at OVAC.
6. Would you recommend this to others? Why?
Stephanie: Definitely. There is so much to learn about the art business and the staff at OVAC is so
eager to teach anyone who is interested. They are so informed and experienced.
Sarah: Absolutely! OVAC can open so many doors for you; not only with career opportunities, but
also by constantly reminding you of all of the exhibit and grant opportunities that local artists have
available to them.
Paul: I think that an internship is a great idea for someone who is interested in a career in the arts, it
can really open ones eyes to the opportunities and choices that exist in the art field and give him or her
a firm foundation in the Oklahoma art world.
Carolyn: I would recommend an OVAC internship to anyone interested in non-profit administration,
arts management or publishing. With OVAC in particular there are far more options for individual
continued to page 10
OVAC Interns
by Julia Kirt
OVAC interns
Since the first volunteer intern appeared
on OVAC’s door step, interns have truly
made our programs possible. They help
with everything from day-to-day tasks to
big projects.
I believe my first OVAC intern was Nikki
Williams-Sandschaper in 2000 who just
called to say she wanted to start helping
out. She went on to volunteer regularly
for three years, fill in for Stephanie’s
first maternity leave, and served as an
early Momentum curator.
Interns have been from age 16 to ? (we
don’t ask) and come from every regional
school. They are artists of all disciplines,
art historians, writers, public relations
folk and business majors.
Hopefully interns learn something about
being a professional artist, the nonprofit
world and running a small organization.
In turn, we benefit from their fresh
eyes. Numerous interns have served as
sounding boards, offered suggestions
that have improved programs, and
brought new participants to the
organization.
Many interns have become important
leaders in the organization, helping as
ongoing volunteers. Numerous have
become friends. Moreover, interns
have gone on to work for other arts
organizations and volunteer within the
community. I would credit much of
the success of our interns after their
time with us to their innate motivation.
Lots of interns come to us interested
in learning about what is possible in
artists’ careers here and getting to
know the nonprofit world. That kind of
proactive curiosity is laudable. OVAC
benefits from their labors and I am
transformed along with our interns.
About the Author: Julia Kirt has served
as Executive Director of the Oklahoma
Visual Arts Coalition since 1999. She can
be reached at director@ovac-ok.org.
9

OVAC interns
10
continued from page 9
impact within the organization and thus within the
larger arts community. So in that way, interning with
a smaller, locally minded organization can be more
rewarding despite the fact that not everybody will
instantly recognize it on a job resume.
Daisy: I would recommend being an intern to anyone
who has the desire to push themselves, expand their
horizons and take on new and challenging tasks. An
internship is what you make of it; if you do not take it
seriously and expect to learn, your experience will be
fairly limited. I am still using skills I learned from my
time as an intern and I am grateful for the experience.
No experience is required to be an OVAC intern but
the intern needs to work a minimum of four hours
a week. The length of the internship is flexible. An
internship is most beneficial for those interested in
the arts community and/or non-profit administration.
To apply, please send a resume and a letter describing
your interests in the arts and some possible interests in
your future to: Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition, PO
Box 1946, Oklahoma City, OK 73101. n
About the Author: Cathy Deuschle is an artist and a teacher
living in Tulsa.
Erin Latham and Tommy Ball
Past OVAC Interns Current Interns
Anne Albright Stephanie Brudzinski Andrea Gardner Megan Myers Maurice Satterwhite Lori Duckworth
Alyson Atchison Jessica Calvert Kelsey Gillen Siri Ogg
Shikoh Shiraiwa Jacquelyn Sparks
Kelley Baker Katie Carter Ben Haas
Lucja Orlowski Telissa Tillman
Cindi Vasquez
Tommy L. Ball Shannon Crider Benjamin L. Kinney Romy Owens Kathy Vargas
Jennifer Barron Garris Dennis Tosha Kubiak Daisy Patton Lance Waldrop
Vicky Best
Carolyn Deuschle Erin Latham Shannon Priddy Nikki Williams
Julie Bice
Kelley Farrar Paul Mays
Kelly Rains
Kandi Bounds Denise Fox
Sarah McElroy Stephanie Ruggles

Gary Warren, Maxine Warren and
Sue Clancy around the time that the
Artist Survival Kit was formed.
OVAC Stories
MJ Alexander
I’m not an evangelist by nature. I don’t make a
habit of telling people they absolutely have to do
something. But I make an exception for OVAC.
My best two words of advice for every upand-coming
artist -- or been-there-done-thatbut-never-got-around-to-it
artist -- is: JOIN
OVAC. In the last little while I’ve told Joe,
the graphic artist at the Apple Store; James
and Jayme, who make bone jewelry next door;
Jay at Photo Factory; Chris the filmmaker; my
friend Clarissa, who paints and works in glass.
Two words: Join OVAC.
In return, I hear: Yeah, I should. Maybe I will.
Never heard of it. Why should I?
Here’s why. I joined OVAC less than three years
ago, after reading about the group in Art Focus
magazine. I hesitated before checking yes on the
“are you an artist” box. But, what the heck. Yes.
So with that I mailed off the form with $35.
Who knew? In the thousand days since, I
have had at least half a dozen opportunities
that would not have happened otherwise. I
was invited to Quartz Mountain for a free
three-day Creative Capital workshop. My
work was in OVAC’s Biennial exhibition
and catalog, in 12 x 12, on the cover of Art
Focus, and in the OVAC online gallery. I have
received grants for professional development
and continuing education.
In a world riddled with no, OVAC says
yes. It made me realize yes, I am an artist. I’ll
bet you are too.
Check the box.
Just do it.
It could change your life.
Join OVAC.
MJ Alexander is a photographer in Oklahoma City.
Jennifer Barron
Five years ago I graduated from college
with a degree in Fine Arts. The day
of the graduation ceremony, after my friends
and family had left my apartment, I sat down
and thought: okay, what now?
I literally went straight to my computer and
googled “oklahoma art careers internships”
and OVAC’s site was on the the first page,
so I gave them a call and sent in my resume.
I started interning the next week. Every
Wednesday for the next 7 months, I got to
learn the ins and outs of OVAC- from bulk
mailings and data entry to visiting artists in
their studios and hanging artwork- it was a
really varied experience that introduced me
to a career path that I hadn’t given much
thought to: arts administration.
I’d always just assumed that I’d need to leave
OVAC stories
Oklahoma to work in the arts, but every
day I worked at OVAC, I went home
inspired. Meeting artists or looking at slides of
images for the virtual gallery, I was so heartened
to see that Oklahoma DOES and CAN support
lots of artists. Maybe even more than just seeing
artwork, Julia’s positivity and enthusiasm at
the potential here made me rethink a lot of
assumptions I’d made about Oklahoma.
Through working at OVAC, I heard about an
open full-time position at the Arts Council
of Oklahoma City and began working
there. I’ve remained active in OVAC through
volunteering, attending events, and submitting
my own artwork for shows. I have learned so
much, met so many amazing and inspiring
people and have enjoyed taking advantage
of fabulous opportunities- like co-chairing
Momentum OKC.
OVAC is an invaluable resource for artists
in this state, and I am truly grateful for my
involvement with this organization.
Jennifer Barron is a painter in Oklahoma City. She
is Community Arts Program Director for the Arts
Council of Oklahoma City.
Sue Clancy
It was in late 1996 or early 1997 Judy Sullens
picked up a brochure about OVAC in Stage
Center and showed it to me. She knew I was
interested in arts organizations as I had been
active in various Norman area artists associations.
continued to page 12
11

OVAC stories
12
continued from page 11
I read the OVAC brochure and it didn’t quite
make sense but I filed it for future reference.
Later in 1997, I was invited to participate in
a statewide conference on Art in Oklahoma.
The conference was hosted by Alyson Stanfield
at the Fred Jones Museum of Art in Norman.
A number of Oklahoma arts organizations
and artists were present and we milled about
meeting each other. I met Sunni Mercer who
was then the director of OVAC but before I
could ask any questions about OVAC we were
all requested to take our seats. The conference
began and the lady sitting next to me and I
both whipped out our sketchbooks to take
notes. During the first break we admired each
other’s sketchbooks and introduced ourselves.
Maxine Warren was her name and she was there
with her husband Guy. Maxine was on the
board of OVAC. Over the course of the day
Maxine explained about OVAC and I talked
about the work I was doing with the Norman
area artists. Maxine said “We need someone
like you on the board of OVAC.” Two weeks
later we got a phone call from Maxine who said
“You’re now a board member of OVAC and the
first meeting is …”
So I jumped into board membership with all
four feet and became very active. I wanted
to learn by doing. During my first year (or
so) on the board we hired Julia Kirt to be the
new OVAC director. Then at our first board
retreat with Julia I discussed the need for better
‘business-of-art’ skill development for artists.
The board approved and Maxine and I were the
co-chairs of the newly formed Artist Survival
Kit. (We also discussed the need for a better
OVAC brochure!) As a result of my activities
with OVAC I’ve become a better business
person and a more successful, artist. Thanks
OVAC and happy 20th!
Sue Clancy is a mixed media artist in Norman.
Jacqueline Zanoni de los Santos
OVAC has let me get to know many artists and
their work. I have developed as an artist and a
writer from the ongoing conversations I have
had within the Oklahoma artists’ community.
I have grown to love Oklahoma as my state
and I am sure that my experience around the
state with OVAC contributed to that. I think
my most memorable OVAC moments were
brainstorming with and feeling inspired by
other board members, especially Sue Clancy
– who is a spitfire. Also, being up in Laura
Warriner’s place in the mid-nineties before
the day
of the graduation
ceremony, after my
friends and family had
left my apartment, I
sat down and thought:
okay, what now?
-Jennifer Barron
she fixed it up, sitting on an odd assortment
of rickety chairs with a ring of OVAC people
that included Maxine and Guy Warren, Gloria
and Ron Duncan, art critic John Brandenburg,
Janice McCormick and Ed Main, and various
other art historians and artists. We sat in a
circle discussing Suzy Gablik’s Before the End
of Time while the rain poured outside (and
in some places inside). A train came roaring
past making our seats rumble below us – I
remember the generosity of spirit, sharing of
ideas, Laura sharing her space and dreams for it.
Now do you see why I think OVAC made me
love it here?
Jacqueline Zanoni de los Santos is an artist living
in Edmond. She served on the OVAC board from
1990-2003 and was board president 2001-2003.
Beth Downing
The first time I met Julia was dropping off
work for Momentum OKC 2005 and I was
astonished that she knew the name of the artist
I had ridden over with – the director of this arts
group, and she was chatting with actual artists!
That formed my impression of OVAC as an
accessible, friendly, and comfortable group.
The recognition and engagement of young
artists that has come from Momentum is
nothing short of phenomenal. This event
has grown into a prestigious and avant garde
presentation of Oklahoma’s young, creative
class – and has convinced many outside of the
art community that they need look no further
than their own neighborhood to find thoughtprovoking
contemporary art.
I have had six solo shows in the past 4 years,
and attribute my confidence, relationships with
other artists, and business-of-art skills solely
to OVAC. My participation in the Creative
Capital workshop, sponsored by OVAC, marked
the true beginning of my development as an
artist that can talk about herself and her art in a
confident, articulate, and intelligent way.
Elizabeth Downing is a photographer in Tulsa and
an OVAC Board Member.
Jim eldridge
Like the summer in another hemisphere, this
January was burning. Almost to the point
of questioning my own foolishness, I walked
down East Sixth wearing a sleeveless shirt and
the most head-banging metal wig I could find.
This was the hottest winter I could remember,
with black fields of charcoal a haunting
negative of the missing snow. Cigarette butts,
wildfires, and I walked to the center of the
biggest one of all.
A solid line of people were stacked around
the building, like firewood before a great
furnace. Excitement was building, bigger than
anything, beyond the past. I called out to faces,
friends. The bikes gathered like wolves, and
tickets dropped from hands like white beads of
paper sweat.
I was inside, running wild with the breath of
two-thousand others, seared with the color,
form of another thousand images. Then
outside, flames flying from hands, lighters
flashing in chorus, and the rumors of nearby
fire marshalls. Back inside, the crowd roared in
the mazed confusion, paint flew, words spoken
sunk, and I squeezed in unison through every
doorway. Friends from out of town and every
new face to meet, I found the dark edges of
the loading dock and returned to the cooling
embers of red faces, Melissa in her pink bunny
suit, and art gallery kung-fu.
Momentum 2006.
Jim Eldridge serves as OVAC’s Americorps member,
2007-08, focusing on the development of programs for
High School artists.
Kelsey Karper
Growing up and going to high school in
Chickasha, OK, I had an interest in art but
wasn’t really exposed to many opportunities
for artists. Against my school counselor’s
advice, I decided to go on to study art in college,
beginning at Oklahoma City University. It was
a whole new world! During my first semester,
Julia Kirt came to speak in one of my classes
about OVAC. I had never even considered that
an organization like this existed. I took home

all of the materials she brought and read each
line carefully. I joined as soon as I could and
eventually submitted work to Momentum.
The next year, I served on the Momentum
committee. The opportunity to work for OVAC
was exciting to me. I already knew that the Julia
and Stephanie were great to work with and that
this was an organization that I believed in. Since
beginning my job at OVAC, I have met and
worked with even more wonderful people and
been able to be a part of an organization that is
making a difference in the lives of Oklahoma
artists. Happy anniversary OVAC!
Kelsey Karper is a photographer in Oklahoma City
and serves as Marketing and Publications Manager
for the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition.
Julia Kirt
My first exposure to OVAC was when a friend
gave me a ticket to the 12x12 in 1998. I had no
idea what the event was and thought the name a
bit funny! However, I saw the posters hanging
around town. They were red on ribbed paper
with silver and black ink—very well designed,
memorable and hip looking.
The event blew my mind. It was held at
the newly opened gallery of Laura Warriner
(now transformed into the nonprofit Untitled
[ArtSpace]). From what I understood this was
the first big public event. When I walked
up to the super-cool gallery, Mike Hosty was
playing some bluesy tunes. Hundreds of people
were enjoying themselves loudly. There were
esteemed artworks hung on every wall.
I remember hearing artists talking to each other
about new styles of artwork they were creating
and visitors admiring carefully. People were so
joyful to be there, it was infectious. The next
year when I heard OVAC was looking for a new
director, that experience compelled me to apply.
Julia Kirt has served as Executive Director of the
Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition since 1999.
P. S. As an aside to Stephanie Ruggles Winter’s
memory—I too borrowed my suit for my
interview! Luckily it worked and the search
committee must have thought the suit fit me.
Stephen Kovash
Over the last 11 years of my involvement,
OVAC has provided artists with much
needed support in the business of art as well
as providing basic infrastructure needs for
artists. As far as I know, no other organization
in Oklahoma is filling that need. Working
with OVAC and all the people
associated with OVAC has
increased my comfort level
with the decisions I have made
in my art career. I would have
done this stuff anyway, but the
moral support, knowledge and
generosity of OVAC has made a
huge difference in my decisions.
In the next 20 years, I think
OVAC can continue to build on
the past successes and provide
more of the badly needed
infrastructure that will keep
artists in Oklahoma and attract
people to Oklahoma Artists.
Stephen Kovash serves as OVAC
Board President and is owner of
Istvan Gallery at Urban Art in
Oklahoma City.
Sharyl Landis
My first OVAC experience was going on the
Art Studio Tour a few years ago when Ron
Fleming was one of the participants. The next
experience was when Bob Hawks asked me to
be a volunteer at Bob and Jan’s studio during
their Art Studio Tour. After these two events
I decided to join OVAC. My first experience
after joining was going to a Saturday seminar
on several topics – the one I was most interested
in was about pricing your art. I met David
Wolfe who owns a gallery in Claremore and
he said he was interested in what I make. He
had only been open a week. I took several
pieces of jewelry the following week and he
was wonderful to work with. I then applied
for Art 365 which was my first time to apply
for anything like this and I enjoyed getting
everything organized for this application.
This process got me ready to be on the Virtual
Gallery. I also attended a Saturday seminar on
art critique and met with Romney Nesbitt. She
has been very helpful.
The most recent experience was the past Art
Studio Tour which I participated in and it was
wonderful. I enjoyed everything connected to
the Tour – meetings, getting ready for the tour,
opening night event, artist progressive tour and
actual tour. It surpassed everything I could have
imagined. OVAC has helped me so much and I
am very pleased to be a member. Thank you!!!
Sharyl Landis is a jeweler, beadworker and mixed
media artist in Tulsa.
OVAC stories
Sharyl Landis in her studio on
the Tulsa Art Studio Tour 2008.
trent Lawson
I’m not sure exactly how I first heard of OVAC.
I think, as a student, I applied for a couple of
grants (you could do that back then). But, my
OVAC experience pretty much first started with
Momentum.
The first Momentum was in 2002, so I was a
senior at that point. I remember I just barely
heard about this art show with an age limit and
thinking, “Sure I’ll enter that.” Little did I
know what was going to come of it. The show
was unlike anything I’d been to before, with a
woman laying in a kiddy-pool filled with milk
and a 3 foot steel ball breaking things and art
and sculpture and music; it was a good time.
I don’t even remember how I first met Julia, if
it was before or after Momentum. I do know
that after the first Momentum, I was president
of the OCU Art Club and we invited Julia to
speak at one of the meetings. I must have made
a decent impression, because she asked me to
be on the next Momentum committee. Thus
started my volunteer lifestyle and career with
OVAC. The next year I was co-chair and it all
snow balled from there. It’s a slippery slope
with volunteering, and Momentum was my
gateway drug.
Trent Lawson is a mixed media artist in Oklahoma
City. He is also OVAC’s Events Production
Coordinator.
Randy Marks
The first memory I have of OVAC is that it put
a roof over my head.
My house was a flat-roofed Mediterranean
continued to page 14
13

OVAC stories
14
continued from page 13
in an historic Oklahoma City neighborhood. Maintenance on the
house had been deferred for years before I bought it and the roof was
suffering. Each time it rained at least a half dozen containers had to be
deployed to catch water. As a self-employed fledgling artist I was having
difficulty putting $1500 together to get a new roof.
John McNeese called one day to tell me that I had won one of the
Awards of Merit in VisionMakers (along with Corazon Watkins and Don
Narcomey). After the call I literally cried from relief knowing that the
award carried a $1500 prize. For as long as I lived under it my new roof
never leaked in my house which was also my studio and lamp factory.
A couple of months after the VisionMakers opening David Phelps called
to ask if I would like to be a member of the OVAC board of directors. I
was happy to join the board and invest in an organization that had
invested in me. It is thrilling to continue to see OVAC getting stronger
and supporting more artists year after year.
Randy Marks is a sculptor who now lives in
Portland, OR.
Cindy Mason
The first time I was aware of OVAC
was as a volunteer for 12x12 at Stage
Center with the Arts Commandos, a
volunteer group with the Arts Council
of Oklahoma City. John McNeese was
the director at the time. After that one
experience with 12x12, I enjoyed helping
with it so much that I volunteered every
year. I was eventually in charge of the
volunteers for many years. The year of
the first Open Studio Tour, I was asked
to manage the volunteers for all the
studios during the tour. I did that for a
number of years and later Randy Marks
called me to ask me to be on the board.
I was not only thrilled but honored
because I thought highly of OVAC and
really wanted to be a part of it. I thought it over quite seriously and
accepted. I enjoyed my six years on the board and was sad to see my
time come to an end.
One of the best things about OVAC is that it represents all artists in
Oklahoma. That is a daunting feat, yet OVAC has made it happen.
It is open to everyone in the arts community throughout the state. I
think because of that it has helped artists feel a certain pride in being
recognized and appreciated. It has helped bond the arts community.
I have watched OVAC grow since that first 12x12 I was a part of,
not only as an organization in the community, but as an important
organization for our artists across our state, watching them realize the
importance as well and becoming a part of it.
Cindy Mason is a painting and mixed media artist in Oklahoma City.
Paul Medina
A year after the Oklahoma City bombing, I produced a piece of art
for the VisionMakers exhibition that addressed that tragic event. It was
I have always believed
in the potential of
this organization not
only to support artists
like myself, but also
to engender visual
art experiences in
communities across
the state.
-Sunni Mercer
fairly ambiguous but a statement about the work and my feeling about
the bombing accompanied it for installation. I went through the jury
process and was accepted to be a part of the show.
That year, the show was hosted at the Kirkpatrick Center. At the time,
it was one of the only major places to exhibit a show of that caliber.
After the work was delivered and all were waiting for the show to
open, OVAC got a call from the Kirkpatrick Center informing them
that they were planning to censor my piece out of the show.
Panic ensued and an emergency meeting was scheduled that evening. I
was invited to attend. Basically, they left the decision whether to allow
them to pull the piece or refuse to be censored to me. Either cancel
the show or make a compromise. They guaranteed me that they would
stand behind any decision I would make.
Knowing that the whole show, to some degree, hung on my decision, I
chose to work with the center. The compromise was very disheartening
and degrading but I personally bit the
bullet and allowed it to happen. I remember
that time being of growth, not just for me
but OVAC as well. OVAC’s integrity was
tested and they chose to stand for their
principles and for the artists they served.
OVAC never used the Kirkpatrick Center
again for any of their events.
Paul Medina is a mixed media artist in
Oklahoma City.
Sunni Mercer
Years ago, as an emerging artist I
recall researching every possible venue
in Oklahoma for grant and resource
opportunities. I remember Michael Freed,
then Director of IAO, telling me about
OVAC. Shortly after familiarizing myself
with the organization, I became an OVAC
Board Member. I have always believed in
the potential of this organization not only to
support artists like myself, but also to engender visual art experiences in
communities across the state.
When John McNeese resigned, I was asked if I would consider taking
the position as Director. I accepted. Those were difficult years as the
Board worked diligently to keep OVAC solvent. Several grants were
written to create a much needed monetary reserve and operational
budget. Other funding supported new equipment, office furniture and
supplies. The OVAC logo was designed during this time and several
corporate partnerships were developed. In the end, OVAC emerged as
a stronger more resilient organization. New grants and development
programs for artists were established while membership and fundraising
efforts were expanded. I believe that during that period of struggle the
roots of OVAC grew deep setting the foundation for an organization
perched to grow.
I learned a great deal as Director of OVAC. I learned that an
organization is only as strong as its members and its Board, that every
worthwhile program owes its existence to hundreds of volunteer hours
and generous in-kind donations. As I think back to the last Board

Retreat I attended as Director, I remember
thinking when the torch was passed to Julia,
“this was worth it.” Over the years, as I
have watched OVAC, the exciting ways it
has grown and expanded under Julia’s wise
direction I know I was correct; it was worth
it.
Sunni Mercer served as Director of OVAC from
1996-1999.
George Oswalt
OVAC puts the money where their mouth is.
Since the beginning, OVAC has always been
about supporting artists of all disciplines.
George Oswalt is a painter in Oklahoma City.
Kate Rivers
The local art world does little to provide
for artists. OVAC provides a central base,
a place that artists can turn for financial
assistance, an opportunity to exhibit their
work, an information source, and a place
to meet other artists and support people.
Without OVAC these opportunities would
be missing in this state.
Through this organization I have met others
involved in the arts, received exhibition
opportunities, and gained confidence of living
and working in a new state through the active
involvement in this organization.
Kate Rivers is a painter and printmaker living
in Ada. She is also a professor at East Central
University.
Liz Roth
I moved to Oklahoma three years ago, and
as a professional artist, the very first thing
I did was look for artists’ organizations. As
an artist, it’s important to understand who
your community is – other artists, art lovers,
places to exhibit, where to get support of all
kinds – you can’t live in a vacuum.
Every artist I met said “Oh, you HAVE
to join OVAC!” So, of course I did, and
I never looked back! I started by visiting
Open Studios in Tulsa, and by attending
some great events such as DIY Upgrade.
As a professor, I encouraged my students
to apply to Momentum, and they have, in
droves. I teach a professional practices class
for undergraduate artists, and Julia Kirt,
the Director of OVAC, graciously came and
presented great information for my students.
I applied for OVAC’s Art 365 grant, and was
privileged to have been selected. I spent the
next year working hard to make sure I really
earned that money by having a great exhibit. I
understood that individuals and organizations
support OVAC so that OVAC can support
artists’ contributions to our culture, and I
took that trust seriously.
So, really, my life as a professional artist
in this state is quite closely intertwined
with OVAC. I’m proud that we have such
an active arts organization that caters to
many artists’ needs – needs for money, for
exposure, for exhibition venues, for marketing
advice, for acknowledgement. I’ve met great
people, and had and continue to have great
opportunities. Thanks, OVAC!
Liz Roth is a painter in Stillwater and a professor
at Oklahoma State University.
Sue Moss Sullivan
I served on the OVAC Board for about six
years. Sunni Mercer had just been named
Director. I was President of the Board
when we interviewed and hired Julia Kirt
as Director. I consider this the best, most
important move OVAC had made up to that
time. Julia led us to higher grounds with all
her enthusiasm, energy, and expertise, and she
continues to do so. I am very proud to have
been part of that era.
In the next 20 years, I think OVAC will
continue to always remember to support
artists and make art a highly visible priority
to the community at large, no matter how big
OVAC grows.
Sue Moss Sullivan is a fiber artist in Oklahoma
City.
Ben Winter
OVAC has computers. I like to play on them.
Kelsey is good, she gave me speakers. I don’t
know what else to say. I like the stairs and
elevator.
Ben Winter, age 4, son of Stephanie Ruggles
Winter. Ben came to work at the OVAC office with
Stephanie for the first 10 months of his life.
Stephanie Ruggles Winter
The first time I heard of OVAC was from Julia
Kirt. I ran into to her at our friend Estrella’s
party and she started telling me of her very
OVAC stories
cool new job as Executive Director for the
Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition. I had never
heard of it but it sounded very impressive,
more so after my second glass of wine.
I immediately asked her if she needed
an assistant (it never hurts to ask!).
Unfortunately, she did not need one at the
time but within a year she sent me an email
saying she was looking for an intern. I have
never been so nervous as I was to interview for
a very minimal paying internship for a very
wonderful sounding organization. So in my
borrowed suit and revamped resume I went to
meet with Julia at Stage Center.
And the rest is history.
Seven years later, I have moved up from intern
to Program Assistant and have grown to love
this organization and all that it has to offer to
artists and art lovers.
Stephanie Ruggles Winter is a painter in Oklahoma
City. She has served as Program Assistant for
OVAC since 2001. n
Stephanie Ruggles Winter, Ben Winter
(9 months old) and Julia Kirt at the
OVAC Annual Member’s Meeting 2004
15

16
Timeline
1988 Visionmakers,
Richard Copeland
1988 Visionmakers, D.
Vernon, I Miss Chicago
1990 Distinguished Achievement
Award to JR and Fran Witt
1989 Distinguished Achievement Award
presented to Betty Price by Roger Runge
1991 Biennial, Troy Wilson
1988
• Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition incorporated July 20, 1988 by founder John McNeese and signers Laura Warriner and Mark
Briscoe.
• 1 st issue of Cross Currents newsletter
• Beneficiary of Jewel Box Theatre performance
• First grant from State Arts Council of Oklahoma for expansion of newsletter
• Slide registry established
• Membership expanded to over 80 people.
• Board Members: Mark Briscoe, Jerry Brown, Marie Dawson, Nicholas Kyle, John McNeese (Secretary/Treaurer), Roger
Runge (President), Laura Warriner (Vice President)
1989
• 501(c)3 status received from the IRS
• Received grant from State Arts Council of Oklahoma to fund the start up costs of a slide registry
• 1 st Artist Award of Excellence for $1,000 given to a visual artist, James Seitz of Seminole, juror
Murray Smither, Delahunty Gallery, Dallas, TX
• 1 st annual Distinguished Achievement Award to the VisionMakers exhibition, at the time organized
by the State Arts Council of Oklahoma
• Classen Arts Center closes, OVAC office moves to 6431½ N. Ollie
• First Annual Meeting held
• Arts Dialogue established; program to expand public interest and art awareness
• Board Members: Roger Runge (President), Laura Warriner (Vice President), Nicholas Kyle
(Secretary/Treasurer), Mark Briscoe, Jerry Brown, Jon Burris, Marie Dawson, Pat Gallagher, Nona Jean
Hulsey, Linda Warren, Georgia Williams
1990
• OVAC hosts forum on public funding for artists at City Arts Center in OKC
• OVAC takes on the VisionMakers exhibition from State Arts Council of Oklahoma
• Laurie Spencer receives $1,000 Artist Award of Excellence, juror Barry Whistler of Dallas, TX. Carla Cain, OKC receives
$,1000 Media Award of Excellence in photography and Cathey Edwards receives $1,000 Media Award of Excellence in Film
and Video, juror Tom Southall, Fort Worth, TX.
• First 12x12 Art Show & Sale held at Pickard Art Gallery as a fundraiser for OVAC.
• OVAC assists Arts Council of Oklahoma City with “Phantom Galleries” project, setting up exhibits, performances and
installations in vacant storefronts.
• Annual Meeting held at City Arts Center in OKC
• Sudden Opportunity Fund established
• Distinguished Achievement Award to J.R. and Fran Witt
• A Show of Support, an exhibition of small works to benefit the OVAC grant and awards fund raises over $5,500, held at
the Crain Wolov Gallery in Tulsa
• OVAC Newsletter changes to Cross Currents format in July of 1990
• Board Members: Roger Runge (President), Laura Warriner (Vice President), Nicholas Kyle (Secretary/Treasurer), Jerry
Brown, Jon Burris, Marie Dawson, Pat Gallagher, Cecil Lee, James Seitz, Byron Shen, Gael Sloop, Teresa Valero, Linda Warren,
Ann Weisman, Georgia Williams
1991 Biennial,
Byron Shen (middle),
George Oswalt (R)
1991
• Oklahoma Painting Biennial I announced, held at Hulsey Gallery at the Norick Arts Center, juror
Jim Waid, Artist, Tucson, AZ. Three $1,000 awards of merit given to Carol Beesley, George Bogart and
Rebecca Friedman.
• $1,000 award for art criticism to John Pickard for his article, “A Postcard: Reflections on Oklahoma
Art.” Juror Patrice Clark Koelsch, Executive Director, Center for Arts Criticism, St. Paul, MN. Honorable
Mentions given to Janice McCormick and R.G. Allison.
• $1,000 Artist Award of Excellence given to David R. Gill, Lawton, juror Myra Morgan, Kansas City, MO.
• Distinguished Achievement Award to Virginia Myers, founder of Living Arts of Tulsa.
• OVAC partners with State Arts Council of Oklahoma to present VisionMakers exhibition, held at
Oklahoma City Art Museum at the Fair Grounds, juror John Perreault, Senior Curator, American Craft
Museum. Five $1,500 awards of merit given to D.J. Lafon, V’Lou Oliveira, Tom Pershall, David M. Roberts
and Eliza Tillie Woods.
• 2 nd Annual 12x12 fundraiser held at HTB offices (now the OK Commerce Dept)
• OVAC sponsors an exhibition of works by Oklahoma artists at the Hickory Street Annex in Dallas, TX
• Board Members: Jerry Brown, Betty Bowen, Jennie Curtis, Marie Dawson, Pat Gallagher, Nick Kyle,
Cecil Lee, Roger Runge (President), James Seitz, Jan Semrod, Gael Sloop, Maxine Warren, Laura
Warriner (Secretary/Treasurer), Ann Weisman, Georgia Williams (Vice President)

Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition
1992
• Stephanie Grubbs, Edmond, receives the $1,000 Media Award of Excellence in Fiber, juror Morgan Clifford, St. Paul, MN.
• 3 rd Annual 12x12 fundraiser held at Oklahoma School of Science and Math.
• Board Members: Dennis Belindo, Richard L. Bohanon, Betty Bowen, Jerry Brown (Treasurer), Jennie Curtis, Marie Dawson, Kathi
Ann Goebel, Sam Joyner, Nick Kyle (Vice President), D.J. Lafon, Cecil Lee, O. Gail Poole, Roger Runge (President), Anne T. Skupin,
Gael Sloop, Maxine Warren, Laura Warriner (Secretary), Ann Weisman
1993
• Oklahoma Painting Biennial II held at Hulsey Gallery, Oklahoma City University, juror William G.
Otton, President, Wichita Center for the Arts. Three $1,000 Awards of Merit given to Debra Hensley, Byron
Shen and Troy Wilson.
• Edgar Heap of Birds receives the $2,000 Artist Award of Excellence and Paul Medina receives the
$1,500 Media Award of Excellence in Sculpture, juror Betty Moody, Houston, TX.
• Distinguished Achievement Award to Alexandre Hogue for his lifetime of achievement and his inspiration
to other Oklahoma artists.
• OVAC turns five, awards and grants given totals over $25,500
• 4 th Annual 12x12 fundraiser held at Stage Center.
• Board Members: Gene Barth, Betty Bowen, Jerry Brown (Treasurer), Jennie Curtis, Ronald J. Duncan, Don
Finch, Kathi Goebel, Sam Joyner, Nick Kyle, Cecil Lee (Vice President), O. Gail Poole, Roger Runge (President),
Betty Ann Sisson, Anne T. Skupin, Gael Sloop, Maxine Warren, Laura Warriner (Secretary), Ann Weisman
1994
• Two challenge grants received from the Phillips Petroleum Foundation & Kirkpatrick Foundation
• Annual meeting held in Guthrie
• OVAC moves office to Stage Center
• Annual Meeting held in Guthrie
• Maxine Richard receives $2,000 Artist Award of Excellence and DJ Lafon receives $1,500 Media Award of Excellence in Drawing
and Printmaking, juror Jesús Bautista Moroles, Artist, Rockport, TX.
• 5 th Annual 12x12 fundraiser held at Kirkpatrick Center.
• VisionMakers held at Oklahoma City Art Museum, juror Matthew Kangas, Independent Critic and Curator, Seattle, WA. Five
$1,500 Awards of Merit given
• Grants and Awards given totals over $38,500, plus over $10,000 in artist honorarium
• October 3: OVAC moves office to Stage Center
• Board Members: Gene Barth, Thomas Batista, Betty Bowen, Jerry Brown (Treasurer), Rebecca Lowber Collins, Ronald J.
Duncan, Don Finch (Vice President), Kathi Goebel, Sam Joyner, Robbie Kienzle (Secretary), Nick Kyle, Cecil Lee (President), Janice
McCormick, David Phelps, O. Gail Poole, Roger Runge, Betty Ann Sisson, Maxine Warren, Ann Weisman
1995
• Oklahoma Painting Biennial III held at City Arts Center in OKC and then traveled to Ardmore’s Goddard
Center, juror Sandy Ballatore, Curator of Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, NM. Three
$1,500 Awards of Merit given to Jeff Dodd, George Oswalt and Tom Poolaw
• May 5-6: Artist Weekend and Business of Art seminar sponsored by OVAC, held at City Arts Center
• Annual meeting at City Arts Center
• Three $1,500 Artist Awards of Excellence given to Gloria Abella De Duncan, Don Longcrier and Sunni
Mercer, juror Mia McEldowney, Seattle, WA.
• 6th Annual 12x12 fundraiser held at Kirkpatrick Center.
• Board Members: Thomas Batista, Betty Bowen, Jerry Brown (Treasurer), Rebecca Lowber Collins, Ronald
J. Duncan, Kathi Goebel, Robbie Kienzle (Secretary), Nick Kyle, Cecil Lee (President), Janice McCormick,
Sunni Mercer, David Phelps (Vice President), Roger Runge, Toby Thompson, Tom R. Toperzer, Randy
Wallace, Maxine Warren, Ann Weisman
1996
• John McNeese one of 14 individuals and 3 corporations to receive a 1996 Governor’s Arts Award
• John McNeese resigns after serving as Executive Director since OVAC’s formation
• Sunni Mercer of Bethany selected to new directorship
• VisionMakers held at Kirkpatrick Center in OKC and then travels to Bartlesville Museum in Price Tower, Bartlesville, juror Ruth
Deyoung Kohler, Director, John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, WI. Awards of Merit given to Janet Massad, V’Lou Oliveira
and Chris Ramsay
• Three $1,500 Fellowship Awards given to Marty Avrett, Stillwater; Jennifer Gerard Cocoma, OKC; and Dawna Wallis, Tulsa,
jurors Kaleta Doolin, Director, Contemporary Culture Inc and Columbia Art Center, and Alan Govenar, President, Documentary Arts,
Dallas, TX.
• Business of Art Seminar held at McAlpine Center, OKC
• 7 th Annual 12x12 fundraiser held at Stage Center.
• Board Members: Nancy Anderson, Betty Bowen, Ronald J. Duncan, Kathi Goebel, Richard Jenkins, Will K. Jones, Nick Kyle,
Cecil Lee (President), Janice McCormick (Secretary), Sunni Mercer (Vice President), Tom Pershall, David Phelps (Treasurer), Roger
Runge, Toby Thompson, Tom R. Toperzer, Randy Wallace (President-elect), Maxine Warren
1995 Award of Excellence Recipient,
Gloria Abella De Duncan, Sorceress at
Dawn, Acrylic on Canvas, 48”x36”
1995 Award of Excellence
Recipient, Don Longcrier,
Untitled (Hair Straightener),
Metal, Cloth, 12.5”x9”x6.5”
1995 Award of Excellence Recipient, Sunni
Mercer, Upas, Bones, Metal, 15”x17”x11”
1996 Award of Excellence Recipient,
Marty Avrett, #234, Mixed Media,
9”x12”
1996 Award
of Excellence
Recipient,
Dawna Wallis,
Supply &
Demand, Silver
Print & Mixed
Media, 14”x7.5”
17

2000, 12 x 12,
Christiane Faris
18
Timeline
2000, 12 x 12, Bill and
Mary Ellen Gumerson (L&R)
2000, A Decade of Excellence,
John McNeese, Laura Warriner
and Julia Kirt
1999 Member
Meeting, Sue
Clancy and
Sebastian
Mendes
1999 Member
Meeting, Sue
Moss Sullivan &
Byron Shen
1997
• Business of Art seminar: The Professional Slide Registry at Enterprise Square
• New logo designed by Resource Design Associates
• Annual meeting held at Fred Jones, Jr. Museum of Art
• Community Partnership Grant established
• First Open Studio Tour held as a fundraiser
• OVAC establishes first website for announcements and program materials
• Cecil Lee takes over as Editor of Cross Currents
• Oklahoma Painting Biennial IV held at City Arts Center, Kathy A. Albers, Albers Fine Arts Gallery, Memphis, TN.
Three $1,500 Awards of Merit given to John Cox, Wendy Mahsetky-Poolaw and Corazon S. Watkins.
• Three $1,500 Artist Awards of Excellence given to Randy Wallace, OKC; Corazon Watkins, Norman; and John R. Hood,
Stillwater, juror Donald E. Knaub, Wichita, KS.
• Grants and awards to artists totals over $65,000
• 8 th Annual 12x12 fundraiser held at Stage Center.
• Board Members: Nancy Anderson, Ronald J. Duncan, Robert French, Richard Jenkins, Will K. Jones, Cecil Lee, Randy
Marks (Treasurer), Janice McCormick (Secretary), Tom Pershall, Roger Runge, Ira Schlezinger, Gail Sloop, Sue Moss
Sullivan (Vice President), Tom R. Toperzer, Randy Wallace (President), Maxine Warren, John White, Richard Ray Whitman
1998
• OVAC and Women’s Resource Center partner for Business of Art seminar
• Sarkey’s Foundation Grant of $20,000 for growing the organization
• Endowment established at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation.
• Reserve account created to even out cash flow.
• Grants and awards given to artists totals over $70,000
• Over 280 members
• First Community Arts Partnership Grants awarded to Brad Beesley, Norman; and Gwen Ingram, Drumright.
• VisionMakers held at City Arts Center, juror Bruce W. Pepich, Director, Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Art. Three $1,500 Awards
of Merit given to Bryce Brimer, Patrick Synar and George Wilson
• Three $1,500 Artist Awards of Excellence given to Dortha Killian, Norman; Clint Shore, OKC; and Rebecca Friedman Wheeler, OKC, juror
Robert McClain, Houston, TX.
• 9 th Annual 12x12 fundraiser changes to a curated exhibition coupled with silent auction held at Laura Warriner’s new gallery at 1 NE 3 rd
in OKC. Event is Co-Chaired by Randy Marks and Gail Sloop.
• Board Members: Eleanor Carmack, Sue Clancy, Ronald J. Duncan (Vice President), Christiane Faris (Secretary), Robert French
(Treasurer), Cecil Lee, Randy Marks, Cindy Mason, Sebastian Mendes, Janice McCormick, Ira H. Schlezinger, Gael Sloop, Sue Moss
Sullivan (President), Tom R. Toperzer, Maxine Warren, John White
2000, 12 x 12,
Asia, Andy & Sue
Moss Sullivan
2000, 12 x 12, Paul Medina
& ByronShen
1999
• Biennial V expands to include drawing in addition to painting.
• Oklahoma Painting & Drawing Biennial V held at City Arts Center, juror David S. Rubin, Curator of 20 th Century
Art, Phoenix Art Museum. Three Awards of Merit given to Norman Akers, Wendy Mahseky-Poolaw and George Wilson.
• Sunni Mercer resigns from Director position. Sue Moss Sullivan and Randy Marks serve as temporary co-directors.
• July 1: Julia Kirt takes over as Executive Director
• Annual Meeting held at the home of Randy Marks
• Three $1,500 Artist Awards of Excellence given to Mark Lewis, Tulsa; Burt Harbison, OKC; and P. S. Gordon, Tulsa, juror
Don Bacigalupi, Director, San Diego Museum of Art.
• 10 th annual 12x12 fundraiser held at The Gallery of Laura Warriner.
• Board Members: Ellen Berney, Eleanor Carmack, Sue Clancy, John Cox, Jacqueline Zanoni de los Santos, Gloria De
Duncan, Christiane Faris (Vice President), Robert French (Treasurer), Will Gumerson, Janice McCormick, Randy Marks,
Cindy Mason, Ira H. Schlezinger, John Seward, Gael Sloop, Sue Moss Sullivan (President), Maxine Warren
2000
• VisionMakers held at City Arts Center, juror Darrel Sewell, Robert L. McNeil Jr., Curator of American Art and Head of American Art
Dept, Philadelphia Museum of Art. Three $1,500 Awards of Merit given to Pamela Husky, Jaymes Dudding and George Wilson
• Newsletter name changes from Cross Currents to CrossCurrents of Oklahoma,
• Cecil Lee resigns from editorial board, Janice McCormick takes over as Editor
• Business of Art Conference becomes the Artist Survival Kit program, committee led by Sue Clancy and Maxine Warren.
• OVAC accepted as a Tier II member agency of Allied Arts, receiving allocations of general operating support for the organization
• Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art in Shawnee hosts A Decade of Excellence, showcasing artists who had won OVAC Awards of Excellence
over the last 10 years
• Three $1,500 Artist Awards of Excellence given to Don Thompson, Tulsa; Kreg Kallenberger, Tulsa; and Dennis Martin, Oklahoma City.
Guest Curator: Nancy Hoffman, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, NYC
• 11 th annual 12x12 fundraiser held at Untitled Gallery.
• Board Members: Gail Kana Anderson, Nancy Anderson, Ellen Berney, Eleanor Carmack, Sue Clancy, Gloria Abella de Duncan,
Jacqueline Zanoni de los Santos (Vice President), Christiane E. Faris (President), Robert French, Will Gumerson, Randy Marks, Cindy Mason
(Secretary), Sebastian Mendes, Janice McCormick, Janette Meetze, Audrey Schmitz, Dr. Elliott Schwartz, John Seward, Byron Shen, Sue
Moss Sullivan, Maxine Warren, John White (Treasurer)

2001
• Budget tops $100,000.
• OVAC receives grant from Oklahoma City Community Foundation for a second computer and slide scanner, enabling slide
registry to go digital.
• Oklahoma Painting and Drawing Biennial VI held at City Arts Center, juror Terrie Sultan, Director and Chief Curator at the
Blaffer Gallery, Houston, TX. Three Awards of Merit given to Dennis Martin, David Holland and Nathan Opp.
• OVAC Fundraising Dinner hosted by Chris and Laveryl Lower and Laura and Joe Warriner.
• Exhibit of OVAC grant and award winners held at Leslie Powell Gallery in Lawton
• Annual Meeting held at Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art
• OVAC Email Newsletters begin, listing opportunities for artists.
• Stephanie Ruggles (Winter) hired as OVAC’s Program Assistant.
• 12 th annual 12x12 fundraiser held at Untitled Gallery.
• Board Members: Jane Ford Aebersold, Gail Kana Anderson (Vice President), Nancy P. Anderson, Ellen Berney, Eleanor Carmack,
Sue Clancy, Gloria Abella de Duncan, Jacqueline Zanoni de los Santos (President), Christiane E. Faris, Brent Greenwood, Cindy
Mason, Janette Meetze (Secretary), Chris Ramsay, Audrey Schmitz (Treasurer), Elliott R. Schwartz, John Seward, Byron Shen (Vice
President), Kathy Stovall, Debby Williams
2002
• OVAC Grants revamped to include Professional Basics, Creative Projects, and Education Assistance
Grants for artists.
• Momentum: art doesn’t stand still, an interdisciplinary event featuring artists aged 30 and younger,
instigated at Stage Center Theatre, OKC. Jurors: Nikki Williams and Debby Williams.
• Open Studio Tour expands to Tulsa
• VisionMakers held at Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, juror Lane Coulter, Independent Curator, Santa Fe,
NM. Three $1,500 Awards of Merit given to Ron Fleming, David Phelps and Elia Woods.
• Three $2,000 Artist Awards of Excellence given to Brandon Reese, Stillwater; Steven L. Brown,
Chickasha; and Robert Dorlac, Hydro, juror Betsy Senior, Senior and Shopmaker Gallery, NYC.
• 13 th annual 12x12 fundraiser held at 410 N. Walker in OKC.
• Board Members: Jane Aebersold, Gail Kana Anderson, Carissa Bish, Eleanor Carmack, Sue Clancy,
Jacqueline Zanoni de los Santos (President), Joan Goth, Brent Greenwood, Cindy Mason, J.D. Merryweather,
Chris Ramsay, Audrey Schmitz (Treasurer), Elliott R. Schwartz, John Seward, Carl Shortt, Kathy Stovall (Vice
President), Suzanne Thomas, Steve Tomlin, Debby Williams
2003
• OVAC Gallery is launched online, created from the Slide Registry.
• Collaborative fundraiser with the Chocolate Factory Theatre Company called “Electric Summer.”
• Momentum held at Stage Center. Curators: Janice Seline, Exhibitions Curator at Oklahoma City Museum of Art and Burt Harbison,
Director of Nona Jean Hulsey Gallery.
• Oklahoma Painting & Drawing Biennial VII held at City Arts Center, juror Raechell Smith, founding Director of the H&R Block
Artspace at Kansas City Art Institute. Three Awards of Merit given to Ernesto Sanchez, Mark Lewis and John Cox.
• The Oklahoma Visual Arts Fellowship of $5,000 is established to supplement the awards and grants program. Heidi Mau, Norman,
receives the first Fellowship. Juror Patricia C. Phillips, Dean of the School of Fine and Performing Arts at the State University of New
York, New Paltz, is the Executive Editor of Art Journal.
• Three $2,000 Artist Awards of Excellence given to Kristy Lewis Andrew, Tulsa; Michelle Martin, Tulsa; and Chris Ramsay,
Stillwater, juror Patricia C. Phillips.
• 14 th annual 12x12 fundraiser held at TAPArchitecture.
• Board Members: Jane Aebersold (President), Ellen Berney, Carissa Bish, Richard Bivins, Diana Brown, Sue Clancy, Joan Goth,
Brent Greenwood (Vice President), Pam Hodges, Cindy Mason, J.D. Merryweather (Vice President), Chris Ramsay, Audrey Schmitz,
Elliott Schwartz, John Seward, Carl Shortt, Kathy Stovall, Suzanne Thomas (Treasurer), Steve Tomlin, Teresa Valero, Debby Williams
2004
• Momentum held at Farmer’s Market. Curators: Sue Clancy and Heidi Mau.
• First Momentum Tulsa held at the Matthews Building in the Brady District. Curator: Dr. Michaela
Merryday.
• Receive first grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to support exhibition programs.
• Receive first National Endowment for the Arts grant to support the Artist Survival Kit program.
• VisionMakers held at Individual Artists of Oklahoma Gallery, juror Diane Barber, Visual Arts Director,
Diverseworks, Houston, TX. Three $1,500 Awards of Merit given to Jonathan Hils, Phyllis Mantik and Bob
Hawks.
• $5,000 Oklahoma Visual Arts Fellowship given to Jonathan Hils, Norman. Three $2,000 Artist Awards
of Excellence given to Joseph Daun, Oklahoma City; Laura A. Guth, Midwest City; and Gary Hickerson,
Oklahoma City. Juror Mark Pascale, Chicago, IL.
• 15 th annual 12x12 fundraiser held at The Montgomery building.
• Board Members: Thomas Batista, Ellen Berney, Carissa Bish, Richard Bivins, Diana Brown, Maya
Christopher, Claudia Doyle, Joan Goth, Pam Hodges, J.D. Merryweather (Treasurer), Chris Ramsay, Elliott
Schwartz, John Seward (Vice President), Carl Shortt (President), Lila Todd, Suzanne Thomas (Secretary),
Teresa Valero, Rick Vermillion
Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition
2002 Tulsa Artists
Studio Tour
2004 Members Meeting
2001 Studio Tour, George Oswalt
2001 Biennial, Kathy Stovall
2002 Momentum,
Kory Twaddle
2003 Momentum, Molly O’Connor (L)
2003, Julia Kirt in
OVAC office
2004 Momentun in Tulsa
2004 Momentun, OKC,
Steve Schmidt
19

20
Timeline
2005 12 x 12,
Erin Oldfield
2005
First Issue
as Art Focus
Oklahoma
2005 Creative Capital
2005
• Lori Oden welcomed as new Publications and Marketing Associate.
• Momentum held at 1100 N Broadway. Curators: Dustin Hamby and Troy Wilson.
• Momentum Tulsa held in former Luby’s building. Curators: Bryce Brimer and Sarah Williams Hearn.
• Partnered with Creative Capital, NY-based organization, for an in-depth Professional Development Retreat
• Budget tops $200,000.
• The magazine Cross Currents of Oklahoma’s name changes to Art Focus Oklahoma.
• Oklahoma Painting & Drawing Biennial VIII held at University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, juror Elizabeth Dunbar,
Curator of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City. Awards of Merit given to John Cox, Bradley Jessop, Sharon McCoy,
Kathleen Rivers, Michael Wilson and Larry Preston.
• 16th annual 12x12 fundraiser held at Sonic Building.
• Board Members: Thomas Batista, Diana Brown, Claudia Doyle, Jean Ann Fausser, Skip Hill, Pam Hodges (Vice President), Michaela
Merryday, J.D. Merryweather, Dwayne Morris, Chris Ramsay, Kathleen Rivers, Elliott Schwartz, John Seward (Vice President), Carl Shortt
(President), Suzanne Thomas, Lila Todd (Secretary), Teresa Valero, Rick Vermillion (Treasurer)
2006
• Kelsey Karper named Marketing and Publications Manager
• Partnered with Untitled [ArtSpace], IAO Gallery, University of Oklahoma, and University of Central Oklahoma to
host the Upgrade! International: DIY Symposium.
2006 A.S.K., Guymon
• Momentum held at 111 N. Harrison. Curators: Steve Ligget and Dr. Susan Caldwell.
• Momentum Tulsa held at Mathews Warehouse. Curators: Joe Daun and EK Jeong.
• VisionMakers held at Leslie Powell Gallery, juror Mark Masuoka, Director, Bemis Center, Omaha, NE.
• $5,000 Oklahoma Visual Arts Fellowship given to Glenn Herbert Davis, Tulsa. Three $2,000 Artist Awards
of Excellence given to Kjelshus Collins, Oklahoma City; Martha Avrett, Stillwater; and Sarah Williams Hearn,
2006 Tulsa
House Beautiful,
Cindy Swanson (R)
2007 12 x 12 Paul and Trinity Mays
2007 Momentum, Tulsa
2008 Art 365, Julia Kirt and Diane Barber
Oklahoma City. Juror Bill Goldston, ULAE, NYC.
• OVAC invited as featured charity at Tulsa House Beautiful Show.
• 17 th annual 12x12 fundraiser held in a former school at 410 Walnut.
• Board Members: Thomas Batista, Jean Ann Fausser, Joey Frisillo, Skip Hill, Pam Hodges (President), E.K.
Jeong, Stephen Kovash, Michaela Merryday, Suzanne Mitchell, Dwayne Morris, Chris Ramsay, Kathleen Rivers, Ira
Schlezinger, John Seward (Vice President), Carl Shortt, Suzanne Thomas, Lila Todd (Secretary), Rick Vermillion
(Treasurer), Elia Woods
2007
• OVAC invited as featured charity at Oklahoma City Home & Garden Show.
• Budget tops $300,000.
• 800 members.
• Annual Members Meeting held at Artsplace Ponca City
• Momentum held at Downtown Airpark. Curators: Bert Seabourn and Christian Pitt.
• Momentum Tulsa held at Living Arts and Liggett Studio. Curators: Glenn Herbert Davis and Alison Carter.
• Biennial expands to include photography and printmaking.
• Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition Biennial held at Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art, juror Catherine Morris, Adjunct Curator of
Contemporary Art, Philbrook Museum of Art and independent curator, New York City, NY. Awards given to Chris Small, Stefan Chinov,
Narciso Argüelles, David Goodrich, Yiren Gallagher and Frank Wick.
• Tulsa Art Studio Tour Retrospective Exhibit held at Tulsa Performing Arts Center.
• Trent Lawson hired as Events Production Coordinator.
• Two $5,000 Oklahoma Visual Arts Fellowships given to Marwin Begaye, Norman, and Brandon Reese, Stillwater. Juror Jed Dodds,
Artistic Director, Creative Alliance, Baltimore, MD.
• OVAC website is redesigned.
• Jim Eldridge begins work as OVAC’s Americorps member
• 18th annual 12x12 fundraiser held at Fred Jones Industries Building.
• Board Members: Cathy Deuschle, Elizabeth Downing, Jean Ann Fausser (Treasurer), Joey Frisillo, Skip Hill, Jonathan Hils, Pam Hodges
(President), Eunkyung Jeong, Stephen Kovash (Vice President), Suzanne Mitchell, RC Morrison, Richard Pearson, Kathleen Rivers, Ira
Schlezinger, John Seward, Carl Shortt, Suzanne Thomas, Lila Todd, Rick Vermillion, Sydney Bright Warren, Elia Woods (Secretary)
2008 (through June)
• OVAC celebrates 20th Anniversary!
• Momentum held at former furniture store. Curators: Paul Medina and George Oswalt.
• Art 365, OVAC’s new exhibit, opens at Untitled [ArtSpace] and then travels to Tulsa, Cedar Rapids, IA and
2008
Momentum,
OKC, Patrick
Cunningham
Houston, TX. Curator: Diane Barber, Visual Arts Curator and Co-Executive Director, Diverseworks, Houston, TX.
• OVAC collaborates with Oklahoma City Museum of Art and International Photography Hall of Fame & Museum
for Photo Slam event.
• Momentum Tulsa held at Living Arts, Liggett Studio and Oklahoma Equality Center. Curators: Sunni Mercer
and Jennifer Barron. Features addition of Momentum Spotlight.

Michael Reust, recipient of the OVAC
Student Award of Excellence at
Oklahoma State University
Round UP July/August 2008
Thanks to the Momentum Tulsa Committee with Geoffrey Hicks as
Chair, hosting venues of Living Arts, Liggett Studio, and the Oklahoma
Equality Center, and sponsors for the great success of Momentum Tulsa.
OVAC Student Awards of Excellence were awarded through several
universities this year, including Rebecca Harkey at University of
Central Oklahoma and Michael Reust at Oklahoma State University.
Congratulations to these students for their hard work.
Save the date: the 12x12 Art Sale and Exhibition is September 20, 2008
at the Fred Jones Industries Building, 900 W Main in OKC. Watch for
more information and the preview gallery online at www.12x12okc.org.
A big thank you goes to our most excellent interns who helped into the
spring (and fall). Stephanie Brudzinski, aka Earth Mama, helped us tons
with everything from Virtual Gallery to a gallery database. She is making
mixed media work and ceramics in her studio outside Arcadia. Shannon
Thank you to our New and Renewing Members from March and April 2008
Denise Alexander
Randy Anderson
Kristy Lewis Andrew
Marc Barker
Jennifer Barron
Sandy Berenson
Ruth Ann Borum
Patti R. Bray
Bryce Brimer
Kathryn Brunk
Sharon Burchett
Dennis and Deborah Burian
Jean Artman Campbell
Angela and J. Justin Castro
Jerry L. Cathey
Sue Clancy and Judy Sullens
Larry Clingman
Marty Coleman
Gerald Martin Cournoyer
Lisa Crandall
Bryan Dahlvang
Betty Dalsing
Andrea Davis
Genni Davis
Alicia Diehl
Robert Dohrmann
R. Vernon Enlow
Jeanie Etris
Jennifer Lynn Farrar
Joseph Gierek Fine Art
Ian Gillis
Grace Grothaus
Mary Beth and Michael Guard
Sue Hale
David Halpern
Pat Harris
Ruth Harris
Edwin Helm
Beverly Herndon
John C. Hill
Mary Hines
Michael Hoffner
David Holland
Paula Howell
Eric Humphries
Gwen Ingram
Sheri Ishmael-Waldrop
Jane Iverson
V. Kaye Jack
Kathy Jageler
Dan and Renee Jones
Sam and Elizabeth Joyner
Jean Keil
Carol Koss
Terry La France
Adam Labe
Diane Leggett
Kelley Lunsford
Bruce and Ellen Macella
Joe Machado
Jim McCue
Sandra Midgett
Cindy Miller
Julie Miller
Teresa Miller
Corrie Moore
Glenda Cook Mullins
Byron O’Neal
Nathan Opp
Judith A Osborne
Wallace Owens
Kim Pagonis
Patty S. Porter
Pam Powell
Judith Prise
OVAC news
Crider graduated from Oklahoma City University this spring and will be
painting around the world soon.
Art People and news
The Norman Arts Council has named Rick Fry as Executive Director.
Fry is a painter and most recently coordinated the volunteers for the first
annual Norman Music Festival. Former director Marta Burcham has
moved to Bartlesville (watch for her getting involved there).
Living Arts of Tulsa has been selected to become a full partner in the
National Performance Network. This means Living Arts will be able to
host subsidized residencies by performing artists. Living Arts is the first
partner organization in the plains of the country, including Oklahoma,
Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Congratulations! n
Chris Ramsay
Robert and Renee Reed
Michelle Firment Reid
Tom and Velma Sanders
Matt Seikel and Denise Duong
Ann Shaw
Shikoh Shiraiwa
Carl and Beth Shortt
Silver
Frank and Pat Simons
L. Michael Smith
Earline Strom
Shirley Sutterfield
Don Thompson and Barbara Eikner
J. Diane Trout Harwood
Kristen Vails
Patricia Vestal
Charleen Weidell
Lori Wenninger
Karen Wilson
Elia Woods
Beverly Woods
Eric Wright

22
gallery guide
Gallery Listings & exhibition Schedule
Ardmore
Art de Cuba
July 14 – August 31
Opening July 24
The Goddard Center
401 First Avenue SW
(580) 226-0909 goddardcenter.org
Bartlesville
Setting the Table: Designs in Mid-
Century Dinnerware
Through August 3
3-logy Triennial 2008: Imaginative
Qualities of Actual Things
August 22 – January 6, 2009
Price Tower Arts Center
510 Dewey Ave.
(918) 336-4949 pricetower.org
Chickasha
Selections from the Permanent Collection
Through August
University of Sciences and Arts of
Oklahoma Gallery-Davis Hall
1806 17 th Street
(405) 574-1344 usao.edu/gallery/
Durham
Joss Buss: Roger Mills County
Earl Crammer: The New Ol’ West
Through August 30
Metcalfe Museum
Rt. 1 Box 25
(580) 655-4467 metcalfemuseum.org
Signe Stuart, In Silence (detail),
tyvek installation, on exhibit at
Untitled [ArtSpace] in Oklahoma City
July 11-August 30
edmond
Kenny McKenna
Opens July 24, 5-7
Shadid Fine Art
19 N. Broadway
(405) 341-9023 shadidfineart.com
el Reno
RCC 3 rd Annual Fine Arts Faculty
Show
Through August 1
5to9 Exhibition
August 11 – September 25
Redlands Community College
(405) 262-2552 redlandscc.edu
Guthrie
Maria Esperanza Saldarriaga &
Jaime Macias
Through July 17
Owens Arts Place Museum
1202 E. Harrison
(405) 260-0204 owensmuseum.com
Lawton
Kristine Lantgen & Suzanne Randall
Opens July 12, 7-9
The Leslie Powell Foundation and Gallery
620 D Avenue
(580) 357-9526 lpgallery.org
norman
Hung Liu: Now and Then
Through July 6
China: Insights
Through July 17
Tradition in Transition: Russian Icons
from the Hillwood Collection
Through August 24
Highlights from the Adkins Collection
Through December 28
Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art
555 Elm Ave.
(405) 325-4938 ou.edu/fjjma
David Phelps, Jose Rodriguez, Michael
Almaguer
Through July 5
NEW Show: Benjy Russel and Friends
August 29 – October 4
Opens August 29, 7-9
Mainsite Contemporary Art Gallery
122 East Main
(405) 292-8095 mainsite-art.com
Velma Sanders, Fury at Sundown, a part of the Traditions exhibit at Exhibit
One Gallery in Stillwater, July 8-26
Oklahoma City
Karl Brenner & Paula Willis Jones
July 4 – 26
Opens July 4, 6-10
JRB Art at the Elms
2810 North Walker
(405) 528-6336 jrbartgallery.com
SIMPATICO: new works of Paul
Medina
Through July 3
The Best of Ponca City
July 8 – September 24
Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma
Heritage Museum
1400 Classen Dr.
(405) 235-4458
oklahomaheritage.com
Being Buffalo Bill: Man, Myth and
Media
Through July 6
Prix de West
Through September 7
National Cowboy & Western
Heritage Museum
1700 NE 63 rd
(405) 478-2250
nationalcowboymuseum.org
Paul McEntire
Through July 6
Mark Lewis
Through July 13
Corazon Watkins
Through July 27
Oklahoma State Capital Galleries
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd
(405) 521-2931 state.ok.us/~arts
Roman Art from the Louvre
Through October 12
Oklahoma City Museum of Art
415 Couch Drive
(405) 236-3100 okcmoa.com
Romantic Materialism
July 11 – August 30
Opens July 11, 5-8
Untitled [ArtSpace]
1 NE 3 rd St.
(405) 815-9995 1ne3.org
Shawnee
Medieval Art
Opens July 11
Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art
1900 West Macarthur
(405) 878-5300 mgmoa.org
Skiatook
National Treasure
Through July 26
Beat the Heat
July 30 – September 27
Prairie’s Edge Art Gallery
100 E. Rogers Blvd.
(918) 384-9104 prairiesedgeart.com
Stillwater
Traditions
July 8 – 26
Opening, July 18, 6:30-8
Exhibit One Gallery
102 N. Main St.
(405) 533-3ART xonegallery.com

tulsa
Lana Taylor
Through July 3
Waterworks
July 10 – August 7
Apertures Gallery
1936 South Harvard
(918) 742-0500 aperturesphoto.com
Rendezvous 2008
Through July 13
101 Ranch: The Real Wild West
July 12 – January 25, 2009
Gilcrease Museum
1400 Gilcrease Road
(918) 596-2700 gilcrease.org
The Object Project: Common Subjects,
Uncommon Results.
Through September 21
The Eugene B. Adkins Collection
Through December 31
The Philbrook Museum of Art
2727 South Rockford Road
(918) 749-7941 Philbrook.org
Jesse Small, Ghost, porcelain, on exhibit at Untitled
[ArtSpace] in Oklahoma City July 11-August 30
Suite OK II: Adrienne Day
July 3 – 26
Claudia Hammer
August 1 - 23
Tulsa Artists Coalition Gallery
9 East Brady
(918) 592-0041 tacgallery.org
Color and Serenity: The Paintings
by Michio Takayama
Through July 6
Las Pajaritas – A Communication
Migration
July 8 - 31
Tulsa Performing Arts Center
Gallery
Third and Cincinnati
(918) 596-2368 tulsapac.com
Contact editor for information about
submitting listings at publications@
ovac-ok.org. For a more complete list
of Oklahoma galleries, visit www.
ovac-ok.org.
Alfred Smith, Guardian, a part of the Traditions exhibit at Exhibit One Gallery
in Stillwater, July 8-26
gallery guide
23

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