We support arts and culture, education, animal wellbeing, environmental conservation, and historic preservation in central Oklahoma. | đ Reportđđ˝
Get excited for the 18th annual Green Box Arts Festival in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado! The festival, running July 4â19, features performances, installations, and engaging community events. Tickets for individual eventsâmany freeâwill be available at 9 a.m. Mountain Time on June 1. Book early to make sure you can experience the arts up close. Join us!
đˇ @greenboxarts . Photos 2 and 5 by Jeff Kearney, photo 3 by Billy Joe Miller, and photo 4 courtesy of Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light.
Oklahoma City's @Calder Ăłn Dance Festival is May 16! đ
Now in its fifth year, the festival celebrates the life of Shannon CalderĂłn and her dedication to creating diverse and equitable opportunities in dance. This year's festival will be headlined by Marty Kudelka, choreographer for Justin Timberlake. Find out more about the festival and its history in the latest @readartdesk , on stands now.
đˇ Gavynn Redd, @eye.of.redd Photography
Oklahoma City-born renowned writer Ralph Waldo Ellison burst onto the national scene in 1952 with his first novel, The Invisible Man. Now, the Ralph Ellison Library in Oklahoma City houses the state's Black History Collection and has become a cultural hub with free monthly programming aimed at community, culture, film, and poetry.
The Society of Urban Poets will host its next Open Mic Poetry Night at the library on May 18, featuring poetry on the topic of Memorial Day.
Learn more in the latest issue of @readartdesk , on stands now.
Ever wondered how ideas become reality in a city? Kirkpatrick Publishingâs âParks of Oklahoma City: A Historyâ by Bob Blackburn and Brian Dougherty provides a blueprint for how projects succeedâor failâthrough the mechanisms of city government, the business and nonprofit community, local volunteers, and advocacy. Here, our local parks are the case study. This spring, learn about why the city created golf courses starting in the 1920s, why you can find segments of Grand Boulevard all around the city, and how anyone determined to add beauty to their community through green space can help make it a reality.
đˇ Kirkpatrick Publishing, @kirkpatrickfamilyfund
Forester and author Ethan Tapper will speak with Kirkpatrick Foundation Executive Director Kelley Barnes this July in an @readartdesk Conversation at @greenboxarts Festival in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado. Tapper wrote New England Book Award winner How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World. In it, he asks how we can use our species' incredible power to heal rather than to harm.
The ArtDesk Conversation lineup at Green Box also features Colorado artists Billy Joe Miller and Shannon Mello, Robert Meya of the @santafeopera , and the @okcballet . Join us for the annual arts festival and fantastic conversations this summer!
đˇ @howtoloveaforest
Join us for an @readartdesk Conversation with artist Jakian Parks and The Black Land curator ChloĂŠ Flowers at @okcontemporary this Thursday, May 7 from 6 to 9 p.m. Together, they will explore how Parksâs background in photographyâand the projects that have shaped his careerâinform his artistic practice today. The discussion will also offer insight into Parksâs documentation process and how it ultimately culminated in the exhibition The Black Land.
Families of current fifth-graders are invited to apply now for a free, full-time summer camp this July @okcontemporary . Kirkpatrick Explorers is designed to give a boost to students who make average grades and attend public and public charter schools. With dynamic, experienced educators at the helm, students will explore sites across the city, experience hands-on learning, and get a leg up on sixth grade so they can start school this fall ready and confident.
Learn more and apply at okcontemp.org/kirkpatrick. Applications require short answers from the student, a parent or guardian, and a teacher. Early applications will receive priority consideration. Families will be notified by May 22. Join us!
As an independent nonprofit newsroom, the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting serves the public as an independent watchdog dedicated to covering powerful agribusinesses through investigative, data-driven journalism. With a focus on the animal agriculture industry, including the impacts of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and meatpacking plants, the center produces stories to inform the public, amplify underrepresented voices, and advance the importance of building a more humane and sustainable food system.
đˇ @investigatemidwest partnered with @readartdesk to investigate foreign ownership of farmland in Oklahoma. New state legislation exempts Chinese-owned Smithfield Farms from restrictions on foreign ownership. Read more in the winter 2025â26 issue of ArtDesk magazine. Photos by Zach Lucero.
Artists, educators, organizations, and advocates gather each year for Arts Day at the Oklahoma State Capitol for advocacy training, learning about key legislative issues that impact the arts while connecting directly with state legislators. This yearâs event will take place 8 a.m.â2 p.m. Thursday, April 30. As longtime supporters of the arts and arts education, we celebrate this collective commitment to spotlight the transformative role of the arts in our communities. We hope to see you there!
đˇ @ok4arts
Apply now for an exciting new summer camp for students who will enter sixth grade this fall! Kirkpatrick Explorers is for students who earn average grades. The FREE, full-time camp runs MondayâFriday, July 13â31. It will give students a taste of topics theyâll learn in school so they have confidence going into the new year. Experienced educators will provide hands-on learning based at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center.
Visit okcontemp.org/kirkpatrick to learn more and apply. Applications require short responses from the student, their parent or guardian, and a teacher. Twelve students who attend public or public charter schools will be accepted.
Happy Arbor Day! đł
Trees are not only essential to biodiversity and air quality but also hold history that spans centuries. Climate change, deforestation, and fewer protections against logging continue to devastate forests. Weâve highlighted some of these great trees, each notable for its own reasons. Catch the full list in the latest issue of @readartdesk , on stands now.
Do you have a favorite tree? đ˛ Leave us a comment and let us know!
đˇ In 1997, Julia âButterflyâ Hill climbed a 1,000-year-old coastal redwood named Luna, protecting the tree and its grove from clear-cutting. Hill lived on a platform 180 feet in the air for 738 days. The tree is now cared for by the nonprofit Sanctuary Forest. The General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park in California towers more than 274 feet and is about 2,200 years old.
