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Bright Golden Haze: Reflections brings the spirit of Oklahoma Contemporary’s inaugural show to arts experiences across Oklahoma City

There's a bright golden haze on the metro.

In conjunction with the inaugural exhibition, opening March 13, Oklahoma Contemporary is partnering with organizations across Oklahoma City for can’t-miss satellite shows in every corner of town. Visitors can extend their Bright Golden Haze experience beyond our doors to see the whole city in a new light.

Through a series of Kirkpatrick Family Fund grants for OKC arts and cultural organizations, Bright Golden Haze: Reflections brings the theme of light as a medium for creating space to a rich variety of public art installations, performances, film screenings and more. Each partnering organization will bring its unique perspective and mission to this thoughtful exploration of luminescence and landscape, beginning alongside our opening show and continuing throughout 2020.

“By partnering with some of the many creative not-for-profit groups in Oklahoma City to present works inspired by Bright Golden Haze, we’re able to enhance our new arts center’s impact on the community,” said Oklahoma Contemporary Artistic Director Jeremiah Davis. “The projects in Reflections set the stage for a citywide celebration of contemporary creativity, forging connections and encouraging dialogue between art forms and organizations.”

So what does this kind of metro-spanning, multi-organization arts experience look like? It looks like fireflies in the distance at Myriad Gardens, where Oklahoma artist Nathan Pratt’s mixed-media LED installations pulse with the magic of childhood. For Oklahoma City Ballet, it looks like the graceful pirouettes of dancers, lit in costumes glowing against the night sky.

“These projects set the stage for a citywide celebration of contemporary creativity, forging connections and encouraging dialogue between art forms and organizations.”

Present Tense (2005-6) by Barbara Astman — Oklahoma City Museum of Art

For Michael Anderson, president and CEO of Oklahoma City Museum of Art, the partnership was an opportunity to debut significant works from the museum’s collection. OKCMOA’s The Art of Light will explore the themes of light and space with installations never before seen at the museum. “We are particularly excited to present what is believed to be the first-ever work of laser art,” Anderson said.

Laser Drawing (1967) by Forrest Myers was originally installed at Max’s Kansas City nightclub in New York City, an iconic gathering place for artists, poets and musicians in the 1960s and ’70s. Anderson is looking to bring that same high-level creative energy to OKC through this alliance with Oklahoma Contemporary ― the first of what he hopes will be many joint efforts to stoke the city’s cultural embers. “We’re looking forward to partnering more in the future and to the continued growth and development of our vibrant downtown arts and cultural scene.”

For many of the partners involved, that spirit of collaboration and community is just as vital as the work itself. “Partnerships and supporting the humanities in Oklahoma are very important to us,” said Lori Oden, director of exhibits at the Oklahoma History Center. “Being invited to participate in this project has us all abuzz.”

Oklahoma History Center visitors will also have plenty to buzz about, when they step into an interactive fabric maze featuring up to 600 linear feet of bright yellow fabric snaking throughout the Center’s grounds. Interactive elements will emulate a candle carousel evoking images from the opening number in Oklahoma!, from which Bright Golden Haze takes its name. The largest interactive will be a zoetrope, creating the illusion of movement through a rapid succession of static images related to the musical.

This is, of course, just a peek at what’s in store across the city when the sun rises on our inaugural exhibition in March and shines through the coming seasons. Whether you’re drawn to visual art, performance, film or points in between, one thing is for sure — Bright Golden Haze: Reflections will be a one-of-a-kind arts experience you will never forget. For more information, including a complete list of partnering organizations, dates and descriptions, click here.

Tags
arts public art community performance art installation gallery museum

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