In the Moment: Art Now Takes a Snapshot of Current Art-making in the State by Jennifer Barron
Tara Ahmadi, Norman, Which One Becomes Disappointed Faster, Video still
Oklahoma City’s City Arts Center is welcoming the new year with a brand new art event: Art Now, opening January 20. While City Arts Center has produced Cafe City Arts for the past several years at this same time of year, the organization’s staff saw a chance to do something new, and the idea for Art Now was born. “[Cafe City Arts] has been a great success,” Executive Director Mary Ann Prior describes. “It’s been known as a big party, with lots of fun and lots of artists, but we noticed it was becoming a bit formulaic.” In some ways, this new exhibition will be an extension of some of the best parts of Cafe City Arts. There will be a festive opening reception to debut the show. In other ways, Art Now will represent a shift in philosophy that echoes the ongoing evolution of City Arts Center. These changes come at a time when the organization’s programs, services, and identity are undergoing a thorough evaluation. Prior and staff are hard at work confirming this organization’s place as a vibrant, dynamic center for visual arts in the state, and Art Now is a confident step in this direction.
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With Art Now, City Arts plans to debut an event that will serve as an annual survey of the best in Oklahoma art. Each year, City Arts Center staff plans to work with a different curator and select 25 of the state’s best and most relevant contemporary artists. Curator Romy Owens approached the task with a clear vision. “I really tried to make the show as conceptual as possible,” she commented. “I wanted a true survey with lots of diversity, and little repetition.” A quick scan of the list of invited artists shows diversity in the geography, media, and content on offer. Invited artists hail from every corner of the state, from Skiatook to Weatherford, and they work in diverse media including painting, photography, mixed media, printmaking, sculpture, fiber, and film. Reflected in this artist pool are some of the difficult choices Owens made along the way. “I started with a list of 100 artists, and just narrowed and narrowed,” she said, adding frankly, “Some of the decisions were very hard.”