The Inspiring Conversations Podcast

Jeff sits down with Meg Sutherland as she shares deeply about her inner journey through the process of creation of The Victory of Greenwood project and what it all means to her personally.  She also speaks very compellingly about her own evolution through this process.

To learn more about The Victory of Greenwood project and the book, visit
https://thevictoryofgreenwood.com

Meg Sutherland is a communications and marketing professional with over 15 years of experience. Much of her focus has been on helping area non-profits that provide assistance for women, children and minorities. Most recently, she co-founded Spark Collaborative which supports creative projects with some element of social responsibility. The most recent of these is the Victory of Greenwood where she performs extensive research, editing and grant writing.

Her pro-bono work has included providing public relations services to TulsaNow and as a storyteller for Code for Tulsa (a local brigade of Code for America). She was also instrumental in the creation of Tulsa Little Jam, a video and podcast series showcasing area musicians and performers, which launched in Tulsa in 2018.  Meg graduated, cum laude, from Langston University in 1996 with a B.A. in Psychology. She has two adult sons and resides in Tulsa, OK.

The Victory of Greenwood​ endeavors to tell the story of Greenwood from the perspective of the heroes and entrepreneurs who built Greenwood and then rebuilt it after its destruction. Historians have published many books and articles about the days surrounding the 1921 Race Massacre, but Tulsa knows very little about the founding of Greenwood. We as a city know even less about Greenwood's reconstruction. Against all odds, the neighborhood was built again, better than before, and became known as “Black Wall Street”.

The name Victory of Greenwood is attributed to Timantha Norman, executive editor of the Tulsa Star. She and her staff have been wonderful joint partners throughout the process of writing this article series and book and we're grateful for their collaboration.

We began publishing a series of articles in the fall of 2019 with the goal of sharing Greenwood's story from the perspective of its founders and significant historical figures. The project will cover Greenwood’s early history, the 1921 massacre, Greenwood's rebuilding, and its prosperity through the late 1960s, focusing on the neighborhood’s great nationwide legacy. Every day that we work on this project, we uncover a piece of history that Tulsa has not seen for decades-in some cases for over a century.

The article series will be published as a book in May, 2021. We are producing a series of events, a video series, a podcast and a web-based interactive timeline and archive, and will be contributors to the collections/exhibits housed at the Greenwood Rising Museum.

We have listened to our city’s conversation about the massacre and about Greenwood’s history and legacy for the past 20 years and we believe that it is incomplete. This project, for us, is an attempt to tell the story of Greenwood’s triumphs so that as a city we might learn from and be inspired by the people who rebuilt the neighborhood in spite of the tremendous challenges they faced.

Greenwood’s history is incredibly rich, multifaceted, and fascinating. By learning the individual human experiences of Greenwood residents, Tulsa can begin to come together as a community promoting growth, cooperation, equity and respect for all its citizens. Perhaps other communities will look to Tulsa’s efforts and be moved to strive for their own growth and reconciliation. The Victory of Greenwood continues.

Jeff sits down with Jenny and Adam Brand as they share deeply about their experiences in facilitating this Festival since 2019, about how they have evolved, and about how this artform has impacted both performers and audience members.

This year's Theatre Crude Fringe Festival opens on Friday, October 1st and runs through October 10th with both in-person performances at Factory Obscura as well as virtual performances.

For more information, visit their website at
https://www.theatrecrude.org

Facebook /theatrecrude
Twitter @theatrecrude
Instagram @theatrecrudeokc

What Is Fringe?
Fringe is a national and international phenomenon, with festivals happening in every major city across the globe. And what is Fringe? Fringe performances are one hour or less, low tech, and high on ingenuity. No restrictions are made as to the nature, style, theme or content. All performers are welcome, regardless of professional or amateur status. The result is a festival full of the unexpected.

About The Festival
Theatre Crude Fringe Festival is a two-week event in Oklahoma City showcasing creative and original theatrical artists. With a focus on adventure, Theatre Crude gives patrons an opportunity to explore as many different genres and styles of theatre as possible. The Fringe Festival aims to provide unique perspectives and stretch the definition of theatrical performance.

Theatre Crude Fringe Festival, a performing arts festival based in Oklahoma City, is
celebrating their third year with a record number of productions, artists and performances slated for October 1-10, 2021.

This year’s festival follows a hybrid in-person and virtual model, with all in-person performances taking place at Factory Obscura’s Mix-Tape.

The 10-day festival in Automobile Alley will feature over 45 in-person performances from 13 multidisciplinary artist groups, both local and traveling. Each day of the festival presents festival-goers the opportunity to see a new roster of performances that will include virtual reality, dance, fantasy, mentalism, clown performances and more.

In addition, 7 digital-only productions will be streamed online at the festival’s website.

The festival will take place at Factory Obscura’s performance space at 25 NW 9th Street, providing audiences and artists a full fringe festival experience. Attendees will walk through a secret door and find themselves in a performance space that they likely haven’t seen before.

In-person attendees are encouraged to purchase pass bundles to see 4 or 6 shows during the course of the festival. There is also an unlimited pass option for those who want the flexibility to see as many shows as they like, as many times as they can.

Rhiana Deck is of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. She works primarily with acrylic paint, aerosols, and occasional beadwork for family and friends. Her work has been displayed and exhibited in Oklahoma, Colorado, and Georgia. 

Since the age of four, she has used her art as her creative outlet. It is a part of who she is. Deck paints in her own unique style, purposely evoking emotions, arousing curiosity, inspiring ambition, and stimulating the imagination. Her style changes and grows with her. She aims to connect with others in this beautiful dream we call life. “Beauty is light set free.” – A.D. Posey

Rhiana Deck is one of the four artists to collaborate on the Native Mural, an underpass located in Oklahoma City on Sheridan Avenue and Gaylord Boulevard. She worked with Chad Earles of the Caddo Nation on the North wall titled Earth & Sky. The mural will stand until 2026.

http://rhianadeck.com

Jeff sits down with David Boynton as he shares deeply about his life journey and how his experiences and evolution informs his artistic perspective and his process.

To learn more about David and his work, visit
https://www.dabakhstudios.com

Artist Statement
Custom wood and resin artwork and fine art paintings created right here in the USA by a retired Air Force 21-year veteran. My work is inspired by my career in the USAF, the aviation industry and as a master diver doing deep sea SCUBA diving. 

I am deeply moved by the images of deep space that are sent back from international space projects and NASA research teams. Ocean currents and solar systems have colors and movement that greatly inspire my work and put me into motion as a painter. I am also inspired by the aura that some of my clients put out and it has produced some amazing results! 

I create resin and wood vases, decorative objects, and funeral urns. My wood and resin coffee tables and end tables are in the “river table” style. (And even the occasional hand-turned wood and resin wizard wand!) My philosophy of turning is that I reveal what is already within the wood and I find that if I try to bend it to my will, rather than listen to what the piece is telling me what it is, it ends in disaster or a wasted blank. 

The same goes with my paintings, they are created with various acrylic pouring techniques depending on what I want to convey in each painting and relaying what the painting wants to be. Custom work can be ordered to complement your color palette and aesthetic and there will never be another piece like it in the whole world, be it wood or acrylic.

A previously unpublished conversation with comedian Lenny Vanhorn on a wintery Sunday afternoon at the Art Hall Uptown OKC November 11, 2018.

Jeff sits down with Brittany White as she shares deeply about her artistic perspective, about how she got started taking photographs and film, and about her work that will be in the upcoming Oh, Tulsa exhibit at Living Arts of Tulsa.

To learn more about Brittany and her work, visit
Website:  www.brittanykelleywhite.com
Instagram handle:  @brittanykelleywhite

Brittany is a photographer currently based in the Tulsa area. Her work is a means of self-expression and illustrates a combination of documentary and staged narrative.  Through the use of analogue photographic processes, she explores various themes such as childhood reflection, personal identity and the community in which she lives and works.  Her work is heavily influenced by filmmakers and cinematographers such as Wim Wenders, Robby Müller and Andrei Tarkovsky.

Watch on youtube-
https://youtu.be/2CeFHULhGow

Jeff sits down with Maggie Boyett And Marwin Begaye as they reflect very deeply about their experiences in co-creating over the past 5 years and about what this project means to them a few weeks after the opening of their collaboration for OVAC Art 365 at Living Arts of Tulsa, Body Acknowledgement: The Body as Land

Through their collaboration Body Acknowledgment: The Body as Land, printmaker Marwin Begaye and performer Maggie Boyett investigate their identities as Urban Indians. 

Like many Native people, they have wrestled with the concept of "living in two worlds"—the idea that colonization has forced Indigenous people to navigate American culture and create space to live out their Indigenous values. 

This perspective fragments cultural experience, impacting their relationship to land and their communities. 

The recent uptick in land acknowledgments at public events and in the media inspired the artists to use the concept of land acknowledgment as an entry point for deepening their kinships with land, self, time and wellness.

Jeff sits down with Alexa Goetzinger, the Associate Director of the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition to hear about her experiences in administering the current Art 365 exhibit at Living Arts of Tulsa.

She also shares an overview of the work of each of the artists in the exhibit.
Anyone can sign up for the artists' workshops through www.Art365.org

Alexa was born and raised in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and graduated from the University of Oklahoma with degrees in fine art and art history. While she spent time working and interning in China and Italy after college, she ultimately realized there is no place like home. 

Since returning to Oklahoma she has been a high school educator, and most recently the Education Director for ARTSPACE at Untitled. In addition to her work in the non-profit sector, Alexa co-founded an annual international print exchange called Connect: Collect and is an avid printmaker. 

She is excited to be a part of the OVAC team and assist in the growth and development of Oklahoma’s visual arts community through education, promotion, connection, and funding!