Happenings

Promoting the Okie Legacy

Although delayed by the pandemic, the OKPOP Museum nears completion with three oors of immersive entertainment.

Meg Charron, OKPOP’s deputy director of marketing and outreach, says the museum is about 90% finished and on track for a grand opening in 12-15 months. Photo courtesy Nabholz Construction At the OKPOP Museum, one can become a superhero or experience live music. is innovative museum explores Oklahoma’s history in the arena of popular culture. Located in Tulsa’s Arts District, the 60,000-square-foot museum is visible from historic Route 66 and sits across from the famous Cain’s Ballroom. Under the direction of the Oklahoma Historical Society, OKPOP Museum collects, preserves and shares the state’s pop culture artifacts and collections.

“ ere are three oors of fully-immersive, interactive space,” says Meg Charron, the museum’s deputy director of marketing and outreach. “We strived to build something to break the traditional museum mold.”

Describing the museum as “tactile and fun,” Charron compares OKPOP’s exhibit space to the immersive Vincent Van Gogh show currently touring the nation. e museum, which is 90% nished, showcases Oklahoma artists and their in uence on popular culture around the world.

First Floor

Bob Wills’ 1948 fully-restored tour bus is a prominent feature here. at bus took the band from Cain’s Ballroom to the West Coast and back numerous times. is oor will also have a rotating exhibit space, an area for live music and a retail space. Second Floor

On this oor is OKPOP’s Imagined Worlds, an immersive and interactive space dedicated to the visual arts. ese include TV, movies, theatre, literature, comics, fashion and art. Visitors can interact with various Hollywood-type sets and can imagine themselves as a superhero in the Hero Lab by creating an image and designing a costume.

Third Floor

is 8,000-square-foot oor focuses on 150 years of Oklahoma music, shining a spotlight on musicians, songwriters and concert venues.

“ e entire third oor is music,” says Charron. e venue features Oklahoma musicians like Normannative Jesse Ed Davis, a guitarist who had a “massive impact on the industry,” Charron says. Davis, who played with famous musicians like John Lennon and Eric Clapton, is well-known within the music industry but not so much with the general public; this oor strives to x that.

Additional features include a rooftop terrace, which will have live music and movies projected on surrounding buildings, and an event space that acts as a banquet and theater area.

Grand Opening

Designed by Overland Partners Architecture + Urban Design in partnership with Tulsa’s Lily Architects and Nabholz Construction, OKPOP’s grand opening has been delayed due to COVID.

“It will be 12 to 15 months before opening,” Charron estimates.

Incubator projects

Several incubator projects include a podcast and radio station. ere will be space for students to practice music and a Merchandise Lab where they can learn about designing logos and T-shirts. For local musicians, a full recording studio is planned. ese spots will be “completely accessible to the community,” says Charron. “Inspiring the future generations of artists is the larger mission.

“We are aware that this is our legacy for the community. It will outlive all of us.” GINA A. DABNEY