FILLING IN THE GAP: An Overview of the Greenwood Art Project

FILLING IN THE GAP: Art for All People

by B. L. Eikner

Webster Wortham, June Riot, artwork submitted to the Greenwood Art Project poster contest

Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District was one of the recipients in January 2019 of a million-dollar Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge Grant. The Challenge is being transformed into a real and living art experience as it works along with the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission on its 2021 Commemoration. The Greenwood Art Project management staff consists of Rick Lowe (2014 MacArthur Fellow, artist, professor), Lead Artist; William Cordova (artist, cultural practitioner, sculptor), Lead Artist; Jerica Wortham (poet, owner of J’Parle’ LLC) Project Director; Jeff Van Haken (Professor, film maker), Project Coordinator; Marlon Hall (Tulsa Arts Fellow, anthropologist), Social Media Archivist; and Kode Ransom (community activist, artist), Minister of Travel. The Greenwood Art Project has a wide assortment of projects scheduled for the Tulsa and Oklahoma communities starting in March 2021 and running through December 2021. Greenwood Art Project has provided funding for thirty-three artists and teams which has resulted in twenty-seven art projects. The projects range from a parade, online directory, anthology of poetry and essays, HipHop Album, Jazz Performance, Theatrical production and many more. Some of the venues that will host the events include ahha, Greenwood Cultural Center, First Baptist North Tulsa, OSU Tulsa, Church of the Restoration. The ever-shifting safety concerns brought about by the COVID-19 Pandemic will determine the final dates of many of the activities and exhibitions. A few of the Greenwood Art Project artists include: Chuck Cissel, former Broadway actor, recording artist, producer, director, choreographer, and former CEO of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. Cissel is a Tulsa native and graduate of the University of Oklahoma. His project is entitled, ‘All that Jazz and Blues in Greenwood.’ Katherine Mitchell is a jeweler and owner of Beads Please LLC as well as an author, former adjunct professor, graduate of Southern Nazarene University and college administrator. Her project is entitled, ‘Greenwood A Trilogy in Reflection.’ Dawn Tree is a professional abstract surrealist, author, graduate of the University of Oklahoma and owner of Underground Tree Studios, a creative marketing agency. Her project is entitled, ‘The Greenwood Joy Experience’. For a full listing of artists, projects, and dates, see their website at www.greenwoodartproject.org

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“The artists participating in the Greenwood Art Project will acquire skills as subject matter experts in their fields, expand community partnerships and the ability to increase relationship building, increase their circle of influence, and see an increase for many of them of visibility in the community and on national levels.”

— Jerica Wortham, Project Director

William Cordova, Lead Artist, made the following comments on the economic and educational impacts of the Greenwood Art Project in the community:

All the projects have economic impact already. Most projects require financial exchange with Tulsa businesses, carpenters, contractors, filmmakers, musicians, artists, artisans, writers, print houses, culinary artists. The wonderful thing and most misinformed aspect of art is that it can creatively alter an entire community without it even realizing it is happening.

This (educational impact) is all relative (to) each person in the community. We believe all the projects will have a profound effect on the community. Some will prompt quick impressions and others will be more subtle but equally as effective. Selecting a diverse group of projects was key in achieving this type of outcome. We tried to steer away from streamlining the projects for them to appeal to a wide range of people in Tulsa. Anything can be educational; it all depends on execution and perspective. We think all the participants are doing this in their own unique way.

G.A.P. Van with poster exhibition

The Greenwood Art Project initiative will create a formal catalogue and it will be made available to the public. The name of the catalogue has not been finalized as of this printing. The catalogue will have twenty-two nationally known writers such as Edwidge Danticat, Christiana Beatty and Gean Moreno who will develop essays on their impressions of the projects and their value to the community.

Greenwood Art Project has hosted a Public Poster Contest and the entries will spread over four exhibitions around the city. There will be a judging to determine the three top winners and monetary prizes will be awarded. The Greenwood Art Project has created the G.A.P. Van to ensure the posters are viewed throughout the community.

William Cordova tells us that, The G.A.P. Van is a multi-use, collaborative, mobile art exhibition, workshop space, and poster project that will engage residents of Tulsa, Oklahoma as the city approaches the centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. This project is led by artist Rick Lowe, a 2014 MacArthur Fellow, known for reinventing community revitalization as an art form, and artist William Cordova, an interdisciplinary cultural practitioner. The acronym “G.A.P VAN” is a reference to the R&B group GAP BAND. It also stands for Greenwood/Archer and

Pine, the boundary streets of historic Greenwood, which was historically known as America’s “Black Wall Street” and the site of the most devastating racial massacre in the country’s history.

The G.A.P. Van will officially launch the Greenwood Art Project with a team of Tulsa natives, activist Kode Ransom, poet Jerica Wortham, filmmaker Jeff Van Haken, and visual-anthropologist, Marlon Hall, traveling throughout Tulsa, engaging community residents in creating posters that share stories about the massacre and reflect their voices to advance a powerful, healing approach to the commemoration of the Tulsa Race Massacre and the history of the Greenwood neighborhood. The residents will also be encouraged to participate by uploading their personal stories to the PBS American Portrait. The G.A.P. VAN will feature ongoing exhibitions of the posters on the exterior of the van, and will also host pop-up art workshops, poetry and music events, films, and other activities.

Jerica Wortham, Project Director, tells us:

The artists participating in the Greenwood Art Project will acquire skills as subject matter experts in their fields, expand community partnerships and the ability to increase relationship building, increase their circle of influence, and see an increase for many of them of visibility in the community and on national levels.

The community is waiting to see the universe unfold and be filled with the stars of the Greenwood Art Project.

Greenwood Art Project can be reached at 918-619-2295, Email: j.wortham@greenwoodartproject.org or greenwoodartproject.org n

B. L. Eikner is an author, journalist, poet, and art consultant. She is owner of Trabar & Associates and a regular contributor to Art Focus Oklahoma. She has published two books, Dirt and Hardwood Floors and How Do You Love …When?. She can be reached at Trabar@windstream.net or on Twitter @trabar1

Marsh (Faida) Campbell, My Dreamland, artwork submitted to the Greenwood Art Project poster contest