Imagine: New Experiences for Everyone

By Carleigh Foutch

Six artists have been chosen to bring to life the next installment of ahha Tulsa’s interactive art exhibition The Experience. The latest installment—called The Experience: Imagine—has tasked these incredible artists with daring to create something unforgettable, collaborative, and, most importantly, inspiring.

Ahha has always been a place for Oklahoma artists to express themselves in innovative ways that you may not think of as “conventional” art; ahha seeks to bring the Tulsa community accessible and equitable artistic experiences in order to challenge viewers and participants, and Experience: Imagine is no different.

The first installation of The Experience opened in 2018 to much acclaim and interest. After an 18-month run, ahha wanted to create a new

A view of Andy Arkley’s installation, Together.

experience that would simultaneously spotlight artistic talent and innovation.

Ahha opened the application process and saw a tremendous amount of artist interest. Ultimately, artists were blindly chosen based on the originality, cohesion, durability, interactivity, and feasibility of their proposed projects. The six artists—Andy Arkley, Justice Gutierrez, Katherine Hair, Alton Markham, Emily Simonds, and John White—are doing that and then some.

From collaborative music making to sky-high deer sculptures to an entire story world realized and brought to life, The Experience: Imagine is sure to heighten the public’s perception of experiential art. “I am always hoping that it just really opens people’s minds to what art can be and what art is,” said Lauren Teague Collins, Ahha’s Director of Communications. “I will never forget the first Experience, one day I was giving a tour to a person who didn’t consider herself creative...we went to [the first] Experience; and she’d never seen anything like that before. She became very emotional and started crying and asked me ‘Is art supposed to elicit emotions?’ and I said ‘Of course it is!’ I hope that there’s one of those people every cycle of [the new installation].”

Amber Litwack, Director of Education and Exhibitions at ahha Tulsa, agrees.

Schematics for Emily Simonds installation, The Shard.

lives, unlocks their creativity, and provides an unprecedented sense of wonder where creative possibilities are endless,” she said.

And now, more than ever, it seems like we need just that.

As with everything nowadays, The Experience: Imagine was on track to open in May 2020 until the COVID-19 pandemic shut things down and everything came to a screeching halt. With Tulsa on a shelter in place order, both artists and the ahha administration didn’t have access to the art space and equipment needed to create their individual stations. However, once restrictions were relaxed a little, artists were thankfully allowed back inside. (With proper PPE and other strict safety precautions, of course.)

For featured artists Andy Arkley, (a visual artist, musician, and animator) and Emily Simonds (a mixed media installation artist and writer), creating a collaborative and artistic experience during the pandemic has provided a certain catharsis on the importance of art in these strange, unprecedented times.

“Most art is meant to be experience by groups of people and it was hard to be in a situation that required building something,” Arkley said. “But ahha is so cool and special, and I know that they’ll weather the pandemic storm. I can’t think of another place that provides artmaking space that also does what ahha does.”

Simonds agrees.

“Taking on a project of this magnitude speeds up your life in general, and when something like the pandemic stops everything it becomes difficult to find a new normal,” she said. “But it has been fun getting to create a quarantine project while still interacting with the community. One of the really beautiful things I’ve seen from this community are people coming together and helping each other. It’s really truly wonderful.”

Both Arkley and Simonds’s installations require collaborative teamwork. Arkley’s installation is all bright pops of color and three dimensional shapes that create a different tune when various participants hit display buttons, while Simonds’s installation utilizes recycled materials to create another world entirely that must be journeyed through alongside friends both old and new.

Both the artists and the ahha staff know these innovative creations are meant to be experienced in person and not via a Zoom call, and are determined to create an environment that’s safe, first and foremost, while simultaneously reaching new heights. And while the pandemic has caused things to look a little different, ahha is confident that The Experience: Imagine will be, well, experienced come what may.

While the pandemic has thrown quite the wrench in things, no matter what these artists, Tulsa, and the entire world faces, one thing remains constant: art is a powerful, healing force that will always succeed in bringing people together.

There will be music and joy created together once again. (And hopefully very soon!)

For more updates on The Experience: Imagine, stay tuned to the ahha Tulsa website at ahhatulsa.org/the-experience-imagine. n

Carleigh Foutch is a writer and activist living in Oklahoma City. She received her BA in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma and continues to write stories of all kinds in her spare time (although her favorite things to write are screenplays). To learn more about Carleigh and her work, visit www.carleighfoutch.weebly.com.