Gilcrease In Your Neighborhood Kicks Off Year 2 With New Painting Installation

While the art museum is under construction, the Gilcrease in Your Neighborhood program allows people to see art beyond the museum walls.

The program installed a painting at Oxley Nature Center hoping folks who visited would enjoy the outdoors and the art too. While the colors of winter may be gray, a few colors on a canvas stood out.

"I love the red juxtaposed against the kind of wintery landscape here," said Alison Rossi.

Although it may look out of place, the painting was put there purposefully.

"It's a beautiful work of art that features a woman from Tehuantepec in the state of Oaxaca in Mexico," Rossi said.

The piece was the fourth work to be displayed in the Gilcrease in Your Neighborhood program.

"We're really excited to be able to put art in places all around different neighborhoods and places where people already go," said Rossi.

Alison Rossi is the Gilcrease Museum's director of learning and community engagement. She said it was important to bring art to the public while the museum is closed for construction.

"To help to connect the work of art and the aspects of the artwork to the natural features of each of these fantastic sites in the Tulsa area," she said.

Nature lovers were excited to have more beauty to enjoy too.

"Well, I hope that whenever they're just out here on a regular hike not even thinking about art that they come across it, wonder what it's doing out here, come over here and look at it and it inspires them," said nature enthusiast Jerry Morgan.

Rossi said many people love the surprise of finding the art in nature.

"The joy of people already having a moment of leisure, walking in a park with their families or friends, or maybe even their dogs, and experiencing artwork while they're out doing that and maybe that's something that they planned for maybe it's not," Rossi said.

Folks can view the piece at five locations, including the Gathering Place, Turkey Mountain, Oxley Nature Center, Ray Harral Nature Park, and Keystone Ancient Forest. It will be on display for 6 months. The program will debut a different piece for folks to enjoy in July 2024.

Gilcrease also has activity guides for people that go along with the art and are specific to each location. The museum also plans to have other programs like cooking workshops, art workshops, family festivals, film screenings, and more to accompany each art installation.