Beyond Osage

A $40,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, awarded to the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust, partially funded the presentation of August: Osage County, an exhibition at Gilcrease Museum and this weekend's "Oklahoma Landscapes: A Literary Tableau."

The Tulsa PAC Trust shared the money--granted in the endowment's "Presenting" discipline and "American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius" category--with Gilcrease and the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers to fund a three-part artistic endeavor called "Oklahoma Landscapes: A Plains State of Mind."

According to Tulsa PAC Trust officials, "This grant is designed to acquaint Americans with the best of the nation's cultural and artistic heritage. American Masterpieces grants support performances, exhibitions, tours and educational programs across different art forms that reach large and small communities in all 50 states. Through this category, the NEA will fund 113 projects out of 205 eligible applications, for a total of $4,075,000."

The George Kaiser Family Foundation further helped fund the Trust's presentation of August for eight performances in Tulsa, and Gilcrease Museum currently displays an exhibit of work, "Unconquered: Allan Houser and the Legacy of One Apache Family," which is connected to Oklahoma and the uniqueness of the state's heritage and landscape. The exhibit continues until March 21.

The final part of "Oklahoma Landscapes: A Plains State of Mind" happens Thursday, Jan. 21, when Oklahoma Hall of Fame authors Billie Letts (mother of August playwright Tracy Letts), Rilla Askew, S.E. Hinton, N. Scott Momaday and Michael Wallis present "Oklahoma Landscapes: A Literary Tableau" at Oklahoma State University-Tulsa auditorium at 7pm.

The evening includes readings by all of the authors, followed by book signings and a meet-and-greet.

"This is a rare opportunity to hear some of Oklahoma's finest authors re-envisioning the stereotypical, Dust Bowl landscapes that have haunted us so long," said Teresa Miller, executive director for the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers.