The Oklahoma Visionaries Exhibits and Directory of Artists were conceived to increase public awareness of the many talented Visionary Artists living in Oklahoma and provide exposure for and build a community among Oklahoma’s Visionary Artists.
The Oklahoma Visionaries: The Beginning exhibit displayed the artwork of 20 artists at the gallery at Liggett Studios in Tulsa (October 13 - November 3, 2023) and at the Owens Art Place Museum in Guthrie (March 15 – April 19, 2024). To learn more about the exhibit, please see the 2023-2024 Exhibit Catalog. The 2025 Oklahoma Visionaries exhibit will be shown at the gallery at Liggett Studios from October 10-30, 2025.
The Directory of Artists provides a resource for artists to connect with one another and for the public to find artists for exhibitions, commissions, and public art or special projects. It contains the profiles, contact information and examples of artwork from individuals who meet the criteria of an Oklahoma Visionary Artist* and contact information for the 20 exhibited artists in Oklahoma Visionaries: The Beginning.
Artists included in the 2025 Oklahoma Visionaries exhibit will be selected from the Directory of Artists. (if possible, add link to page)
*For this project a Visionary Artist is defined as a person who:
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Is a current Oklahoma resident
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Is self-taught (no formal academic or professional training)
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Is unconcerned with the mainstream art world (not represented by or seeking representation from a commercial gallery)
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Is inspired by uniquely personal visions (compelled to make art by strong inner impulse or vision and use media or objects in unconventional ways)
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Has experienced marginalization (strong feelings of being dismissed by others)
If you meet the criteria, or know someone who meets it, please complete the 2025 Oklahoma Visionaries Exhibit Application, which will lead to inclusion in this Directory and consideration for the 2025 Exhibit. For more information, email pam.hodges@att.net.
Curators:
Steve Liggett is the owner of Liggett Studio and co-curator of this exhibit. He has been an artsm advocate and artist in the Tulsa community for 50 years. From 1992 to 2017, Steve was Living Arts of Tulsa’s artistic and executive director. Under his leadership, Living Arts of Tulsa grew tremendously from grassroots to national recognition for its support of contemporary art and artists. Steve is providing the same quality of leadership to Liggett Studio and this exhibit. In addition to his leadership in the arts, Steve is a practicing artist who maintains pottery and papermaking studios. Steve holds a Masters of Art degree from the University of Tulsa in ceramics.
Pam Hodges initiated this exhibit and is a co-curator. Since retiring in 2019, as Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Director of Learning in Atlanta, GA, she returned to Tulsa and is working as a community volunteer and learning new art media. While not claiming to be an artist, she has a BA degree in studio art and art history, was an Assistant Registrar at the Detroit Institute of Arts, a Director of Education at Philbrook Museum of Arts, and a Director of Community Arts at the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa.
Her leadership was also demonstrated when serving as a former board president of the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition and a board member for Living Arts of Tulsa and chair for New Genre Festivals.
Pam’s interest in creativity is lifelong. The dissertation she wrote for her PhD from Oklahoma State University explored the differences in the everyday creativity between people who self- identified as artists and those who did not. Visionary artists often bridge the gap between these two groups: Not self-identifying as artists, but intertwining the making of art with their everyday life. This reason, along with aesthetics, has motivated Pam to pursue the quest to find Oklahoma-based Visionary Artists and curate this exhibit.
This project is supported by Thrive Grants, which is an initiative of Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition in partnership with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. www.thrivegrants.org
