Racial and Cultural Diversity in Oklahoma's Visual Arts
Inclusion in Art is dedicated to promoting ethnically, racially, and culturally diverse artists in Oklahoma’s visual arts community through collaborative exhibitions, mentorship, and public programming.
Inclusion in Art challenges the Oklahoma arts community by cultivating inclusionist that build confidence, raise value and openly experience the perspective of our artists through any means necessary because inclusion means everyone.
Inclusion IN Art returns to Tulsa for a special exhibition at the Tulsa Community College.
Reshon Shirley is a fully self-taught artist who paints botanical pieces with watercolor and ink. Reshon uses these mediums to combine worlds that normally would not exist. By merging the fluidity of watercolor washes and the rigidity of ink shading, she creates a sense of balance between the two mediums. Painting botanicals by way of houseplants and flowers, Reshon is able to give the viewer a glimpse into what it means to forge relationships between humans and the natural world. She wants to show viewers that gazing and caring for plants provides a feeling of peace, joy and even accomplishment. Providing care for something other than ourselves allows us to feel needed. Additionally, looking at something that’s naturally beautiful can cause us to pause for just a minute. In that small instance, all the troubles of the day fade away.
It was at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that she began painting again as a way to pass the time. Flowers and greenery are what brought her the most peace in a time when the world was full of chaos. Reshon has now decided to embark on a full-time creative career with the hopes of bringing this sense of peace to others. She is currently residing in Yukon, Oklahoma with her husband and dog.
Joy Tucker is a Black American woman born and raised in Clovis, New Mexico. She received her B.A. in History – Museum Studies with a minor in Graphic Design from the University of Central Oklahoma. Joy was a 2021 ArtTable Fellowship recipient of the Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center and interned with the Oklahoma City Museum of Art in Marketing and Communications. She also interned twice with the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. The first with Junior Curator practices in Culture and Community Life, focusing on African American history, followed by Museum Management and Installation. Joy aspires to present African and Afro-diasporic arts and culture within national museum institutions.
The CONNECT is Inclusion in Art’s database of working professional artists of color. Outreach to minority artists has been difficult despite the best efforts of organizations. By providing a centralized database we are helping organizations find these artists and connect with them! See the whole database here!