WHY OKLAHOMANS FOR THE ARTS
ADVOCATES FOR
THE OKLAHOMA ARTS COUNCIL
One Delivers the Arts.
The Oklahoma Arts Council is the state agency that turns public funding into grants, arts education programs, public art, and creative opportunities for communities across all 77 counties. It's the engine that delivers the arts to Oklahomans.
One Advocates for the Funding.
Oklahomans for the Arts is the independent, nonprofit voice that fights at the State Capitol to make sure that the Oklahoma Arts Council has funding. As a state government agency, the Arts Council isn’t allowed to lobby for its own budget. It cannot walk the halls of the Capitol and ask legislators for more funding. That's where we come in.
SUPPORT ARTS THE ARTS IN OKLAHOMA
The Arts Council Impacts Nearly Every Community in Oklahoma
Through grants, programs, and partnerships, the Oklahoma Arts Council supports:
Grants for non-profit organizations — funding for community arts experiences, rural arts access, creative aging programs, and arts programming for military families
Grants for schools — essential and expanded arts education funding, classroom supply grants, and programs like Poetry Out Loud that reach students statewide
Public art — stewardship of the Capitol Art Collection and the State Art Collection, and support for art in public places across Oklahoma
Statewide programs — the Governor's Arts Awards, Leadership Arts, the Oklahoma Arts Conference, and the State Poet Laureate program
Almost every nonprofit arts organization in Oklahoma has received funding, support, or a grant from the Oklahoma Arts Council at some point. When the Arts Council's budget grows, that support reaches further into more schools, more small towns, and more community organizations that couldn't otherwise afford to bring the arts to their neighbors.
A well-funded and strong Arts Council means stronger, more connected communities.
HOW WE FIGHT FOR THE ART COUNCIL’S FUNDING
Advocacy isn't a single event, it's steady, year-round work. Here's how we make a difference for the Arts Council and for Oklahoma's creative community:
We meet directly with legislators. One-on-one conversations with lawmakers, building relationships, and making sure the value of the arts is part of the conversation.
We coordinate Arts Day at the Capitol. Our annual event brings artists, educators, and arts supporters from across Oklahoma to the Capitol to meet with their legislators face-to-face and emphasize the impact of the arts in our state.
We hire a lobbyist at the Capitol. A dedicated advocate on the ground at the State Capitol, to make the case for arts funding, because the Arts Council can't.
We provide arts advocates with resources.
The Arts Education Data Dashboard gives parents, educators, and legislators district-by-district, school-by-school data on where Oklahoma students do, and don't, have access to arts education.
The Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 study shows the hard economic numbers: Oklahoma's arts and culture sector represents $5.4 billion in economic activity and nearly 49,000 jobs making the case that arts funding is an economic investment.
We make it easy to speak up. Through quick, ready-made tools to contact legislators, we turn "I care about the arts" into an actual message in a lawmaker's inbox in minutes, not hours.