TAKE UP SPACE

Celebrate the opening of JustArts’ new gallery and its inaugural exhibition, Take Up Space!

TAKE UP SPACE opens the new JustArts gallery with work by artists who are incarcerated alongside Tulsa-based artists, bringing their different voices, experiences, and perspectives into a shared space. It's an expression of JustArts' expanded vision: a gallery that challenges the exclusionary norms and practices that have long shaped the arts, determining whose work is valued, whose voices are amplified, and who gets to feel welcome. We want to make room for artists excluded from traditional opportunities, as well as local artists at every stage of their creative lives, including those exhibiting their work for the first time. Most local artists in this exhibition also participate in Kite Strings, a creative exchange project that pairs them with incarcerated artists to develop collaborative work. This exhibition introduces their individual practices, ahead of a dedicated exhibition in spring 2027. The ways we take up space look different for each of us. It can mean refusing shame, trusting your voice, claiming visibility, taking creative risks, or holding onto a sense of self when circumstances leave little room for autonomy. It can also mean making room for others: listening, standing alongside, recognizing another person's humanity, and creating a sense of belonging. At JustArts, making room means more than opening doors. It means access, opportunity, recognition, support, and respect for artists and their work. It means creating a space where people can participate on their own terms, where no particular level of experience is required to belong, and where making room for one another matters as much as making room for ourselves. TAKE UP SPACE. Make room. This is a free event and all are welcome. Please consider donating to support JustArts' new space and the performers! 6:00 - Doors open for exhibition viewing, artist talks, and conversation 7:15 - Poetry by Spoon Jackson and Quinn Carver Johnson 8:00 - Musical performances by Taylord and Lou Godwin Featuring artwork by: Bednago Harper, Billie Allen, Brad Rose, Brian Hindson, Carla Simmons, Carole Alden, Cedar Annenkovna, Chad Merrill, Courtney Applegate, Cuong (Mike) Tran, Douglas Earles, Gary Farlow, James Boyd, Jamie Pierson, Juan Gonzalez, Katy Casillas-Gray, Larry Burns, Liz Cousins, Mike Ward, Obie Weathers, Patrick Holzer, Paully Steele, Pickle, Robert Odom, Sam Anderson, Samuel Gonzalez, Scotty Scott, Sean Fox, Sean Tyler, Sean White, Selvyn Tillett, Shaun Wilson, Spoon Jackson, Thomas Butler, Thomus Manos, Timothy Weinmeister, Valentino Amaya, Vince Vader