IAM Regional Event || Planning Starts Now
Join us Tuesday, July 2o at 2:00p for a planning event. The International Arts Movement (IAM) and our regional group, IAMokc, are partnering for a regional event this Fall in conjunction with the Creativity World Forum. We welcome your input. We're meeting in the conference room at Legacy Bank located at May & Memorial (next to Barnes & Noble). If you have questions call Dave at 405-205-2522. Or email: dave_fuller@mac.com.
On the Horizon
You're invited to join us--the International Arts Movement (IAM) and our regional Oklahoma City group. Join us in rehumanizing our culture through the arts. Join us as we explore the possibilities.
We've scheduled two meetings to consider opportunities and see where this movement might take us.
- Thursday, July 8, NOON at Full Circle Bookstore. www.fullcirclebooks.com
- Friday, July 9, 8p at Cuppies & Joe. www.cuppiesandjoe.com
The agenda for the meetings is the same, but the discussion is likely to make the content very unique. So, attend the one that best fits your schedule or join us for both.
On the agenda:
- A regional (and potentially international) IAM event right here in OKC this fall.
- A music collaborative (that I've already discussed with Marcy, K.C. and Stephanie) that would result in a CD with all sales benefiting our chosen good causes. We already have underwriting for the production of the CD.
- A potential space for IAM OKC that would serve as meeting venue, gallery and studio space for artists.
If you aren't able to attend but would like to keep up with what's going on with IAM, email dave_fuller@mac.com and ask to be added to the IAMokc email group.
Finding Your Place in the Cultural Landscape
Join us for discussion and discovery of this timely and apropos theme as it relates to you as an artist or creative catalyst, and to our city and beyond. 
On April 22, Bryan Horvath, executive director of the International Arts Movement (IAM), will be leading the discussion in two forums:
- At Noon. Oklahoma Baptist University-Art Building. Lunch will be provided.
- At 7:00 p. Convergence in the Plaza District. 1755 NW 16th ST, OKC.
A Q&A with Bryan will follow each session. Feel free to attend both!
The theme for this event springs from the core philosophy of IAM:
The world is not as it ought to be. We long for meaningful existence and involvement in our culture - to make our world a better place and to be part of a story greater than ourselves. But too often our reality is a broken and fragmented story in which value and dignity are stripped from humanity.
Art, as a universal language, can begin to address this dehumanization. The world needs artists and visionaries to lead the way in seeing beyond the trivial to the transcendent, bringing synthesis to fragmentation and hope to despair.
Reflections on Encounter 10
Oklahoma City was well represented at the annual Encounter of the International Arts Movement in NYC March 4-6. We had visual artists, musicians, photographers, graphic designers and one old "creative catalyst."
You can see the work of some of our local IAM artists at these sites:
www.tako-tako.com Here you will find the work of Norman artist Julie Robertson. I met her and her husband Eric for the first time at the event.
www.joellimpic.com OKC musician and soon to be newly-wed Joel Limpic.
www.jerrodcreates.com Jerrod and his friend Samantha joined us for their first trip to NYC.
www.coreyleefuller.com Graphic design professor at Oklahoma Baptist University, Corey Fuller.
Also joining our group at the Encounter were graphic design students Amy Hubbard and Kristin Tate.
The Encounter was held at the Great Hall at Cooper Union and the place itself inspired contemplation and deep discussion. Topics included: Creativity and the educational system, Philanthropy, Physical v. Digital, The Quest(ion) of Success, the faith community & the arts, and much more.
We heard performances by:
- Christa Wells. www.christawells.net
- Jason Harrod www.jasonharrod.com
- Ben & Vesper
We took in a concert and the long-awaited return of the amazing Jennifer Knapp along with Derek Webb.
My very special thanks to the staff of IAM: Brian Horvath, Christy Tennant, and Mako Fujimura (pictured here l to r), Kevin Gosa and Alissa Wilkinson.
The next question is how might this impact Oklahoma City. We will work on that between now and Encounter 11.
Jerrod Smith
The Venue,
1755 NW 16th
Monday, March 1st
8:30pm
Emerging from the Oklahoma art scene, Jerrod Smith has found success in collaborating with other artists to make Oklahoma a community that supports young artists. Smith's collection of mixed media work expresses personal thoughts and his every day life through pre-existing images of past generations.
Come listen to Jerrod as he shares about his journey as an artist, and view a gallery of a selection of his work.
IAM Conversations
Our local IAMokc group gets some national attention on IAM Conversations.
Check out the conversation with Dave Fuller and Christy Tennant.
Click here to listen: IAM Conversations
Love Good Food? Join our Reader’s Guild
I'll admit it: the idea of joining a book club didn't stir me. But I do love to read and I did want to read a couple of the books on the IAM Reader's Guild book list. So I gave the first book a read. "Silence", our January book, is an amazing book.
Then we had our first Guild meeting at Full Circle last Wednesday night to discuss it. Let me tell you that, if for no other reason, you should join us just to hear our Guild leader, Amy Merril. Amy is a writer/reader and librarian at UCO. Her love of literature and the written word is inspiring.
Now we're on to our second book. My first thought, "What was Alissa thinking?" (Alissa Wilkinson of IAM in NYC selected the books for the Reader's Guild.
You can see all of her selections at: http://www.internationalartsmovement.org/readers-guild )
Her choice for the February reading is "The Supper of the Lamb." Yeah, it's a cookbook (and so much more). So like I said, if you love good food, and the art of it all, don't miss this one. I'm about a third of the way in and I've been entertained, inspired and enlightened. Here are three review statements that say what needs to be said about the book better than I could:
“One of the funniest, wisest, and most unorthodox cookbooks ever written.”
—Craig Claiborne, The New York Times“The Supper of the Lamb is a rare, distilling nectar, albeit fizzy with bubbles of humor and wit...it is fully capable of rescuing us from the dangers of mediocrity daily foisted upon us by the too-fast pace of our lives.”
—From the Introduction by Deborah Madison“The Supper of the Lamb is as awesomely funny, wise, beautiful, moving, preposterous a book as this reviewer has come across for years....It is a love letter to a world that ‘will always be more delicious
than it is useful.’”
—The New York Times Book Review
So order your copy now. Our Guild meeting to discuss this book is February 24.
Reader’s Guild Wednesday Night
The first meeting of the IAMokc Reader's Guild is this Wednesday (1/27), 7:00p at Full Circle Bookstore. We are joining with IAM in New York City in the Reader's Guild project. Below you will find a link to details about the guild along with a list of books we will be reading. Amy Merrill is coordinating our OKC group.
Even if you haven't read the book (or finished it), join us for the discussion. Amy's research on the book is fascinating and you will be glad you were there.
Besides it will be great opportunity to get out of the house before the next winter storm hits. And what better place to meet than Full Circle with it's cozy fireplaces and hot, fresh coffee. http://www.fullcirclebooks.com
For details and a list of books: http://www.internationalartsmovement.org/readers-guild
We will be meeting for discussion at Full Circle Bookstore at 50 Penn Place. Here are the details: http://www.internationalartsmovement.org/events/2010/jan/27/1808
International Arts Movement Comes to OKC
Arts organization aims to spread seeds of restoration.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (January 12, 2010) – On Saturday, January 23, creative catalysts and artists of all disciplines are invited to gather at 1708, a space in the Plaza District, for an introduction to International Arts Movement (IAM) and IAMokc. Musicians, painters, writers, photographers, dancers, actors, creative thinkers and anyone else interested in wrestling with the deep questions of art, faith and humanity are welcome.
IAM is a non-profit arts organization that began as a small gathering of creative people who met regularly in coffee shops, pubs and apartments in New York City to engage in cultural dialogue and informal art critique. After the tragedies of September 11, 2001, IAM founder Makoto Fujimura and his studio mate, Hiroshi Senju, organized “TriBeCa Temporary,” a small conceptual space and teahouse in lower Manhattan dedicated as an "oasis of collaboration by Ground Zero artists." Says Fujimura, “Looking back, it was a small seed of restoration that resulted in most remarkable works, stimulating dialogues, and, later, a catalyst for creation.”
From this expression of restoration, IAM began holding annual “Encounters,” where people gather from all over the world for three days of lectures, workshops, salons, performances, curated and juried exhibitions, film screenings, and philosophical discussions. Themes of past Encounters include, “Artists as Reconcilers,” “Redemptive Culture: Creating the World that Ought to Be,” “Generative Creativity: Transforming the Cultural River,” and “Art in Action.” Past Encounter presenters include Dana Gioia (former National Endowment for the Arts Chairman), Miroslav Volf (Yale Divinity professor), Daniel Liebeskind (Ground Zero architect), Billy Collins (former U.S. Poet Laureate), Limon Dance, Roberta Ahmanson (journalist, philanthropist), Terry Teachout (Wall Street Journal drama critic), and many others.
Encounter 10, taking place March 4-6 in New York City, will feature Dan Siedell (art historian and author, God in the Gallery), Jacob Marshall (drummer, founding member of Mae), David Sacks (photographer, philanthropist), Jeffery Overstreet (film critic, author) and many others. More at www.iamencounter.com.
Christy Tennant
Now a global movement, groups of artists and catalysts involved with IAM are meeting in over fourteen cities around the world. Oklahoma City’s Dave Fuller, who has been part of IAM since 2008, is now facilitating an IAM group in OKC (www.IAMokc.org).
Christy Tennant, host of the weekly podcast IAM Conversations and part of IAM’s global team, will be visiting from New York and will introduce IAM by speaking on, “Inspire, Engage and Create the World that Ought to Be.” All are encouraged to join her and IAMokc at 1708 in the Plaza District, Saturday, January 23 at 7:00 pm. Questions may be directed to Dave Fuller (dave_fuller@mac.com or 405-205-2522).
IAM OKC & IAM NYC Partnering in Oklahoma
As we seek to gain momentum impacting the arts, culture and faith in Oklahoma City, we are getting amazing encouragement and support from all the people at the International Arts Movement in New York City.
Later this month Christy Tennant from IAM will be coming to Oklahoma to meet with us. We'll be posting details of the weekend here, so stay tuned.
If you would like to be a part of IAM and helping us plan events, email me: dave_fuller@mac.com