Stillwater Arts Festival to be held April 21-22

Friday, March 31, 2023

Media Contact: Sydney Trainor | Communications Specialist | 405-744-9782 | sydney.trainor@okstate.edud

Operated as a partnership between Oklahoma State University and the City of Stillwater, the Prairie Arts Center is set to host the 2023 Stillwater Arts Festival from noon to 8 p.m, April 21, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., April 22.

With the support of the City of Stillwater and the Arts and Humanities Council of Stillwater, the festival will include more than 40 regional and national artists with a wide range of media including ceramics, glass, fiber arts, metals, jewelry, photography, painting and drawing. 

Artists from the following states will be present: New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Texas, Iowa, Indiana and Oklahoma. The two-day event will include an art exhibition, art-making activities, food trucks, live music and more.

New this year is the exhibition, “I Made Art,” showcasing the work of children from Stillwater elementary schools. The exhibit takes inspiration from Japanese artist On Kawara's postcard series, “I Got Up.” From 1968 to 1979, Kawara sent two postcards a day to friends and colleagues with a timestamp of when he "got up.” Kawara's work is a meditation on time and the relationship between art and life. The subject matter and media of the work in “I Made Art” were left open to each student, in hopes of revealing their personal relationship with the art-making process. The “I Made Art” will be displayed inside the Prairie Arts Center during the festival. 

Live music, provided by City of Stillwater, will include artists Bruce Benson, Morgan and Val Gladden, as well as groups like Misspent Ukes and the Stillwater Big Band. The festival will feature multiple art activities, including tote printmaking, raku firing, soap making and more. 

The Stillwater Public Library will host its annual Friends Book Sale next to the festival site. Stillwater Martial Arts will be operating two of their karate vans to pick up festival goers at designated van stops. 

The Prairie Arts Center is located at 1001 S. Duck Street and has been operated as a partnership between OSU and the City of Stillwater since 2017.