News & Community
For hundreds of adult artists and educators across the state, the first autumnal chill to cut through the sweltering summer heat can only mean one thing: a return to the Oklahoma Fall Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain.
Taught by nationally renowned artists in multiple disciplines, OFAI workshops are offered for all skill levels at the beautiful Quartz Mountain Arts and Conference Center in the Wichita Mountains of southwest Oklahoma. In addition to intensive workshops, participants also enjoy faculty and guest artist presentations and activities, with all meals and lodging included in tuition, for an immersive and inspiring arts experience unlike any other.
“Even though I always come to study photography, because that’s my passion, I go to all the extra things and take back something every year to my classroom,” said longtime OFAI participant and elementary educator Lynise Parrish of Kingston. “It’s a place to dream, to grow and just rejuvenate.”
This year’s Institute is sure to bring plenty of dreaming, growth and rejuvenation as OFAI returns to its Quartz Mountain home. After last year’s virtual workshops in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, resuming in-person instruction allows for the unique energy of these workshops to thrive.
“There’s a warmth of spirit here,” said OFAI 2019 photography instructor Elizabeth Greenberg. “I’m blown away by the generosity, the hospitality and the openness of everyone in this community.”
“The Oklahoma Fall Arts Institute is a place to dream, to grow, and to just rejuvenate.”
- Lynise Parrish, OFAI participant
In addition to that sense of belonging and community, participants like Tulsa educator Libby Sublett find value in the Institute’s immersive environment. “OFAI is completely removed from your regular world. So, you get to come down to Quartz Mountain and be completely immersed in what you're doing, on top of the fact that you’re surrounded by natural beauty,” she said. “So in your time away from class, you have the opportunity to take hikes and really experience what you’re here to experience, without the distractions of your normal environment.”
Thanks to partnerships with the State of Oklahoma and generous private donors, scholarship funding is available to cover the tuition costs for Oklahoma PK-12 public school educators. Tuition discounts are available to Oklahoma private school educators, Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute alumni and those working in higher education.
Before registration opens to the general public on Sept. 1, check out a list of upcoming OFAI workshops along with a video about what to expect from this one-of-a-kind arts education program administered by Oklahoma’s Official School of the Arts.
Weekend 1
Texture and Woodcuts with Benjamin Harjo, Jr.
Pigments to Paint and Working in the Landscape with Blake Morgan
Painting with Wool with Dani Ives
Photography - Instructor TBA
Arts Integration - Instructor TBA*Stop Motion Animations with Nicole Emmons
Musicality of Language: Poetry Across Genres with Quraysh Ali Lansana
Drawing: New Perspectives with Sarah Hearn
Visual Journals with David Modler and Eric Scott
Music for Elementary Educators - Instructor TBA**Weekend subject to change