A New Chapter

BEFORE BEING APPOINTED Oklahoma Contemporary Art Center’s new executive director in May, Trent Riley spent years working in Oklahoma City cultural institutions, becoming passionate about them as places for learning to think creatively.

“Arts education set my life on the trajectory that it’s gone on,” he says. “It not only shaped me as a human being but helped shape my career. My grandfather was a museum professional, so it was early experiences and the exposure I had to arts education in a museum setting that sparked my interest.”

Riley was previously Oklahoma Contemporary’s chief development officer and held leadership roles at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, a place his grandfather was involved in creating. Working in financial and membership growth led Riley to understand how fundamental community was to a thriving cultural institution.

“For most of his life, he has had a sense of the role of public art institutions in the community,” says Molly Tolbert, president of the board at Oklahoma Contemporary. She added that coming from an internal position within the organization, he also has a deep insight into how many people with diverse expertise are collaborating to achieve that role. “I think he really feels and participates in all of the ways that the different departments have to work together to support each other’s missions. He’s working really closely with each of those areas to make sure that they are speaking with each other and developing strategies for how to get our mission out in the community.”

The same month Riley began his new role, a law signed by Oklahoma’s Governor Kevin Stitt changed fine arts for the state’s high school students from a requirement to an elective. Preceded by years of budget cuts for school arts programs, it is the latest degradation of access to a creative education in the state. Riley wants his leadership to foster the kinds of arts experiences that inspired him so they are available to the next generation.

“Here in Oklahoma, we’re in a very difficult position, as I think many places around the country are, as it relates to arts education,” he says. “I think Oklahoma Contemporary’s role in supplementing the work being done by our public education system to provide students and families with arts education access has never been more important.”

He sees an opportunity in how Oklahoma Contemporary is uniquely positioned compared to a more traditional museum. The courses in its Studio School are complemented by performing arts and free admission to exhibitions that provoke thought on complex issues, such as a major retrospective on Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds planned to open in February that will examine the artist’s longtime advocacy for social justice in Indigenous communities.

“Education is ingrained in most museums, but rarely do they have an entire portion of their campus dedicated to education,” Riley says. “So we hope to keep expanding on our educational initiative, but more broadly, we’re building community around arts education experiences, and that could be accessible via an exhibition, via performing arts, however we can get people engaged.”

He noted that it’s possible the next great artist may attend an exhibition or art class, yet it’s more vital to him that Oklahoma Contemporary demonstrates why the arts are essential and makes them available to everyone without barriers to entry.

“We want to be a reflection of the audiences we serve,” he says. “That means a diversity of exhibitions; that means educational programs that families and people of all backgrounds can participate in. Above all else, that also means providing everyone a space to just explore and create.”