The Future of Our Past
The OKPOP Foundation has officially completed the $18 million Heart & Soul Campaign, and the State Treasurer has now approved and certified the pledges, releasing the state’s matching funds. This milestone marks the beginning of OKPOP’s next chapter: exhibit design, fabrication, and the build-out of Oklahoma’s first museum dedicated to the global creative impact of its people.
Hello Friends and Potential Donors,
“You know, this whole campaign wasn’t just about raising $18 million – it was about backing a mission that means something. OKPOP is here to celebrate the crazy amount of creativity that comes out of Oklahoma, to tell the stories of the folks who shaped music, film, and art, and to fire up the next generation to chase their own big dreams. The way people showed up to support this blows me away. Oklahoma should be proud of what’s coming.”
Honorary Campaign Chair
We recently sat down with singer-songwriter Kierston White to talk about her Oklahoma roots, songwriting, and the community that shaped her.
From growing up in Bethel Acres to finding her voice through the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival, Kierston shared how early influences—country, grunge, punk, church harmonies, and her brother Bryon White (The Damn Quails)—helped form her sound. She also talked about the Norman scene, collaborating with other artists, and recording her first record in 2014.
Beyond music, Kierston is also an ICU nurse and a graphic designer/visual artist—creating artwork, posters, and logos for fellow musicians while continuing to write songs rooted in simplicity and truth.
More soon from this interview—grateful for her time and story. 💛
#OKPOP #OklahomaMusic #NormanOK #SingerSongwriter #CreativeCommunity OralHistory OklahomaCreatives @misskierston
On this day in 2014, the film adaptation of August: Osage County premiered.
The movie is based on the acclaimed tragicomedy play by Oklahoman Tracy Letts, which debuted on stage in 2007 and earned the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The film was shot in Oklahoma’s Osage County, grounding the story in the landscape that inspired it.
From the OKPOP vault: two screen-worn costumes from Meryl Streep, worn in her role as Violet Weston—part of the film’s powerful translation from stage to screen and a reminder of Oklahoma’s enduring impact on American storytelling.
#Oklahoma #OKPOP #TracyLetts #AugustOsageCounty #FilmedInOklahoma
OKPOP is proud to announce the John Barbata Collection and Archive. Barbata’s drumming shaped defining years of American rock through his work with The Turtles, Jefferson Starship, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. He later lived in Ada, Oklahoma, connecting his legacy to the state’s music story.
The collection includes career-spanning artifacts and nearly one hundred archival tour photographs, capturing decades of craft, travel, and behind-the-kit life on and off stage. We’re honored to preserve and share this announcement with you.
#OKPOP #CollectionAnnouncement #DrumLegends #AdaOK #MusicArchive
We had so much fun connecting with scenic artist Amanda Hagy from Bixby, Oklahoma. She discovered scenic art by accident in high school after a soccer injury led her to paint her first scenery in 10th grade for The Martian Chronicles. After studying at Oklahoma State University and completing scenic training and internships at Music Theater of Wichita, Cobalt Studios (NY), and the Juilliard School, she moved to New York City with minimal resources, working multiple jobs while building her career. Her first major film credit was Noah, followed by work on John Wick 2 & 3, The Post, West Side Story, The Irishman, Joker, and Fallout. Known for grounded, detail-driven painted environments—often aged and weathered—she credits authenticity, hard work, and resilience as creative fuel. As an IATSE union member and scenic instructor, she now focuses on mentorship and skill-sharing. Thanks, Amanda, for sharing your story and reminding us that creativity rises from integrity, community, and showing up, no matter where you start.
#OKPOP #ScenicArt #OklahomaCreators #BehindTheScenes
Remembering John Berryman (1914–1972) today—an Oklahoma-born poet and scholar whose work helped shape 20th-century American poetry. 
Born in McAlester, with early years in places like Anadarko and Chickasha, Berryman went on to write The Dream Songs—including 77 Dream Songs, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. 
If you’ve never read him, today’s a good day to start—brilliant, restless, funny, aching poems that still feel electric.
#OKPOP #Oklahoma #JohnBerryman #Poetry #TheDreamSongs OklahomaWriters LiteraryHistory
Remembering Tom Mix on his birthday.
Before Hollywood, he lived in Guthrie and Dewey, Oklahoma, working as a bartender and serving briefly as night marshal in Dewey (1911).
His film career began in Oklahoma: Ranch Life in the Great Southwest (1910), filmed at Blue Mound, Washington County, near Dewey, introduced Mix as one of silent film’s first cowboy stars—a landmark moment in early documentary, Western filmmaking and Oklahoma screen history.
Mix also worked at the 101 Ranch, contributing to the ranch’s legacy in both performance and early film history.
If you’re in Dewey, OK, stop by the Tom Mix Museum and then drive over to explore the historic grounds of the 101 Ranch. #tommix #oklahoma #dewey #okhistory @okhistory
Happy birthday to Suzi Amis Cameron — born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Actor, model, and co-founder of MUSE School CA, Suzi has built a career that spans film, fashion, and education, with a steady through-line of curiosity about how learning environments can evolve.
While much of her work and advocacy have taken place beyond Oklahoma, we love celebrating Oklahomans who carry their creativity into the wider cultural conversation.
Happy birthday, @suzyamiscameron
While living in Tulsa, teaching photography and radio to Black WWII veterans, Spencer Williams Jr. received the career-changing call to play Andy Brown on Amos ’n’ Andy — a defining moment delivered right here in Oklahoma.
A decade earlier, he appeared in the landmark 1939 all-Black Western feature The Bronze Buckaroo, starring Herb Jeffries, one of the first nationally known Black singing cowboys.
Williams wasn’t just on screen — he was also behind the camera, directing and writing influential race films like The Blood of Jesus (1941), expanding Black storytelling in early American cinema.
In Tulsa, Williams helped launch a GI media training program for Black WWII veterans, teaching photography and radio along Route 66 — expanding creative futures from right here in Oklahoma.
From filmmaker to actor to teacher, Tulsa sits in the timeline of his breakthrough.
#OKPOP #TulsaFilm #SpencerWilliamsJr
Donate
Your charitable donation directly contributes to OKPOP’s future, we are grateful for your support! Donations to support the OKPOP Museum may be made to the OKPOP Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.
Donations may be made through the secure online donation form or mailed to:
OKPOP Foundation
422 North Main Street
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103
If you have questions about additional gifting options, please contact Abby Kurin at akurin@okpopfoundation.org
*Required fields.
Note: Fees for online processing are a necessary part of online giving and vary based on donation amount and type of card used. The fees charged by the credit card processor will be subtracted from the donation amount.