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
Today, on International Jazz Day, we’re celebrating Oklahoma’s deep and powerful jazz legacy.
Oklahoma has always been a crossroads, a place where cultures, sounds, stories, and traditions meet. That creative exchange helped shape a remarkable jazz history, from Oklahoma City’s Deep Deuce to Tulsa’s Greenwood District to Muskogee’s Second Street, and far beyond.
That story includes the legendary Oklahoma City Blue Devils, one of the great territory bands of the Southwest, whose influence helped carry the sound of Oklahoma jazz across the country.
The music traveled with artists who carried Oklahoma into the wider world: Charlie Christian, Chet Baker, Barney Kessel, Oscar Pettiford, Don Byas, Don Cherry, Earl Bostic, Eddie Durham, Howard McGhee, Jay McShann, Jimmy Rushing, Cecil McBee, Wayman Tisdale, Claude “Fiddler” Williams, Ernie Fields Sr. and Jr., and many more.
Their music reminds us that jazz is more than a genre. It is improvisation, resilience, collaboration, individuality, and soul. It is creativity in motion.
At OKPOP, we’re proud to honor the Oklahoma artists, bands, neighborhoods, venues, teachers, and communities that helped move jazz forward and continue to inspire new generations of musicians and storytellers.
Happy International Jazz Day.
#InternationalJazzDay #OKPOP #OklahomaMusic #JazzHistory #OklahomaHistory
It was truly an honor to connect with legendary songwriter Tom Paxton for a video interview about his Oklahoma roots, creative process, and extraordinary life in music.
A folk singer-songwriter, author, and activist, Paxton reflected on his childhood in Bristow, his time at the University of Oklahoma, the folk revival, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Greenwich Village, and the Oklahoma identity he has carried proudly throughout his career.
From “The Marvelous Toy” and “Ramblin’ Boy” to his beloved children’s songs and books, Paxton offered a powerful reminder that creativity grows through persistence, place, and the courage to keep writing.
As he told us, “Just keep writing, keep going. The more you do it, the better at it you get.”
We’re grateful to Tom Paxton for sharing his story with OKPOP and helping us preserve another vital chapter in Oklahoma’s creative legacy.
Be sure to visit our friends at the Woody Guthrie Center to see their new feature wall, “Tom Paxton: A Car Full of Songs,” celebrating Paxton’s life, work, Oklahoma roots, and enduring role in the American folk tradition.
#OKPOP #TomPaxton #WoodyGuthrieCenter #OklahomaMusic #FolkMusic @woodyguthriecenter
Before superheroes ruled the screen, pulp heroes filled the page.
Created by Oklahoma writer John Wooley with Oklahoma artist Terry Tidwell, The Twilight Avenger carries the spirit of classic adventure serials, masked vigilantes, and larger-than-life imagination. Part pulp hero, part proto-superhero, he reminds us that pop culture’s greatest heroes often begin as bold ideas on a page.
For National Superhero Day, we’re celebrating the storytellers, artists, and dreamers who create worlds where ordinary people can become something extraordinary.
#NationalSuperheroDay #OKPOP #OklahomaCreatives #Comics #PulpFiction @authorjohnwooley @gomiraclestudios
We connected with Elisa Harkins, an artist and composer whose work moves between sound, language, performance, and memory.
Raised in Miami, Oklahoma, Elisa’s creative journey began early through music, dance, theater, and a deep need to make. Today, her work explores Indigenous futurism, language revitalization, and the living power of Cherokee and Muscogee culture.
Through projects like Wampum, Teach Me a Song, and Mahaya Radio, Elisa reminds us that Indigenous music and language are not things of the past. They are contemporary, evolving, and alive.
At OKPOP, we’re honored to help preserve stories like Elisa’s—stories that show how creativity can carry memory, reconnect culture, and inspire future generations. @elisaharkins
It was amazing to connect with Oklahoma songwriter Autumn Ragland at OKPOP.
Autumn shared her journey from growing up in Pryor and teaching herself guitar online, to recording songs as a teenager, touring small venues across the Midwest, building a creative life with her family, and learning how to keep writing through seasons of change, motherhood, exhaustion, and renewal.
Her interview was honest, funny, moving, and full of hard-won wisdom about what it means to be a songwriter. For Autumn, the work comes back to something beautifully simple: “Say what you feel and make it rhyme.”
We’re grateful Autumn shared her story with us, and we’re proud to help preserve the voices of Oklahoma creatives who write, sing, tour, parent, struggle, recover, and keep making something true.
“You can create when the house is messy. You can be an artist and a mom.”
— Autumn Ragland
#OKPOP #OklahomaMusic #AutumnRagland #OklahomaSongwriters #Songwriting @autumnraglandofficial
Let`s take a moment to remember guitar legend Eldon Shamblin on his birthday! He was born on April 24, 1916 in Clinton, Oklahoma. Shamblin played guitar for Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, beginning in 1937 through the mid-1950s, with the exception of the four years he served in World War II.
Shamblin also played in Merle Haggard`s band, The Strangers in the 1970s and 1980s. Over his career, Shamblin recorded music with the likes of Wills, Haggard, Willie Nelson, Leon McAuliffe, Asleep at the Wheel, and many more.
Eldon Shamblin passed away in 1998 at the age of 82.
We learned so much connecting with Dr. Dan Hahn, aka Algebra, hip hop artist, educator, and principal at Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences (TSAS).
From a lifelong love of words to Tulsa’s deeply collaborative music scene, Dan shared a creative journey rooted in curiosity, community, and purpose. We loved hearing his reflections on creativity, education, and the importance of helping young people find their voice. His story is a reminder that creativity matters deeply, in the classroom, in the studio, and in everyday life.
Thank you, Dr. Hahn, for sharing your story with OKPOP.
#OKPOP #Algebra #TSAS #TulsaSchoolOfArtsAndSciences #tulsahiphop
We had the opportunity to connect with acclaimed actor and filmmaker Ed Harris to discuss his family’s Oklahoma roots, his creative journey, and the impact this state has had on his life and work.
Harris shared memories of family ties to Walters, Durant, and Haskell, and reflected on childhood summers in Oklahoma that helped shape his identity. He spoke about Oklahoma as a second home, recalled the formative theatrical experiences that set him on the path toward acting, and offered thoughtful encouragement to aspiring artists about perseverance, humility, and dedication to the craft.
From early stage work and his time at OU to reflections on Pollock, Appaloosa, theater, and collaboration, Harris gave a meaningful look at a remarkable career grounded in authenticity, discipline, and heart.
We’re grateful to Ed Harris for taking the time to share his story and Oklahoma connection with OKPOP.
#OKPOP #EdHarris #OklahomaStories #CreativeJourney #OklahomaCreatives
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
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