The Crossroads
of Creativity.
The Crossroads
of Creativity.
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
Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day from OKPOP!
Today we honor Indigenous peoples, their histories, cultures, and the creativity that continues to shape Oklahoma and the world. Through music, film, literature, art, and beyond, Indigenous creators share stories that connect generations, challenge expectations, and open new possibilities.
At OKPOP, we’re proud to celebrate these voices and their influence on popular culture. Their stories are essential to Oklahoma’s creative story, and they’re still being written.
We enjoyed celebrating with Tulsa at Dream Keepers Park today! ❤️
#IndigenousPeoplesDay #OKPOP #OklahomaCreativity #IndigenousArtists #IndigenousStories
Remembering Elmore Leonard on his birthday. 📚
Best known as the legendary writer behind stories that became Get Shorty, Jackie Brown, 3:10 to Yuma and Justified, Elmore Leonard also had a fascinating connection to Oklahoma.
Leonard spent part of his childhood in Oklahoma City, one of several places his family lived before eventually settling in Detroit. Decades later, he returned to Oklahoma in his imagination.
His 2005 novel The Hot Kid unfolds across 1930s Oklahoma, following U.S. Marshal Carl Webster through Okmulgee, Tulsa and the surrounding oil country, against a backdrop of bootleggers, bank robbers, lawmen and Depression-era legends like Pretty Boy Floyd. Leonard dug deeply into Oklahoma history while developing the book, researching everything from Tulsa and Okmulgee to the oil industry, outlaws and the Mayo Hotel.
When The Hot Kid was published, Leonard insisted its book launch take place in Oklahoma, kicking off the tour at Tulsa’s historic Mayo Hotel, a location that also found its way into his fiction.
He returned to Carl Webster and Oklahoma again in Comfort to the Enemy, set partly in Tulsa and Okmulgee during World War II.
Leonard’s time living here may have been brief, but Oklahoma clearly stayed with him.
Happy birthday to one of America’s great storytellers. 📖
#OKPOP #ElmoreLeonard #OklahomaCreativity #OklahomaHistory #Tulsa
From the vault: a little more gold! 🎸✨
Recently, we shared the exciting news that Eldon Shamblin’s 1954 gold Fender Stratocaster has come home to OKPOP. Today, here’s a closer look at this extraordinary guitar alongside Eldon’s 1953 Bandmaster amp!
The worn fretboard is a reminder that this was much more than a beautiful instrument. It was a working musician’s creative companion, helping Eldon bring his unmistakable sound to life.
And that gold finish? It inspired the gold in OKPOP’s building design. Now the guitar that helped inspire our museum is here, ready for its next chapter.
We’re honored to preserve these pieces of Eldon’s story for future generations. 💛
#OKPOP #FromTheVault #EldonShamblin #FenderStratocaster #WesternSwing
A golden piece of Oklahoma music history has come home.
We’re proud to announce that OKPOP has acquired Eldon Shamblin’s 1954 Fender Stratocaster, celebrated as the first custom-colored Stratocaster!
Presented to Shamblin by Leo Fender himself, this remarkable gold guitar became a longtime companion to the Oklahoma-born musician whose inventive playing helped shape the sound of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys and generations of Western swing guitarists.
It also helped shape OKPOP. The guitar’s distinctive gold finish inspired the gold color palette and metal accents in our building’s design. Before it became part of our collection, it was already part of our museum’s identity.
Now, across the street from Cain’s Ballroom, we’re honored to preserve this extraordinary instrument and share the story of the Oklahoma creative who made it sing.
Welcome home, Eldon’s gold Strat. 💛
#OKPOP #EldonShamblin #FenderStratocaster #OklahomaMusic #WesternSwing
We love getting out on the road, connecting with our regional museum neighbors, and making new friends along the way. ❤️
A huge thank you to Eric Cale and the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum for such a warm welcome to Wichita. Eric showed us around the city and museum, shared his love of local history, and, maybe most importantly, indulged our shared enthusiasm for old guitars and the stories they carry.
We had a blast digging deeper into the story of Oklahoman Gage Brewer, his years playing music in Wichita, his bands, and his remarkable connection to the earliest days of the electric guitar. Oklahoma stories have a funny way of crossing state lines, and this is a great one.
We also squeezed in a visit to Exploration Place, found ourselves some hats at a local hat shop, and listened to what felt like almost every recorded version of Jimmy Webb’s “Wichita Lineman” on the drive. Naturally. 🎸🤠
Museums are better when we learn from each other, share stories, and build relationships across our region. We came home with plenty of new ideas, new friends, and a few stories we’re excited to keep following.
Stay tuned. 😉
And next time you’re in Wichita, go say hello to our friends at the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum and Exploration Place. They’re doing great work.
#OKPOP #Wichita #OklahomaHistory #KansasHistory
Happy birthday to legendary music impresario Jim Halsey! 🎉🎶
Born on this day in 1930, Halsey has spent more than seven decades helping shape the business, reach, and sound of American music. From Oklahoma, he built the Jim Halsey Company into one of the most influential talent agencies in country music, representing and guiding an extraordinary roster that included Roy Clark, Hank Thompson, Wanda Jackson, The Oak Ridge Boys, Reba McEntire, Tammy Wynette, Merle Haggard, The Judds, Roy Orbison, Leon Russell, James Brown, and many more.
His vision helped carry country music far beyond its traditional boundaries, bringing artists to stages around the world while helping establish Oklahoma and Tulsa as important centers in the story of American popular music. Just as importantly, Jim has spent decades passing along what he learned through teaching, mentoring, and encouraging new generations of artists and music-industry professionals.
A member of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, and the Tulsa Hall of Fame, Jim Halsey’s story is one of big vision, lasting relationships, and an extraordinary belief in creative people.
Happy 96th birthday, Jim! Thank you for a lifetime spent helping artists find their audience and Oklahoma talent find its way to the world. ❤️🎵
#OKPOP #JimHalsey #OklahomaMusic #TulsaMusic #MusicHistory @jimhalseycompany
From drawing alongside his dad in Tulsa to creating wonderfully strange worlds for Adult Swim, Joe Cappa has followed his own creative curiosity. And we had so much fun hearing about it! 🎨
We recently connected with the animator, filmmaker, and creator of Ha Ha, You Clowns for an OKPOP video interview about his creative journey, his Oklahoma roots, and finding his voice.
Joe shared how watching his dad draw at the kitchen table sparked his imagination, how making comedy with friends helped shape his humor, and how the people he knew growing up in Oklahoma still inspire his characters. Even the show’s muscular but gentle boys have a little Oklahoma in them.
His advice for anyone with a creative itch? “Just make the thing that you want to see out in the world.”
Thanks for sharing your story with us, Joe, and for reminding us that the things that make us laugh, the people we grow up around, and the ideas we can’t shake are all worth making something out of.
#OKPOP #OklahomaCreativity #JoeCappa #HaHaYouClowns #AdultSwim @joecappa
A little Oklahoma kid with a double-neck guitar and a whole lot of fire. 🎸
Today we remember Larry Collins, born in Tulsa on October 4, 1944, whose remarkable musical journey took him from rockabilly stages to some of country music’s most beloved songs.
Alongside his sister Lorrie, Larry lit up the 1950s as the Collins Kids. Their infectious energy, harmonies, and his dazzling guitar playing made songs like “Hoy Hoy” and “Beetle Bug Bop” unforgettable. Mentored by guitar great Joe Maphis, Larry was already an extraordinary player while most kids his age were just finding their footing.
His gift for songwriting brought another lasting legacy. Larry co-wrote “Delta Dawn,” which helped launch Tanya Tucker’s career, and “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma,” the chart-topping duet by David Frizzell and Shelly West.
For us at OKPOP, remembering Larry is personal. He was a great friend and an early supporter who believed in this museum’s vision. His encouragement remains part of our story as we work to share Oklahoma’s creative legacy with future generations.
We’re grateful for his friendship, his belief in OKPOP, and the music he gave the world. Remembering you with love today, Larry. ❤️
#OKPOP #LarryCollins #TheCollinsKids #OklahomaMusic #Rockabilly
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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