Welcome to OutArt 2000
Date: October 13, 2000
Dear Friends,
I want to personally welcome you to another Gay and Lesbian Arts Festival of Oklahoma. We appreciate your patronage of this festival and hope you will support the many events taking place throughout Oklahoma City.
This year, we are proud to present a juried Art Show at IAO Gallery October 6-28, and are grateful for the wonderful reception we have received from the board of directors at IAO. Seventeen artists submitted 57 pieces of work - of which twelve artists and 22 pieces were selected to exhibit in the juried show. The judges had a very tough time selecting the final pieces, which says something for the quality of work in our community. The artists and pieces not selected for the juried show can be seen hanging at Borders Books and Music on Northwest Expressway. This showing will be October 7-31.
The theatre portion of the festival will be at the IAO Gallery. Tales From The Closet II is a compilation of skits by five writers. Although the director had many requests to repeat the successful show from last year (we have included three skits from last year's show) - the majority is fresh, new material, featuring new writers.
We appreciate Saint Andrews Presbyterian Church for opening their doors to the Music offering. They were truly enthusiastic about hosting Out On Broadway, anchored by the OKC Metro Men's and Women's Choruses. By the way, look for their wonderful upcoming 2000/2001 season starting in December. A special thanks goes to the individual artists singing this year.
Words cannot express the support Brixton Square Theater has given us. At the last moment, the theater company of last year could not host the Film Festival and Brixton Square stepped in. Please express your appreciation, as they had to move major movies to accommodate us. We think you will find this year's selection a diverse snapshot of our community. Thanks also to all those who made suggestions and voted on the web site. A special note to those who felt the admission to the movies was high. The actual cost of a ticket this year is $10.76 and we are only able to offer a ticket at $8 because of the generous support of the companies that advertise/sponsor the festival. Please tell them you saw their advertisement and, more importantly, support them.
It is a pleasure to welcome OutUniversity 2000 to OutArt this year. Produced by Cimarron Alliance Foundation and Cimarron Alliance Group. These community organizations gave a major grant to OutArt again this year, bless you. The chance to hear and talk with Arthur Dong, award-winning filmmaker, should not be missed.
I would like to take a moment to express my thanks to the board members, all eight have worked very hard all year to make this festival successful. Again, many volunteers have offered to help at the events and we appreciate their labors.
Next year's festival is in the planning and has some BIG surprises. It will be larger and is taking place October 12-17, 2001. We can't wait for you to join us. Remember, your thoughts are important, so please let us know how we are doing - either by mail or email.
Enjoy the festival,
Tony Francis
Chairperson