Upcoming Special Exhibits

2025 Special Exhibit Schedule

January 28 – March 16 

The Fourth Grade Project

In the past decade, acclaimed artist Judy Gelles (1944–2020) interviewed and photographed more than 300 fourth-grade students from a wide range of economic and cultural backgrounds in China, England, India, Israel, Italy, Nicaragua, St. Lucia, South Africa, Dubai, South Korea, and multiple areas of the United States. She asked all of the students the same three questions: Who do you live with? What do you wish for? What do you worry about? Their varied stories, collected in the exhibition The Fourth Grade Project, touch on the human condition and urgent social issues. The Fourth Grade Project will be open from Tuesday, January 28, through Sunday, March 16, in the Mabee Foundation Gallery of the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center.

The students’ stories capture the gamut of societal issues that we face today: violence, immigration, the demise of the nuclear family, global hunger, and the impact of the media and popular culture. The combination of frontal and reverse portraits allowed for the development of both personal and universal stories, and derived from the subject care-taker’s reactions to photography in each country. In the US, photographing from the front can be problematic because of privacy issues. In China, it is considered disrespectful to photograph from the back. In India, parents and teachers made no objections to either frontal or back portraits. In all of the portraits across the spectrum of countries, the children are presented as individuals; however, their stories speak to greater pervasive truths and problems within our society. Told in their own words, these children’s stories touch on some of our most pressing social issues and common human experiences.

The Fourth Grade Project is organized by ExhibitsUSA, a program of Mid-America Arts Alliance.

The cost of this exhibit is included with the regular museum admission.

April 15 – June 15

A Body of Work: More Than Skin Deep

This exhibit will showcase various forms of artwork created by local tattoo artists who are passionate about expressing their creativity through a diverse range of tattooing styles and mediums. A Body of Work includes painting, drawings, beadwork, and other artistic forms that highlight the art of tattooing. The exhibit will also explore the history of tattooing, including its recent legalization in Oklahoma.

Featured artists will include Culture Tattoo in Enid and Red Sagas Tattoo Parlor in Woodward. Artwork displayed in the exhibition will be available for purchase.

An exhibit preview will take place on April 11 from 5 to 9 p.m. The artists from Culture Tattoo in Enid and Red Sagas Tattoo Parlor in Woodward will be available to talk about their art and offer flash tattoos at an added cost, payable to the artist. Culture Tattoo will accept both cash/card payments, while Red Sagas will be cash only. Flash tattoos will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. (Clients must be at least 18 years of age, and a valid ID is required for flash tattoos.)

Admission to the exhibit preview is the regular cost, while flash tattoos will require a separate fee payable directly to the artist.