Most of the Paseo's November and December takes place at two addresses. One is the Paseo Arts & Creativity Center at 3024 Paseo, run by the Paseo Arts Association. The other is Oklahoma Shakespeare's indoor theater at 2920 Paseo. Between them they put on the gallery walks, the gift-sized art and the holiday shows that make up the district's season. If you live within walking distance, almost every date on this calendar is a short stroll from your door.
Even the district's holiday shopping comes through one of them, in the form of a juried gallery show.
The Gift Counter Is a Juried Show
Each fall the Paseo Arts Association sends out a call for entries for its Small Art Show. It's a juried exhibition at the Paseo Arts & Creativity Center "during the months of November and December." The association describes it as "featuring small, original work, perfect for the beginning collector." Entries closed October 5. This year's juror is Erica Nkechi, executive director of Heart Studios.
The rules make it a natural place to shop for gifts:
- Any visual art medium can enter.
- No piece can be larger than 15 inches in any direction.
- Every piece is priced between $25 and $199.
- Every piece is for sale.
The detail that sets it apart from the association's other exhibits is the commission. According to the Paseo Arts Association's juried show policy, the gallery keeps 30% of each sale at its juried shows but only 20% at the Small Art Show. On a $150 piece, the association keeps $30 instead of $45. So the show that sells the most affordable work in the building is also the one where the artist keeps the most of each sale.
The juror also gives cash awards at the association's juried shows: $150 for Best of Show and $75 for each Merit Award. Opening receptions happen during First Friday, and the juror typically announces awards at 7 p.m. Since the Small Art Show runs across November and December, its reception will fall on one of the two First Fridays below. The association's event calendar will name the night.
You don't have to wait for a gallery walk to shop. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. A weekday lunch break covers it.
The Small Art Show is one of several ways the association puts money in local artists' hands. Its FEAST program, short for Funding Emerging Artists Through Sustainable Tactics, gives five finalists the chance at up to $2,000 for a creative project. The finalists pitch their ideas at a fall dinner, and the audience votes for the winner. This year's pitch night was October 13 at The Ritz on Britton, with dinner from Kam's Kookery. Buying a $40 print in December comes from the same idea, at a smaller scale.
The Theater Down the Block Runs on Dickens and Austen
At 2920 Paseo, Oklahoma Shakespeare's holiday season opens the day after Thanksgiving.
An Actor's Carol is a one-man retelling of A Christmas Carol in which a single clown plays the ghosts, Scrooge and everyone else. The company calls it "a holiday tradition for all ages," and this is its third year. It plays Friday, November 27, and Saturday, November 28, at 8 p.m., plus Sunday, November 29, at 2 p.m. Tickets on the company's Eventbrite page start at $44.64. Those dates fall on Thanksgiving weekend, when out-of-town family often needs something to do.
December brings Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker, a holiday production built around a Regency ball. It runs for three weekends: December 3–6, 10–13 and 17–20. Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows start at 8 p.m., and Sunday matinees start at 2 p.m. Each performance has its own ticket link in the Christmas Cracker collection, with early-December dates starting at $44.64.
The fall play reading series that filled October at the same theater, with Forrest, Macready, Macbeth and then Frankenstein, has no readings scheduled for November or December. For the rest of the year, the theater's calendar is the two holiday shows.
Two First Fridays, Both After Dark
The monthly gallery walk ties the two buildings together. Every First Friday, galleries, boutiques and businesses in the district stay open until 9 p.m.
Friday, November 6, 6 to 9 p.m. The OKC Astronomy Club sets up free telescope viewing at the red Flamenco sculpture in the center of the district, and Casey + Minna play live music. A 6 p.m. start in early November means the telescopes are working in the dark.
Friday, December 4, 6 to 9 p.m. The telescopes return to the Flamenco sculpture. That night Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker also has an 8 p.m. curtain at 2920 Paseo. That leaves time for an hour or so on the gallery walk, including a stop at 3024 Paseo, before the one-block walk to the theater for curtain.
Between the two walks, on Tuesday, November 17, the Paseo Arts Association holds its 20th Annual Paseo Arts Awards from 6 to 9 p.m. The event takes place off-site at the Skirvin, 1 Park Avenue.
Three Shows Close When October Does
By the time this post is published, three exhibits at 3024 Paseo have only a few days left. All three opened October 2 and close Saturday, October 31:
- "Inspiring Hope," a juried show and fundraiser for the Friends of the OU Breast Health Network
- "Atticxys Metals & Taylor Cleveland – Duo Show"
- "Stories Untold by Tracey Brauer"
The building then switches over to the Small Art Show. If you want to see the October work, this week's gallery hours are your last chance.
Literati Press, the bookshop that ran its Almost Midnight OKC 48-hour short story contest out of the Paseo Arts & Creativity Center earlier this month, has two events early in November. Its events calendar lists a Queer Book Club meeting on Sunday, November 1, from 11 a.m. to noon, and the Red Dirt Poetry Open Mic on Wednesday, November 4, from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
The Season by Date
- Through Saturday, October 31: "Inspiring Hope," the Atticxys Metals and Taylor Cleveland duo show, and "Stories Untold," all at 3024 Paseo
- Sunday, November 1: Queer Book Club at Literati Press, 11 a.m.
- Wednesday, November 4: Red Dirt Poetry Open Mic at Literati Press, 6:30 p.m.
- Friday, November 6: First Friday Gallery Walk, 6 to 9 p.m., with telescopes at the Flamenco sculpture and music by Casey + Minna
- November and December: Small Art Show at 3024 Paseo, with original work priced $25 to $199
- Tuesday, November 17: 20th Annual Paseo Arts Awards at the Skirvin, 6 to 9 p.m.
- November 27–29: An Actor's Carol at 2920 Paseo
- Friday, December 4: First Friday Gallery Walk, 6 to 9 p.m., with telescopes at the Flamenco sculpture
- December 3–20, Thursday through Sunday: Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker at 2920 Paseo
A $25 to $199 piece from the Small Art Show tells you something about what local art sells for in the Paseo. If you'd like to know what your Paseo home would sell for this season, West Real Estate Company can prepare a valuation based on recent nearby sales. Request Your Home Valuation, and we'll walk you through the comparables.
