ENTERTAINMENT

OKC Thunder helps diverse artists score opportunity with Fresh Paint: OKC NYE Mural Project

In a corner of the Oklahoma City Farmers Public Market, color and culture are starting to sweep across a series of 8-foot-by-8-foot panels.  

"It's a big deal to go this large. ... If you're used to creating work at a smaller scale, just the mechanical aspects of translating it to a larger mural is something to learn," said Helen Opper, co-chair of the Fresh Paint: OKC NYE Mural Project committee, while watching this year's participants paint their murals on a November evening.  

"I always love getting to meet new artists and young artists of color who are underexposed. That's a need that this program helps fulfill."  

From left, Savannah Tallbear, Nayelly Morales Rojo and Janely Saavedra Cruz work on their murals for this year's Fresh Paint: OKC NYE Mural Project at the OKC Farmers Public Market Monday, November 7, 2022.

As part of its Opening Night New Year's Eve festivities, Arts Council Oklahoma City is again partnering with the OKC Thunder for the Fresh Paint: OKC NYE Mural Project, which aims to give young local artists who are people of color a chance to literally expand their skills.  

"This is one of my favorite things that we do ... to showcase the incredible work of local BIPOC artists whose artistic endeavors don’t represent a singular voice, but rather the beauty found in the diversity of our community," said new Arts Council OKC Executive Director Angela Cozby.  

“Fresh Paint is an opportunity to celebrate how truly unique we are as a community. There are countless talented young artists in our community who are just waiting for an opportunity to take their work to the next level." 

Christian Dixon works on his mural for this year's Fresh Paint: OKC NYE Mural Project at the OKC Farmers Public Market Monday, November 7, 2022. Benjamin Moore provided the paint for the muralists.

How does the Fresh Paint: OKC NYE Mural Project work?  

Selected after answering a summer open call for young artists, this year's Fresh Paint: OKC NYE Mural Project artists are Nayelly Morales Rojo, Janely Saavedra Cruz, Savannah Tallbear, Christian Dixon and Giselle Ordaz.  

The participants spent the fall collaborating with three local artist mentors — Virginia Sitzes, Dylan Bradway and Verdean Evergarden, who won the inaugural Fresh Paint contest that launched in 2020 when Opening Night went virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic — to create their murals. 

"It can be really hard to get into public art without any experience, which is that age-old question: How do you get in experience if you don't have any?" said Sitzes, the creator and director of the Sunny Dayz Mural Festival.  

"We're trying to create an opportunity so artists can have no experience but get the chance. ... And once you get a gig popping, your chances increase by a lot."  

Newly installed on the grounds of City Hall, this year's murals will be displayed through December, and the public is invited to vote for their favorite at https://www.nba.com/thunder/artscouncil. The winner will be announced during the Opening Night New Year's Eve celebration, which is from 7 p.m. to midnight Dec. 31 at Bicentennial Park between City Hall and the Civic Center.   

The muralist who earns the most public votes will receive a prize, and all five artists get to keep their creations at the contest's end. 

"We’re honored to partner with the Arts Council to showcase unique and diverse artistic perspectives from our community,” said Michelle Matthews, OKC Thunder fan development manager, in an email. “It’s a great way to celebrate the arts and the collective culture of our city.” 

Here's what you need to know about this year's Fresh Paint mural artists: 

Nayelly Morales Rojo works on her mural for this year's Fresh Paint: OKC NYE Mural Project at the OKC Farmers Public Market Monday, November 7, 2022.

Nayelly Morales Rojo honors her Mexican grandfather 

Mexican-American artist Nayelly Morales Rojo kept a photograph of her grandfather, Jose Rojo Arteaga, close at hand while painting her mural.  

"I just wanted to do this as an homage to my grandfather. He's done a lot of traveling throughout his life, and so I just decided to paint something that represents where he began, which is in Mexico," she said.  

With a cactus and mountains spreading behind him, her grandfather seems ready to ride his horse right out of her new painting. Originally from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the Oklahoma City-based artist, 21, said she is a first-generation American and her mural depicts not just the patriarch of her family but also her ancestral home.  

Nayelly Morales Rojo works on her mural for this year's Fresh Paint: OKC NYE Mural Project at the OKC Farmers Public Market Monday, November 7, 2022.

"I do a lot of Mexican American-inspired art, and I've always wanted to paint something that represents our hometown ... in Mexico. So, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity because I'm working in a much bigger landscape. I feel like it represents a lot more of what it is than doing it in a smaller setting," said Morales Rojo, who is studying art at Oklahoma State University. 

Her Fresh Paint project is just the second mural she's worked on and her first to take on solo. 

"I actually really enjoy it. I like to work in a lot of variety of places. I feel like I've gotten a lot more done working in a bigger scale than doing it much smaller. ... I feel definitely blessed," she said.  

"It's been super fun getting to see everyone here and how they work. It's definitely inspiring." 

Janely Saavedra Cruz works on her mural for this year's Fresh Paint: OKC NYE Mural Project at the OKC Farmers Public Market Monday, November 7, 2022.

Janely Saavedra Cruz expresses longing for her home country 

Janely Saavedra Cruz, 24, has home on her brain and a frog on her head in her first mural.  

"I feel this longing for where I came from, which is Puerto Rico. I'm currently living here in Oklahoma City, so that's why I've got it in the background, the outline of the city," she said. 

Janely Saavedra Cruz works on her mural for this year's Fresh Paint: OKC NYE Mural Project at the OKC Farmers Public Market Monday, November 7, 2022.

Perched on her head in the painting is a Puerto Rican coqui, one of the largest frog species found in her native land.

"Every time it rains, you go outside and you hear them singing their own name," she said.  

The artist moved to OKC eight years ago when her parents pursued a job opportunity in the Sooner State and she tagged along. She said she is glad to find her own opportunity with the Fresh Paint project. 

"No matter their race everybody's got something to see in this room," she said, looking at her fellow artists' murals. 

Savannah Tallbear works on her mural for this year's Fresh Paint: OKC NYE Mural Project at the OKC Farmers Public Market Monday, November 7, 2022.

Savannah Tallbear's Indigenous heritage blazes through in her work 

Savannah Tallbear's Indigenous heritage fires up her mural, which depicts a Native American woman dancing before a blazing bonfire.  

"I do a lot of figures within my work and a lot of movement and places reminiscent to where my tribes are from. The size is different for me, though, that's for sure," said Tallbear, who is Kaw, Cheyenne and Oglala Lakota. 

Savannah Tallbear works on her mural for this year's Fresh Paint: OKC NYE Mural Project at the OKC Farmers Public Market Monday, November 7, 2022.

The Moore artist, 28, has been making art since 2006 but started to pursue her passion seriously in 2020. She does beadwork along with acrylic paintings, and her Fresh Paint project is just her second mural. 

"I wanted to start branching out and getting my name out there, and I'm Indigenous and also Mexican, so it felt fitting ... to apply for this one," she said. "It's supposed to be about people that are up-and-coming, and I'm trying to be one of those people."  

Christian Dixon works on his mural for this year's Fresh Paint: OKC NYE Mural Project at the OKC Farmers Public Market Monday, November 7, 2022.

Christian Dixon's first mural rides with the concept of triumph 

Christian Dixon, 25, finds inspiration for his work in "absolutely everything."  

"My typical process is I will choose a concept, for instance, the concept for this is triumph, and I will meditate on it for a few days, and pull ideas, pull content, from things that I see every day. And I piece together the composition in my mind," said Dixon, who grew up in Missouri and moved to Oklahoma in 2016 after joining the Air Force and getting stationed at Tinker Air Force Base.  

"This is my first horse ... and this is also the largest piece I've done." 

Christian Dixon works on his mural for this year's Fresh Paint: OKC NYE Mural Project at the OKC Farmers Public Market Monday, November 7, 2022.

The self-taught artist, who is one of several Oklahoma-based Black artists who will be featured in a 2023 show at the University of Oklahoma, said the chance to create his first mural prompted him to apply for Fresh Paint. His mural depicts a Black man proudly riding a black horse while scissor-tailed flycatchers soar around him. 

"I think this is a great opportunity for young artists: I've only been painting for five years, and so I'm still trying to get my work out there," he said. "I'm very happy that things like this exist." 

Oklahoma City artist Giselle Ordaz, who is originally from Tijuana, Mexico, works on her mural for the Fresh Paint: OKC NYE Mural Project.

Giselle Ordaz's Mexican heritage dances to the forefront  

An OKC artist originally from Tijuana, Mexico, Giselle Ordaz, 23, doesn't remember a time when she wasn’t creating art.  

"It's really always been that my culture influenced my art style, in the colors and patterns that are used generally. I really wanted to include that, and I wanted to go deeper and to pay tribute to my roots from Mesoamerica, which is why my mural is Mayan and Aztec themed," Ordaz told The Oklahoman. 

"You see the two Indigenous women ... and on the left side, she's holding a cactus. And that's the symbol of strength and resilience through the obstacles of life. On the right side, the woman, she's dancing. It's almost like they’re in a ritual together and offering their energy and movement." 

Oklahoma City artist Giselle Ordaz, who is originally from  Tijuana, Mexico, works on her mural for the Fresh Paint: OKC NYE Mural Project.

Along with painting, Ordaz, 23, creates illustrations and tattoo designs, works with ballpoint pens and decorates journal covers. But her Fresh Paint project is her first mural. 

"My biggest piece before this was 3-feet-by-4, so I'm so used to working a lot, lot smaller than this. ... I used that 3-by-4 painting to practice, but really, I just went for it and just had to trust myself to be able to accomplish this," she said.  

"Just the fact that it's such a big scale, you're able to translate ideas huge and add on little details. It really almost makes like a life-size portal for the art that I'm trying to show the world." 

Although she painted her mural solo, she said working alongside the other artists and getting feedback from the program mentors created a sense of camaraderie around the project. 

"That has actually been one of my favorite parts, being able to create alongside such incredible artists, but also having that support and knowing that these are skilled professionals," she said. "It really has been super helpful. I've definitely asked for their advice, their opinions on my work, and I've really loved it. I've gotten to meet such incredible people." 

FRESH PAINT: OKC NYE MURAL PROJECT 

The 8-foot-by-8-foot murals by this year's Fresh Paint: OKC NYE Mural Project artists — Nayelly Morales Rojo, Janely Saavedra Cruz, Savannah Tallbear, Christian Dixon and Giselle Ordaz — will be on display through the month of December on the grounds of City Hall.  

The public is invited to vote for their favorite at https://www.nba.com/thunder/artscouncil.  

The winner will be announced during the Opening Night New Year's Eve celebration, which is from 7 p.m. to midnight Dec. 31 at Bicentennial Park between City Hall and the Civic Center. For more information on Opening Night, go to https://www.artscouncilokc.com