About the Oklahoma Arts Council

In 1965, Governor Henry Bellmon and the Oklahoma State Legislature established the Oklahoma Arts Council in response to a national movement to make the arts accessible to all Americans. Establishing the Oklahoma Arts Council allowed the State of Oklahoma to receive federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts to support arts activities across the state. For more than 60 years, this system of federal, state, and private support has given Oklahomans in communities statewide access to the transforming power of the arts.

Download our FY25 Impact Report

Download our 2026-2030 strategic plan

Every five years, the Oklahoma Arts Council creates a new strategic plan outlining the mission, vision, guiding principles, values, and goals that will guide the work of the agency. In March 2026, the Governor-appointed Oklahoma Arts Council board approved a new strategic plan that will guide the agency through 2030. The strategic plan is the result of a comprehensive process that included invaluable input from Oklahomans representing communities statewide.

The Oklahoma Arts Council leads, cultivates, and amplifies the transformative power of the arts for all Oklahomans and their communities.

• Award matching grants to eligible organizations to increase resources available for producing community arts and arts education programs throughout Oklahoma.

• Support opportunities for all Oklahomans to create, perform, or attend arts activities.

• Raise public awareness about the value of the arts to the economic, educational, and cultural life of Oklahoma. The arts produce jobs and attract out-of-state tourists, directly impacting Oklahoma’s economy.

• Foster education through the arts and support efforts to implement the arts as part of the core curriculum for all students in every Oklahoma school. 

1971: Established the State Art Collection to provide Oklahoma artists the opportunity to be recognized in a quality collection.

1975: Led Oklahoma in becoming one of the first states to present a Governor’s Arts Awards program.

1976: Dedicated the four historic Charles Banks Wilson murals above the fourth-floor rotunda in the state Capitol.

1979: Established the Governor's Gallery in the state Capitol to showcase artwork by Oklahoma artists.

1986: Established the East Gallery in the Capitol with Governor George Nigh.

1990s: Following the passage of landmark education reform legislation such as HB1017, which added arts to the core curriculum, the agency continued providing vital arts education programs to assist schools in meeting mandated visual art and music instruction.

1990s: Established the North Gallery in the state Capitol.

1990s: Facilitated significant growth in the Capitol Art Collection, through which the story of Oklahoma is shared with thousands of visitors to the historic building each year.

1994: Became one of the first state agencies in Oklahoma to have a web site hosted by the state.

2002: Became the first state agency in Oklahoma to introduce interactive online grant applications.

2007: Convened the first statewide Oklahoma Arts Conference, bringing together artists, arts organizations, community developers, educators, and others as one united sector for professional development and networking.

2008: Introduced the Leadership Arts program to equip Oklahomans to become leaders for the arts in their communities. Hundreds have graduated from the program and impacted their local communities by implementing what they learned.

2010: An economic impact study spearheaded by the agency showed Oklahoma nonprofit arts and cultural organizations have a $314.8 million impact on the state’s economy, employing 10,156 full-time equivalent jobs and generating $29 million in state and local tax revenue.

2015: Launched the Oklahoma Arts and the Military Initiative.

2015: Began administering the Oklahoma Art in Public Places program on behalf of the state, following the percent-for-art statute implemented through legislation in 2004.

2020: Stewarded the state arts sector through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, successfully pursuing and awarding millions of dollars of federal, state, and private relief funds to ensure the sector could recover and be poised for a stronger future.

2021: Launched the Oklahoma Creative Aging Initiative.

2022: Announced the beginning of the agency's reinstallation of hundreds of artworks throughout the state Capitol following a multi-year restoration of the century-old building. To enhance the visitor experience, the reinstallation featured a reimagined curatorial plan, organizing artwork according to a chronological and thematic progression. The plan included the reintroduction of the agency's field trip grant program for schools, and the creation of a volunteer docent program.