Biophilia Programming and Events

Community Engagement

Engagement and interaction with community is an important aspect of the Biophilia exhibition, and much of this was facilitated with support of the Norman Public Library. Through this partnership, we developed five programming events related to the topic of art and nature, providing community members with valuable free experiences and art-making opportunities. The exhibition spanned over three Norman Art Walk events, which take place the second friday of the month. During the May, June, and July art walks, librarians and educators from the NPL set up a mobile library table where they facilitated crafts, helped visitors sign up for library cards, and provided opportunities and guidance for checking out ebooks and holding books related to the exhibiting artist’s book lists.

In addition to the events during each art walk, we offered five additional art and nature related events throughout the exhibition’s duration:

• Sketch and Paint Sesh at Norman Library East, with artist Hannah Harper

• Sketchbook making workshop at Resonator, with artist Curtis Jones

• Ekphrasis poetry workshop at Mainsite, with Norman’s Poet Laureate Julie Ward

• Nature + Sketch Walk at Sutton Wilderness with artists + paleontologists Dr. Nicholas Czaplewski and Jennifer Larsen

• Open Mic Night at the Standard in Norman, OK

All of the events were made possible with the generous support of a grant provided by Factory Obscura.