I had the great pleasure of writing the feature story for the Oklahoma Visual Art Coalition’s summer 2024 edition of Art Focus, a quarterly scholarly art publication. The article documents the background of Sunny Dayz Mural Fest and describes several of the murals produced during the 2024 iteration of Sunny Dayz in downtown Ponca City, Oklahoma. Access the article here!
On the News for Sunny Dayz!
I enjoyed being interviewed on local news channel KFOR on May 30, during the week leading up to Sunny Dayz Mural Fest. My colleague Cayla Lewis and I loved visiting about what Sunny Dayz is and why it exists.
Received Prestigious Award at Oklahoma City Community College
I was honored to receive the award for Most Outstanding Adjunct Faculty for the Division of Arts, English, and Humanities earlier this spring from Oklahoma City Community College. This award is given by the College’s Academic Affairs Office to one adjunct faculty member per division per year, with the faculty member being selected based on colleagues’ nominations. Thank you to my supervisors for this incredible award!
Sunny Dayz Mural Fest 2024 Artist Applications Open!
Muralist applications for Sunny Dayz Mural Fest 2024 on June 1st, 2024, in Ponca City, Oklahoma, are open! See the link for more details and the application.
Curating Retrospective Momentum with OVAC!
I’m thrilled to be working with the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition again another curatorial endeavor! According to OVAC’s website, “Retrospective MOMENTUM: Looking Back, Moving Forward is a heartfelt celebration of the artists who have been a part of MOMENTUM's incredible journey throughout the decades. Join us, in our love letter to the past, present, and future of the MOMENTUM journey. The exhibition is in collaboration with BancFirst at their public gallery in Oklahoma City.”
Check the link for details on eligibility, who can apply, and other important info! See below for important dates.
Nov 12 - Retrospective Momentum: Looking Back, Moving Forward Applications Due
Nov 22 - A Retrospective: Momentum Artists Announced
Dec 4-13 - Artwork Drop-off in OKC
Dec 15 - Mar 30, 2024 – Retrospective Momentum: Looking Back, Moving Forward exhibition dates at BancFirst Gallery.
Jan 10: Retrospective Momentum: Looking Back, Moving Forward Opening Reception at BancFirst, 5-7pm
Please note dates may be subject to change.
The Art Hall Closing After 7 Years
Please see the post I made below regarding the closing of The Art Hall gallery this month:
It is with incredible, gut-wrenching sadness that I inform this wonderful community that The Art Hall closed permanently on Friday, September 15th. I’ve been running this alternative gallery space for seven years now and have worked with literally hundreds of artists and dozens of art and educational organizations. I’ve been very involved with Uptown23rd and I’ve organized and hosted dozens of events. Last year, we were up for Best Place to Buy Local Art in the Oklahoma Gazette’s Best of OKC Awards, and this year, we were a finalist for Best Art Gallery, a feat of which I’m very proud. Despite these accomplishments, it’s always a huge disappointment to realize that not all folks appreciate art, placemaking, and community-making in the same way as I do. While The Art Hall will cease to exist in this physical space, I personally will continue working with Oklahoma artists as an independent curator and will continue running my art appraisal an advisory business Opper Fine Art. Most importantly, thank you to the incredible artists and friends who have helped me along this eventful, exciting journey. Special big thanks to the amazing Kristy at Urban Teahouse for her ongoing collaboration and love, and to the wonderful friend of mine (you know who you are) who made this all possible in the first place. Onwards and upwards.
Now Fully Accredited with the Appraisers Association of America!
I am thrilled to announce that my application to become accredited in Postwar, Contemporary, and Emerging Art with the Appraisers Association of America was accepted! I am now one of only two accredited appraisers in my specialization in Oklahoma and Arkansas, and the only female member of the Appraisers Association in the two-state region. See my profile one the AAA website: https://www.appraisersassociation.org/find-an-appraiser/profile/29806/helen-opper
Major Exhibition on View at The Art Hall
Shyanne Dickey & Edward Grady: Rising is now on view at The Art Hall in Oklahoma City! Join us on Friday, May 5th, from 5-8pm, for a free and family-friendly reception honoring the artists. The exhibition will be on view through July 23, 2023.
Curated by Gallery Director Helen Opper, this exhibition pairs the work of two Oklahoma-based artists, Shyanne Dickey and Edward Grady, for a two-part exhibition at Modella Gallery in Stillwater and The Art Hall in Oklahoma City. Dickey and Grady make artwork that explores their cultural and personal influences, honors strong women and matrilineal heritages, and celebrates Black identity. Through her mixed media paintings incorporating archival imagery, Dickey examines her own family’s history and that of other African American “Exodusters”, families who settled in the farmland of Kansas after the Civil War. By sharing these stories with the public, Dickey helps uncover a little-known part of American and African American history – one that empowered many Black freedmen and their families, but which was not without significant challenges. Grady’s vibrantly colored, textured, and intricately patterned paintings of Black women, men, and masks are informed by his relationship to African cultures and art forms, his interest in symbolism, fashion, and design, and a career’s worth of art education and curatorial work within Black communities in Oklahoma and elsewhere. The commanding, powerful presence of his figures and their emboldened, direct gazes demonstrate that his subjects are not afraid to take up space and visually proclaim their cultural identity. Each of these artists adapts figuration to reflect their own voices and artistic practices, empowering themselves and those who view the artwork.
My goals for this exhibition are manifold. By showing Dickey’s and Grady’s paintings together, I aim to contribute to the diversity of artistic voices being shown in the state of Oklahoma and to highlight aesthetic and conceptual connections and points of comparison between the two artists’ work. Exhibiting work by two artists from different backgrounds, birthplaces, and generations, but with some shared cultural heritage, expands the type of art viewing experiences available to the public to be both inclusive and diverse. Ultimately, by showing figurative work made by Black artists, I hope to contribute to the rectification of historical inaccuracies and omissions entrenched within and propagated by the traditional Western art historical canon. In a conversation about exhibiting figurative work by Black artists between herself and curator Katy Hessel, the Black artist and portrait painter Amy Sherald explained that it is inherently political to show artwork by artists who have historically and categorically been denied entrance to larger artistic platforms and to this canon. Likewise, it is automatically a political act to show artwork depicting Black people, a subject systemically denied by and to traditional art history. If the community can be reflected within the art it sees, does that empower the community? It is my hope that yes, it does. Showing this kind of artwork serves as a way to keep cultural, familial, and personal stories vital and explores new ways to tell different stories. Beyond the political, I hope that this exhibition demonstrates how art can be a tool for storytelling and a means to open up conversations towards the healing of past trauma.
When working on any exhibition, it is the curator’s responsibility to honor the artists’ personal and artistic identities and their artistic voices. As the curator of this multi-faceted project, I believe the work speaks for itself and that the audience does not need me, who comes from a different cultural background than the artists, to explain what the artwork means. By learning about the personal histories of another’s family, maybe you will be inspired to learn about your own. By seeing beautiful depictions of figures from either your own or a different culture, perhaps you will want to connect more deeply to your own culture’s artistry and heritage. Thank you for considering these ideas as you engage with the artworks. Written by Helen Opper, MA.
This exhibition and event series is supported by Thrive Grants from the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
The Art Hall In The Press & New Exhibition
The Art Hall has been getting some exciting press this month, with two sweet write-ups in one week! Check out Visit OKC’s website for a great list compiled by Christine Eddington of things to see and do in Uptown 23rd, the gallery’s home district. For an impressive list of alternative spaces and microgalleries in OKC, check out this article by Greg Horton with 405 Magazine. The Art Hall is grateful to these local writers for their efforts in highlighting local culture.
The gallery also has a wonderful exhibition on view featuring floral watercolors by Joan Wegener, carved and turned wooden vases by local woodworker and scientist Michael McDaniel, and a variety of work by the students of local after-school art group Captivating My Creative Culture.
In the News as Arts Council OKC's Fresh Paint Mural Co-Chair!
I was pleased to volunteer with the Arts Council OKC for the second year in a row, this year as the Committee Co-Chair for the Fresh Paint Mural Project, held in conjunction with the OKC Thunder! I was on KOCO Channel 5 in August to talk about the project, and quoted in The Oklahoman in December in Brandy McDonnell’s excellent article surveying the project as a whole. Read the article here!
Sunny Dayz 2022 Was a Huge Hit!
Sunny Dayz Mural Fest 2022 took place on August 6, 2022, in downtown Edmond and was a huge success for the second year! We dropped 31 new murals in Edmond, paid 42 artists a living wage, and provided a host of activities, networking opportunities, and more for artists, sponsors, and the public during the week leading up to the event. The festival itself featured a variety of performances all day long, a huge local vendor market, kids activities, food trucks, and more. We are ever grateful to our artists and sponsors. Stay tuned for 2023 announcements and sponsorship activities!
Check out the Sunny Dayz Mural Spotlights here and our website here.
Exciting Grant Announcement!
I am honored to have been selected as one of the 2022 Thrive Grant awardees! Thrive Grants are a program of the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition in partnership with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. My project, Shyanne Dickey and Edward Grady: Rising, is a community-focused exhibition and programming series which will showcase two artists, Shyanne Dickey and Edward Grady, who live and work in Oklahoma. This project aims to demonstrate the intergenerational connections established by their work; to create opportunities to learn about art-making processes; to lower barriers for the appreciation of art; and to highlight the relatability of visual art to relevant communities as well as the power of visual art as a storytelling and healing tool.
The first iteration of this exhibition will take place at Modella Gallery in Stillwater, Oklahoma, from March 9 - April 22, 2023. The second iteration of this project will take place at The Art Hall in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, from April 24 through July 31, 2023. Event dates TBD; exhibition dates are subject to change.
Stay tuned for more information!
Appraiser for Loan of Damien Hirst & Wayne Coyne Collaborative Painting to City of OKC
I was thrilled to serve as the professional appraiser on the project team for the remounting and installation of a monumental 18 x 18 foot spin painting made by Damien Hirst in collaboration with Wayne Coyne at the Oklahoma City Convention Center in December 2021-January 2022. Owned by the Flaming Lips frontman Mr. Coyne, Beautiful Mystical Sun Clouds Taste Metallic Gift Painting is being loaned for ten years to the City of Oklahoma City. The remounting and installation portion of the project was managed by Kasum Contemporary of Oklahoma City. The painting is now a public treasure! Visit the Press & Writing page for links to various press articles about the project.
Disclosure note: I have the client’s permission to share this information.
Image courtesy of Kasum Contemporary.
Partnering with Artio Services for Real Estate Curation!
I'm so excited to be coming onboard with Artio Services as their official Art Advisor through my firm Opper Fine Art! Artio is the brainchild of the talented Jennifer Maynord and is an amazing women-led local creative agency that pairs artists and businesses. Artio offers a multitude of services to the artist community (visual art! film! music!) including real estate curation, events and bookings, business consulting, and arts resource management. I'm thrilled to be heading the real estate curation project. Please reach out if you or your business could benefit from our services, and if you'd like to learn more! Also, Oklahoma-based venues/businesses/entrepreneurs - we have an awesome Artist Ally Badge program - check it out on the website and get involved!
Serving on Arts Council OKC's Opening Night Mural Committee
I’m happy to have been asked to serve on the Mural Committee for the Arts Council OKC’s annual downtown New Years event, Opening Night! For more information on this annual event, visit the Council’s website and for more information on last year’s event, Fresh Paint, go here. Aimed at pairing Oklahoma’s young BIPOC artists with experienced, professional muralists, this project helps fulfill a need in Oklahoma City for increased opportunities for young, emerging artists of color. Stay tuned for more info!
Guest Curating OVAC's Momentum 2022
I am honored to have been asked to curate Momentum 2022 by the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition! This annual dynamic and unique event, to take place in March 2022, features Oklahoma artists ages 30 and younger in an environment created specifically for them, helping them gain experience and meet new audiences. Attendees encounter film, performance, new media, installation, music, and more! Stay tuned for more details, and for more information about this annual event, visit OVAC’s website: https://www.ovac-ok.org/momentum.
Sunny Dayz Mural Fest - OKC's First All-Female and Female-Identifying Mural Festival!
UPDATE: Sunny Dayz Mural Fest was a smashing success! Stay tuned for info about the 2022 iteration of the festival. See photos from the day of, and after, below!
I’m thrilled to be on the committee for Sunny Dayz Mural Fest, Oklahoma City’s first all-female and female-identifying mural festival! The festival will be on August 7, 2021, at 925 Britton Road. Check out our website for more information, a list of participating artists, and donation/sponsorship opportunities! Support female artists and support equity in the arts!
ArtNow 2021 Opening Night Tickets Available
Tickets are now available for the July 29th opening party for ArtNow 2021 at Oklahoma Contemporary! Please visit Oklahoma Contemporary’s website to purchase and for sponsorship information.
Friday, July 30th will be the first day the exhibition is open to the public.
The Art of Brunch will take place on Saturday, July 31st, and this event will provide another opportunity to support the organization and see the exhibition.
ArtNow 2021 Official Announcement
I am thrilled to announce the exhibition I have been working on since 2019, ArtNow 2021, taking place at Oklahoma Contemporary from July 29 through September 13, 2021! The exhibition’s website is now live, so please visit for more information: https://oklahomacontemporary.org/exhibitions/upcoming/artnow-2021
Press Release:
Organized by Guest Curator Helen Opper, ArtNow 2021 presents a dynamic group of Oklahoma-based artists whose works respond to the complexities of contemporary culture, reflecting the vibrant diversity of contemporary art in Oklahoma.
This year’s ArtNow represents the first iteration of the biennale model, an approach adopted to better showcase the new works of selected artists with active studio practices in Oklahoma.
Marking this inaugural edition is a special exhibition that features a number of Bert Seabourn’s works in recognition of his contribution to the cultural landscape in the state. Seabourn’s works are in national and international collections, and he is the recipient of the Governor’s Arts Award from the Oklahoma Arts Council (1981) and an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters (1997) from his alma mater, Oklahoma City University. Besides his dedication to art, Seabourn has fostered comradeship in the arts in Oklahoma and has committed his time and talent teaching at Oklahoma Contemporary for many years.
Featured Artists:
Dean Bloodgood: 70 Years of Painting
I am excited to announce the exhibition Dean Bloodgood: 70 Years of Painting, on view March 1-April 16, 2021, at the Nona Jean Hulsey Gallery at Oklahoma City University, which I curated. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm, and a closing reception will take place on Thursday, April 15th, from 5-8pm. Free, timed tickets are required via this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dean-bloodgood-70-years-of-painting-tickets-143546125325
Curatorial Statement
This exhibition celebrates the accomplishments of Oklahoma artist and educator Dean Bloodgood, whose evolving artistic career spans over seven decades. Working in a variety of media, Bloodgood is a true painter’s painter – an artist who explores and returns to various motifs and themes over the course of his career, displaying the breadth, progression, and evolution of his oeuvre. Landscapes, waterscapes, skyscapes, buildings, interior scenes, windows, the female figure, and more recur in Bloodgood’s paintings and drawings, indicating his interest in exploring new ways to depict certain subjects. His large-scale paintings of trees, streams, trailside scenes, and cloudy skies from various locations across the United States and Mexico display his reverence for nature and the duality of its power as well as his ability to handle and manipulate color. Interior scenes and images of buildings, both commercial and domestic in scale, are studious, contemplative, and occasionally sardonic in their controlled approach to the subject matter. Bloodgood’s renderings of clothed and nude women alike are elegant, sensitive, and sensuous, while offering a personal perspective into his body of work. Absent of narrative, each of Bloodgood’s artworks across subject matter represent a specific moment in time, captured in a paused state by his brushes and pencils. Included in this exhibition are drawings, paintings, ceramic tiles, and three-dimensional works which cumulatively represent a broad range of artistic styles and approaches developed over a lengthy, productive career.
Dean Bloodgood was born in Pomona, California, in 1934, received his BFA from the University of Texas at Austin in 1958, and completed his MFA at the University of Southern California in 1960. In addition to working as a fine artist, Bloodgood is a lifelong educator. He is a professor emeritus in the Department of Art at Oklahoma State University, where he taught painting for over 40 years beginning in 1964. He has participated in numerous museum and gallery exhibitions around the country since the 1950s, received many awards for his accomplishments, and his work is included in the permanent collections of important museums and institutions nationwide. This exhibition is the artist’s first retrospective in Oklahoma City.
“My interests in art involve attempts to find the transcendent in the everyday. Simplification, a freezing of time, silence, analogies, visual parallels, metaphors and abstracted reality are the major elements I search for as a painting develops. A ‘dumbness’ of design and a gestural quality are formal elements that seem to repeat in my work. I do not want a narrative element in my work, so I try to minimize premature interpretation. If the piece works, I find out upon completion what it’s about.” -Dean Bloodgood
