The Brady Arts District - 100 Block of East Brady

This is my first post since last Tuesday.  Tulsa had a big storm that hit midtown with 75 mile per hour winds.  I had a few limbs broken out of several trees, others suffered much worse damage when large trees were uprooted and fell across houses causing terrific damage.  The worse part of this was that our power was out from Tuesday until Friday night.  We don't realize how dependent we are on electricity until we have to do without it.  If we don't plug it in or stick batteries in it it is either food or furniture.  Anyway that's my excuse for being a no-show.

The 100 block of East Brady has become quite an attraction in downtown Tulsa. The 2 story brick building that managed to escape urban renewal has been turned into a block long center for the arts known as the Brady Arts District.  Tulsa has two major Art Museums and I think it is neat to see them working together for the benefit of the community.

The East end houses the Henry Zarrow Center for Art and and Education. It is a part of Gilcrease Museum and will provide space for special displays and opportunities for local artists. For more information look HERE.

The Philbrook Museum of Art has likewise established Philbrook Downtown. With 30,000 square feet dedicated to modern, contemporary, and Native American art, For more information see HERE.

108 Contemporary showcases fine contemporary craft in glass, paper, ceramics, fiber, metals, mixed media and wood. In addition, the community will find a wider range of contemporary craft forms such as installation, performance and video components, all forms complementing the re-energized Brady Arts District. For more information see HERE .

The Woody Guthrie Center is dedicated to celebrating Woody's life and legacy and educating a new generation about his important role in American history. Woody traveled the same road as the thousands of disenfranchised families from Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and Arkansas whose farms had blown away during the dust bowl days of the 1930s. His music told their story. For more about Woody see HERE.

Woody said this about his music: "I hate a song that makes you think that you are not any good. I hate a song that makes you think that you are just born to lose. Bound to lose. No good to nobody. No good for nothing. Because you are too old or too young or too fat or too slim too ugly or too this or too that. Songs that run you down or poke fun at you on account of your bad luck or hard traveling.
I am out to fight those songs to my very last breath of air and my last drop of blood. I am out to sing songs that will prove to you that this is your world and that if it has hit you pretty hard and knocked you for a dozen loops, no matter what color, what size you are, how you are built. I am out to sing the songs that make you take pride in yourself and in your work."

The best way to know Woody Guthrie is to listen to his music. Look at a set of  Youtube videos of the ten best known of his songs sung by Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Billy Bragg, Ry Cooder, Bruce Springsteen, the Grateful Dead, and Woody himself.  Click the link HERE and listen for awhile. When you are in Tulsa, visit these centers with a short walk down the 100 block of East Brady. You will be glad you did.