PROJECT TIMELINE

August 2021—December 2021

July 2021

Thrive Grant Award

August 2021

Initial research started on selection of sites to visit

August—November Research

Planning site visits

September 2021:

Visit to Oklahoma Petroleum Information Center & site visits planning initiated with research assistant Christina Roberson

October 2021:

Sites visited—Tallgrass Prairie, Keystone Ancient Forest, Osage Hills State Park, Osage Forest of Peace, Robbers Cave, Beavers Bend

November 2021:

Sites visited—Talimena Scenic Byway, Spiro Mounds, Black Mesa

December 2021:

Black Mesa Virtual Walk video by Sarah Ahmad, Healing with Nature Meditations by Maryam Ahmad, video of 3 Sonic Meditations by kara lynch

August—December Fundraising:

Funds raised by the Lead Artist and Collaborators from August to December: $1000 ($500 by Kara Lynch for her contribution of video of 3 Sonic Meditations for the Tulsa Artist Fellowship’s Welcoming Session and $500 by Sarah Ahmad for her contribution of Eco-therapeutic Virtual Walk of Black Mesa with Meditation Prompts by Maryam Ahmad)

Mid December

Lead artist Sarah Ahmad & collaborator Maryam Ahmad continue the project; kara lynch’s collaboration ends.

January—July 2022:

Project research, site visits, art work production and installation, community engagement

January—2022:

Project vision expanded; outreach for partnerships; meetings and project presentations to potential partners

Project funding from the Tulsa Artist Fellowship

Photo & video documentation (by Sarah Ahmad) of sites visits edited and compiled for the project; project planning & research continues

February 2022

Partnerships outreach, project presentations/virtual meeting (by Sarah Ahmad) with Oklahoma Public Libraries, Oklahoma Arts Council, Oklahoma State Parks, Oklahoma State University, University of Tulsa and Native American writers.

Research and planning for site visits, land acknowledgment statement, and partnerships

Site visits to Lake Murray State Park, Turner Falls, and Chickasaw Cultural Center

March 2022:

Partnerships outreach and project presentations continued

Research and site visits planning continues

Site visits to Wichita National Wildlife Refuge and Medicine Park, Great Plains State Park, Quartz Mountain State Park, Museum of Great Plains, and Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center

Photo & video documentation (by Sarah Ahmad) of sites visits edited and compiled for the project

April 2022:

Meetings with representatives of libraries from different regions in Oklahoma

Research work o Land Acknowledgment statement

Consultation and research with Julie Pearson Littlethunder and Sarah Milligan for quotes from Native American authors and land acknowledgement formats

Start work with Third Floor Design TFD, University of Tulsa

Meetings with TFD students guiding them to design the cards for the project

Meetings and outreach with libraries continued

Finalizing cards and graphic design work

Selecting sites for project installations and planning

Designing artwork for the project

May 2022:

Continue work with TFD

Continue work with coordination with libraries, final selections, meetings for planning installations

Continue work on Land Acknowledgement

Editing Black Mesa Video

Creating artwork for all the sites visited for the project

Coordinating poster design for the project

Artist Talk at the Oklahoma Department of Libraries monthly meeting

Zoom meetings with participating libraries

Work on audio recordings

Planning and starting work with TFD summer intern to finish the graphics design work

Working on additional cards designs and poster design

June 2022:

Finishing artwork for the sites

Working with TFD summer intern to finish the cards and the poster

Planning installations schedule & coordinating with each location where the project will be installed

Printing 130 art cards for each library where the project will be installed

Designing and printing prints for installations

Designing each site-specific installation

Installations and project will be launched at 8 pilot locations in all the 6 regions in Oklahoma

Setting up installation and exhibit at Tulsa Central Library

Travel to install project exhibits at Norman, Lawton, Spiro, Talihina, Tahlequah

Project press release

Sharing project images with each participating library and planning programming around project themes

Website updates

July—September 2022:

Installations

Website updates

Project presentation, continued community engagement, project evaluation

Phase Two: “Stories from the Core”

Core samples from across Oklahoma, accessed at Oklahoma Petroleum Information Center, will guide selection of geologic sites for further exploration. Each site will be documented: land and sky will be photographed, and audio recorded, with video and written reflections. This conceptual triptych layers visual with aural and textual elements. The depth of these multi-sensory aspects calls to the processes of moving through layers of grief: from wounds buried deep within—core sample; to the surface scars—the land; to the possibilities of hope and healing that the sky, in its expansiveness, represents.

“Stories from the Core” will have interactive sites in each of the six geographical regions of Oklahoma: Northeast, Southeast, Central, South Central, Southwest, and Northwest. During the research stage, the artists will select public sites within each region to engage with the project. Complementing the Phase One art-cards, possible expansions include signs or banners placed near a state park, with both a collage and a prompt for viewers. This will expand the project’s impact, allowing those who are already in a natural setting to further reflect on the environment around them. The digital version of the postcards, shared through social media, may also include video and sound components.

Left: Earth Cores Library at the Oklahoma Geological Survey; Right: Core Samples. The 192,000 square-foot Earth Core Library at the Oklahoma Geological Survey has core samples that are from 6 miles deep. Additionally, the Oklahoma Petroleum Information Center houses more than 100 miles of core from almost 10,000 wells.