Tulsa I-244 downtown underpass artworks completed; Artists and community leaders reflect

The six art pieces under I-244 near the Greenwood District in Downtown Tulsa are now finished.

The project took more than five years to complete, and the art ranges from murals to light installations.

Each artwork shows a different theme, and the goal is to reflect the history and future of the Greenwood District.

BURNING STILL

Joseph O’Connell, of Phoenix, Arizona, is one of the artists.

His piece, Burning Still, is located on Greenwood Avenue.

"Because I'm an artist that works with light a lot, I thought, the underpass is like perpetual darkness,” said O’Connell. “Let's recreate these scenes at night, under there."

He wanted to honor those who died at that spot.

"There's still unmarked graves in this spot and there's still repressed memories,” said O’Connell. “The theme of our art was to honor the dead that still lie beneath our feet. To honor what there was before, especially how that resounds through family history."

O’Connell says the installation is meant to be viewed at night.

It shows scenes before, during, and after the Tulsa Race Massacre.

He hopes people will focus on the future while still remembering what happened in the past.

"I think there's a lesson for everyone in that night in 1921,” said O’Connell. “It doesn't have to make you necessarily feel bad, but it can make you feel more complete and more ready to move forward if you know what the past holds."

O’Connell says he used light as a way to keep the history of the space intact.

"There are both authorized and unauthorized murals on these surfaces,” said O’Connell. “There's Black Lives Matter graffiti. We didn't want to overpaint or erase any of that, because that's the history of this space. So that's why we used light."

PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER

Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols has been involved with this project since he was in the legislature.

"To see this from two different roles has been really, really neat,” said Nichols. “This year has been a big year for us as we reflect on the Greenwood story, with the creation of the Greenwood Trust, with the Kirkpatrick Heights Master Plan that's underway. This project is bigger than just the individual project."

He says he is committed to restoring the Greenwood District to the status it had.

"It's actually part of an overall revitalization effort that's going to really restore the Greenwood District so that what we see in the future is pretty close to the kind of economic activity that you would have saw had you been here in 1920 or 1919 or any time before the massacre,” said Nichols.

STATE LEADERS RESPOND

Tim Gatz, the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, says he supports the project and was proud to be part of it.

"I think this is a wonderful project and a long-term investment for the City of Tulsa and North Tulsa and the Greenwood area, and one that we're really, really proud to have been a small part of,” said Gatz.

He says it’s a way to make the roads more appealing while also telling a story.

"Where we are making an investment in infrastructure it doesn't have to be ugly, and if we listen to what the community is telling us, we can make some of those investments reflect, really kind of the cultural aspects,” said Gatz.

Gatz says the art pieces were done under the overpasses instead of on the interstates to limit distractions while driving.

Amber Sharples, the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Arts Council, says Tuesday was a day of celebration.

"Public art is a mechanism to share storytelling,” said Sharples. “And to celebrate people and the people of Tulsa, the people of North Tulsa, of our state."

She hopes people will take its messages to heart.

"The power of public art is that it gives us a sense of looking to the future, reconciliation, and it also beautifies our spaces and says that we deserve to have beautiful art that tells our collective stories,” said Sharples.

WHERE ARE THE PIECES LOCATED?

Each art piece is located under the I-244 overpass on these streets:

1. Main Street- “A Greenwood Lifestyle” by Wesley Clark
2. Boston Avenue- “Resilience” by Helen Juliet Atkins and Will Geusz
3. MLK Jr. Boulevard- “Visionaries” by Alexander Tamahn and Joel Daniel Phillips
4. Detroit Avenue- “Joining Hands” by Shane Allbritton and Norman Lee
5. Elgin Avenue- “Doorways to Hope” by Marlon F. Hall and Gordon Huether
6. Greenwood Avenue- “Burning Still” by Joseph O’Connell and Anneliese Bruner