On the Town: Oklahoma arts students shine at Quartz Mountain shows

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For the last two weeks, talented high school students from across the state have lived at Quartz Mountain State Lodge to immerse themselves in the arts with instructors from all over the country.

They’re all taking part in the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute. Founded in 1977, this unique program provides this opportunity at no cost to the students thanks to a public-private partnership.

These visual and performing arts students were selected through an audition process in a variety of disciplines, including film and video, drawing and painting, acting, choir, orchestra, creative writing, dance, photography and others.

I’ve written about this organization off and on for decades, and it’s a wonderful mix of learning and interaction between students statewide. The instructors and guest artists have excelled in their crafts and come from all over the country.

This weekend, the students will showcase their arts for the public in southwest Oklahoma in a final round of performance and shows between Friday night, June 26, through Sunday. There are chorus and orchestra concerts, dance and acting performances, poetry readings and film screenings and other celebrations that include guest artist showcases.

Before the institute started, a reception at of Plenty Mercantile’s rooftop terrace in Oklaoma City welcomed many of the instructors to the area, giving them a chance to visit the institute’s, board members, staff and supporters.

Ballet dancer and instructor Fernando Carillo had arrived in Oklahoma to teach dance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he has been an assistant professor of dance for the last couple of years. He taught for decades in New York, including at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Juilliard School, New York University’s musical theater program and others.

He loved learning about the arts institute’s mission of making arts accessible to talented students regardless of their ability to pay and said he was “ready to inspire” them.

Film and video instructor Crystal Kayiza is an institute alumna who returned to her home state from New York for the institute, bringing her background in nonfiction filmmaking and documentary to her students.

She said that her experience at Quartz Mountain was life-changing and foundational to her decision to pursue filmmaking as a career. She added that she wanted to convey the value of the state they live in, noting Oklahoma’s landscape, its film industry and support of students through things like OSAI.

“I think that’s a really unique thing,” Kayiza said. “Even the idea that there’s the possibility of doing it the place (where) grew up is an incredible thing.”

See full list of public performances and learn more about the organization at oaiquartz.org/onstage. Arts institute funding comes from private donors, with support from agencies like the Oklahoma Department of Education, the Oklahoma Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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