Nearly 270 young artists from across Oklahoma – including one from Kingfisher – spent a week studying with internationally-renowned faculty and celebrity guest artists at the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute (OSAI).

The attendees were selected from over 1,000 applicants during a competitive statewide audition process last winter and they studied one of eight artistic disciplines: Acting, chorus, creative writing, dance, drawing and painting, film and video, orchestra or photography.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Institute could not be held at Quartz Mountain this year.

But instead of canceling the program, the organization created robust online programming, called “OSAI at Home.”

With even more instructors than usual and nightly presentations from superstars like Misty Copeland of American Ballet Theatre, students convened in the online world for masterclasses with artist-educators in their field, workshopping and critiques, one-on-one lessons, and opportunities to build community with other young artists from across the state.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister commended the Oklahoma Arts Institute’s innovative online program.

“In the face of uncertainty and change, the Oklahoma Arts Institute made a commitment to the state’s most talented students that the show would, indeed, go on – despite the uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Hofmeister said. “OAI’s pivot to an online Summer Arts Institute has proven that where there’s a will, there’s a way. As a result, students across the state were able to learn and create under the tutelage of exceptional instructors and guest artists.”

Kingfisher student Prairie Kaya attended OSAI at Home in the discipline of acting.

“The arts provide us with purpose and drive – things that everybody is searching for in these uncertain times. Having a place for young artists to hone their craft, learn from each other and interact with experienced professionals can propel their passions,” said Kaya, who will be a senior at KHS this fall.

“With the guidance provided at OSAI, young creatives have a greater chance of continuing to learn and flourish. The success of Oklahoma artists is the success of Oklahoma and OSAI helps bolster both.”

Students at OSAI at Home received specialized instruction from university professors like award-winning poet Sasha Pimentel of the University of Texas at El Paso and actor-educator Daniel Spector of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Spector said that he did not give his students the “high school version” of his curriculum, but taught his class at a collegiate level.

While working from home provided challenges to students and faculty alike, the students and faculty found that the “Quartz Mountain Magic – the spirit of community and collaboration – could, in fact, exist online.

Participants said they particularly enjoyed the nightly guest artist lectures and Q&A sessions, where the students had a chance to learn and interact with dancer Misty Copeland and other extraordinary artists, including Tony Award-winner Kelli O’Hara and creator of the “Radiolab” podcast, Jad Abumrad.

Hofmeister applauded the students’ hard work and commitment to their art form.

“I am so proud of these students. The fire inside them burns bright, and their courageous creativity will ensure a brighter future for the state of Oklahoma,” Hofmeister said.

Through its partnership with the State of Oklahoma, as well as support from numerous private donors, the Arts Institute ensures that every student accepted to OSAI receives a full scholarship to attend.

Funding for Kaya’s scholarship was provided by the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the David and Molly Boren Scholarship Fund.

Additional program support was provided by the Oklahoma Arts Council, the Jerome Westheimer Family Foundation, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, the Hearst Foundations, the Harris Foundation, the OKC Midtown Rotary Club and the Zarrow Foundations.

This project was supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.