UNcrease at Gilcrease
It’s been almost exactly two years since I got to take a hard hat tour of the new Gilcrease Museum building. At the time, the building had a long way to go. We even got to watch part of the central staircase being lowered down through the top of the building! Now, the building itself is basically complete – but the art isn’t in place yet. However, while the museum won’t be fully open for several more months, curious Tulsans can visit on select dates as part of Gilcrease’s UNcrease series.
Joss and I attended the UNcrease event on Saturday, April 11. Museum staff had set up several art stations throughout the building. Tulsa Opera gave performances on the main floor. Violinist Taylor Lennea (Bell) filled the space with beautiful music. And we got to walk a couple of labyrinths — a nice exercise in slowing down.
Plus, they’d set up a couple tables full of printouts of pieces from the museum’s collection. Guests were invited to choose their favorite and put the paper in a ballot-style box. As the staff explained, this is to help them narrow down exactly which pieces to display when the museum reopens. According to Gilcrease’s website, they have 13,000 works of art in the collection, plus Anthropology and Archive collections, for a total of 350,000+ pieces altogether.
In addition to enjoying the music and activities, we appreciated being able to grab a drink (and snacks) from the cafe area. The views are excellent!
View from the cafe at Gilcrease
Upcoming UNcrease Events
There are three more UNcrease events listed on the Gilcrease website (as of this writing). These dates are Thursday, April 23 and May 28, 7-9 p.m., and Saturday, May 9, 1-4 p.m.
I believe the first few UNcrease events sold out, but due to demand, Gilcrease released additional registrations and made walk-up tickets available as well. We just walked up and didn’t have any problems getting in. However, do check their website (gilcrease.org/events) for updates about ticket availability, as things could change. And go ahead and RSVP to upcoming UNcrease events there if you’d like to attend.
Activities will be different for each UNcrease event; you can find those details on the website as well.
Exploring the grounds
Because I was visiting with an 11-year-old, we spent as much time exploring the grounds as we did the building. They are so lovely. And I’m so excited to visit once the new trail system is in place!
According to a Gilcrease Facebook post, it looks like Stuart Park (on the north side of the grounds) is re-opened. I wanted to explore the park, but hadn’t confirmed if it was open at that point. It’s very pretty though. If you do want to visit Stuart Park, approach Gilcrease Museum Road westward from Pine street. Turn left and take a near-immediate right into the Gilcrease north parking lot. Gilcrease Museum Road is still closed right in front of the building, but you should be able to access the parking lot, I believe.
