Would you like arts with that?

A new partnership between Arts Alliance Tulsa and the BOK Center makes supporting local art easy

Arts Alliance Tulsa (AAT) kicked off its 2017 campaign by announcing a new partnership with the BOK Center. Established in 2015, AAT is one of 50 United Arts Funds across the country and provides financial support to 40 local arts organizations. 

Alliance members include Tulsa Ballet, Gilcrease, Woody Guthrie Center, and several of the city’s other high-profile arts organizations, as well as others many Tulsans might not know about, like A Pocket Full of Hope and the Northeastern Oklahoma Woodturners Association. By giving to AAT, donors can support all of these groups at once.

Through the partnership with the BOK Center, concertgoers and sports fans can donate to AAT while buying tickets to BOK Center events through Ticketmaster, meaning your Ed Sheeran tickets can now come with a side of local arts funding. AAT ads and branding will also appear at every event at the arena.

In a press event announcing the campaign and partnership, City Councilor Phil Lakin, chairman of AAT’s advisory council, said all of AAT’s operational costs for the year have been underwritten.

“One-hundred percent of every dollar raised from today on will be going to our member organizations,” Lakin said.

Robert S. Purgason, chairman of the campaign committee, announced two fundraising events: the annual Play Your pART Brunch on May 20, which will include a keynote speech by Miss USA 2015, Tulsa-native Olivia Jordan, and a Fourth of July Celebration at McBirney Mansion. 

As the event wrapped up, BOK Center General Manager Jeff Nickler surprised AAT with a $5,000 check from the arena. Nickler said the donation was to jump-start the campaign and encourage other local companies to follow suit.

For more information on Arts Alliance Tulsa including how to donate, visit artstulsa.org.