Art Project Brings Poetry, Color To Streets Of Downtown Tulsa

A temporary art project is bringing color to the streets of downtown Tulsa.

Downtown Tulsa Partnership (DTP), Magic City Books and the Woody Guthrie Center worked together on the "Curbside Haiku" project. A haiku is a short Japanese poem.

People of all ages were encouraged to submit poems that celebrated the vibrancy and inclusivity of the city. DTP said 100 entries came in, nearly four times as many as last year when the project was first launched. They then selected ten winning poems that can be found on 150 art boards placed in tree and planter beds across downtown Tulsa.

"The poets love the fact that it is just alongside the curb lines in downtown Tulsa and that as pedestrians are walking by, as motorists are driving by, they can see these pieces of art and they can be inspired by it," said Morgan Phillips with the Downtown Tulsa Partnership.

She said they also reached out to local artist Dawn Tree to design the backdrop for the poetry.

"She did an abstract fist and that represents empowerment, it represents unification, solidarity, and also just the power that we all have when we work together and we care about a place like so many people care about downtown Tulsa," Phillips added.

Each art board has a QR code on it that people can scan, and it will take them to all 100 poetry submissions. Those poems and the locations of the art boards can also be found by Clicking Here. https://downtowntulsa.com/about/programs-and-initiatives/curbside-haiku.