Phoenix Circle Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Watonga, OK. Their mission is to promote and support the arts and humanities, educational, environmental, and health and wellness programs in a disadvantaged and underserved rural area of Oklahoma.
Oklahoma Humanities is currently offering a grant to museums, libraries, and cultural organizations in towns with fewer than 20,000 residents to host a Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit called Crossroads: Change in Rural America. The exhibit will tour six Oklahoma communities from September 2021 to June 2022.
“Main StreetMoMS is a one-of-a-kind cultural project that combines the prestige of Smithsonian exhibits, the program expertise of Oklahoma Humanities, and the remarkable volunteerism and unique histories of Oklahoma's rural towns. MoMS exhibits are a powerful catalyst – opening doors to a community’s own history, its culture, its people, and to enhanced town pride. When small town cultural organizations host MoMS exhibits, they bring revitalized attention to their communities. These high-caliber exhibits attract visitors from surrounding areas which can stimulate the local economy.” (reprinted from the MoMS website). For more information on the Museum on Main Street (MoMS) Crossroads program, please visit their website at www.okhumanities.org/programs/museum-on-main-street. NOTE: this is not a “Main Street” related grant.
Phoenix Circle Foundation is submitting an application to host the exhibit at the Watonga ArtWorks building on Main Street. The main exhibit will be supplemented by various seminars, workshops, and other presentations at different locations in our area, all of which will be made possible by the grant. We’d like to highlight all of this area’s historical, cultural, and community attributes, including our State Park, the native American heritage and influence on Watonga’s long history, along with the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps at Roman Nose State Park. We believe this exhibit can be a strong catalyst to highlight what we have here, look at how we can move forward as a town, and bring the community together as host of a very important art exhibition, not to mention the economic impact it can have on our town and Blaine County.
One of the selection criteria will be evidence of strong community support. We are asking for public Letters of Support for this project, which will involve the entire community. If you would be interested and willing to be a partner in our effort to bring this unique and significant exhibit to our town, please write a letter of support.
Please take a moment to look at the information about the Smithsonian traveling exhibition on "Change in Rural America" at www.okhumanities.org. Wouldn't it be great to bring this exhibition to Watonga?
If you think so, please write a letter of support and send it to PHOENIX CIRCLE FOUNDATION at 111 E. Main St., Watonga, OK 73772. For more information, or to get a sample letter of support, call Linda Barrett at 580-623-4269 or cell: 940-735-1065; or contact us by email at phoenixcir@yahoo.com. THANKS!
Thank you for your help.
Linda Barrett, Secretary/Program Director, Phoenix Circle Foundation