Most people living outside places like Tulsa, OK have a certain assumption about the visibility of queer people here…and not a flattering one. So it might surprise you to know that it’s teeming with artists in the queer community. And as someone who grew up here, my guest Chris Vanndy is leading the charge as a creative and community leader to make their work visible.
In this episode of the Words of Love podcast, you’ll hear about how he’s helping to create safe spaces for queer artists and their art in Tulsa. He’ll also emphasize the importance of increasing visibility for those in the 2SLGBTQ+ space, as well as reveal why he feels fortunate to have been born and raised in Tulsa and his dream goal for the community.
4:34 - How Tulsa nurtured Chris’s creative instincts as a child and prepared him for what was possible
7:21 - How Chris’s shared vision for the Center for Queer Prairie Studies impacts the artistic community in Tulsa
9:28 - Examples of events held through Queer Prairie Studies and how it all resembles a moving exhibition
16:22 - How Chris combines his technical expertise and creativity in his artwork
20:00 - A fluid take on pronouns, two-spirit (2S) as part of LGBTQ+ history, and what it means to be a Black queer in places like Tulsa
25:31 - What Chris would do if he had a blank check for a community building project of his dreams
Connect with Chris Vanndy
Chris Vanndy is a creative director, artist, and community leader in Tulsa. Chris is a co- Executive Director at Studio 66 and The Center for Queer Prairie Studies, sister organizations, who’s core mission is to create safe spaces for the 2SLGBTQ+ community in Tulsa through arts based programming.
Visibility and Safe Spaces for Tulsa’s Creative Queer Community with Chris Vanndy