Wigwam Art Gallery showcases permanent and traveling exhibits

About five years ago, NBC Oklahoma in Altus built the Wigwam Art Gallery and designed it to resemble the 1920s-era Wigwam Movie Theater that was once located there. The original theater had burned in 1993.

Today, NBC’s Wigwam Art Gallery showcases permanent and traveling art exhibitions as well as a community gathering space for certain events. Currently, the gallery is welcoming visitors by appointment through August (2017) to see its “Native State of Mind” exhibit. The show features artwork by Native American artists with Oklahoma ties who are active or were active during the 1960s through the 1990s. It also highlights current Native American artist Mike Larsen, who was recently inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame for his exceptional works representing Native American culture.

The gallery began out of bank Chairman Ken Fergeson’s desire to merge the arts and business and is part of his longtime efforts to support public art and use it to strengthen communities around the state. His vision for Wigwam includes using the gallery to host nonprofit events, promote artists and encourage creativity in the Altus community.

Fergeson, an avid art collector, began collecting art when he and his wife were newly married and they lived next door to an art dealer.

“We would purchase pieces of art from him and pay it off throughout the year,” Fergeson said. “That’s how our art collection started. We didn’t have many decorations throughout the house at the time, so we used the artwork to decorate our home.”

Fergeson felt it was important for people in the community to know a little bit more about Oklahoma’s diverse cultural history.

“Oklahoma is such a rich, young state with so many influences, and we want to share that with the community,” Fergeson said. The gallery is located in what was once known as the Wigwam Movie Theater, which opened in the 1920s.

Stacey Durham, curator and collection manager of the Wigwam collections for NBC, wants to help make the Wigwam a place where people can go relax, be entertained and learn about Oklahoma roots. Durham also encourages visitors to look for similarities in the art that align with your everyday life.

“When people walk into the Wigwam Gallery, I want them to decide for themselves what this work means to them,” Durham said. “How can you take your own knowledge that you already possess and use that knowledge to think about what is going on in this picture?”

To learn more about the Wigwam Art gallery or schedule a tour, contact Stacey Durham at 580-481-3150 or sdurham@nbcok.com.