What is printmaking? Join OKCMOA Moderns for an exclusive in-person event featuring a lively panel discussion on the art of printmaking, inspired by the Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s exhibitions.
Our panel, consisting of three distinguished printmakers Michelle Canning, Lumen Miramontes, Virginia Sitzes and skilled moderator Cayla Lewis, will delve into printmaking’s techniques, history, and modern-day relevance. This unique event offers individuals a rare opportunity to engage directly with the artists, ask questions, and gain deeper insights into this fascinating art form.
Moderns members can register to attend for $5, and the public can secure tickets for $10. The registration fee includes exhibition admission, one drink ticket, and bites after the panel.
EVENT SCHEDULE
5 pm | Exhibition galleries open and drinks in the Museum Lobby
5:45 pm | Panel Discussion in the Noble Theater
6:45 pm | Reception in the Museum Lobby
Not a Moderns member? Click here to learn more about Moderns benefits and become a member!
Artist Bio: Virginia Sitzes
Virginia is an award-winning printmaker, muralist, and active arts advocate living in OKC. She is the creator and director of Sunny Dayz Mural Festival, Oklahoma’s first and only mural fest dedicated to celebrating female and nonbinary artists. She co-founded the Oklahoma-based artist collective, Art Group in 2017, which now has over 70 members, and is one of the organizers of the Connect: Collect Print Exchange, now running its fifth year, bringing together 30 printmakers from all over the world and culminating into an annual exhibition. Virginia is also a Teaching Artist for the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s federally funded Art Tech program. This five-year grant-funded program helps develop an arts curriculum for rural schools without arts programming and eventually will be available nationally for any educator to adopt and teach. She has also worked seasonally for the Oklahoma Arts Institute since 2019. Virginia currently serves on the board of the Oklahoma Mural Syndicate, teaches workshops across various art spaces such as Oklahoma Contemporary and Flash Flood Print Studios, has been a mentor in multiple projects such as Artspace at Untitled’s printmaking mentorship program and the Fresh Paint NYE Mural Project, and consistently curates various pop-up shows in alternative art galleries and non-traditional spaces. Her work has been featured in Art Focus magazine, Barnstorm Literary Journal, Oklahoma Gazette, The Tulsa Voice, and the “Inspiring Conversations OKC” and “Whatcha Makin’?” podcast.
Find more of her work:
Instagram @virginiasitzes
Website: virginiasitzes.com
Artist Bio: Lumen Miramontes
Lumen Miramontes is a printmaker, painter, muralist, and educator based in Norman, Oklahoma. Lumen employs sarcastic, sometimes surreal, imagery to create conversations about societal norms, gender expectations, and power structures using printmaking methods and often unconventional materials. Lumen has taught classes, workshops, and camps at institutions across the metro including Artspace at Untitled and Oklahoma Contemporary Art Center. They are an Art Educator at Norman Firehouse Art Center, working to expand visual arts access for elementary school students. When they aren’t teaching, or being an “art goblin” in their home studio, Lumen can be found hanging out with Lu’s partner and their beloved pack of rescue dogs.
Find more of their work:
Instagram and Facebook @lumen_mira
Website: https://lumenmiramontes.wixsite.com/lumenmira
Artist Bio: Michelle Canning
Michelle Canning is an Indigenous artist from the Makah Nation who is receiving a BFA in studio art with an emphasis in printmaking from UCO in December 2024 and resides in Edmond, Oklahoma. She has been in several shows in the Oklahoma City area, including a solo Exhibition in the Paseo in June of 2024. Michelle has also been featured in juried exhibitions in neighboring states for printmaking and functional sculpture. She currently has an ongoing set of murals being painted in the West Village of Oklahoma City. She is an active member of Artspace at Untitled and participates in the mentorship program to educate students in relief printmaking as well as adult workshops.
Find more of her work:
Instagram @canning607