The eastside-focused Tulsa Global District wants to transform traffic control boxes into interactive art — and it’s looking for local musicians to contribute.
Artists living or creating in Tulsa can submit original songs for consideration in the district’s beat boxes project from now until March 8.
“With this project, we aim to elevate local musicians and visual artists from the Global District, while also promoting walkability and celebrating the multicultural identity of our community through these creative disciplines,” Alejandro Garcia, executive director of the Tulsa Global District, said in an email.
Musicians will have the chance to showcase their original songs and a visual artist will interpret the songs into artwork. Each box will feature different songs and artwork with a QR code for scanning.
The original songs must already be released and publicly accessible on listening platforms. Songs will be used for non-commercial, cultural and promotional purposes.
The songs must not include profanity, discriminatory context or glamorize violence or illegal substances, cannot be a cover or use samplings of other songs. Music can be instrumental-only.
Selected artists will receive a one-time stipend of $500 for participating in the project. Artists are not selling their songs or giving up copyright ownership by accepting the stipend.
The beat boxes are part of the nonprofit Global District’s efforts to revitalize the area around 21st and Garnett streets, which has included initiatives like the public art-focused The Dragon Trail and community advocacy project The Neighborhood Network.
This article was produced as part of a partnership between the Tulsa Flyer and La Semana, a Tulsa-based bilingual Spanish-English newspaper serving Latino communities in Oklahoma.
Alejandro Garcia is a member of the community advisory committee for the Tulsa Flyer. The Tulsa Global District is funded by the The George Kaiser Family Foundation, which has also provided funding for the Tulsa Flyer. News decisions at the Tulsa Flyer are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
