Tulsa artist’s pay-what-you-can classes make room for LGBTQ+ creativity — and joy

Even before Jordan Keast spotted the handmade flyers advertising pay-what-you-can art classes, she heard tell of a Tulsa artist named Mike. He was “like a ghost, almost” — this creative person everybody knew as deeply invested in the city’s LGBTQ+ and drag scene. He sounded like someone she wanted to meet. 

A friend soon informed her: The Queer Life Drawing sessions in Kendall-Whittier were organized by the one and only Mike Ward. Keast jumped at the opportunity to pursue the creative impulse she lost during her high school and college years shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Now working and living in Tulsa and being an adult, I just kind of felt that lack, like there was a missing piece there, and I figured it was coming from the lack of creativity,” said Keast, who graduated in 2025 from The University of Tulsa. “I just never had the time or the know-how to do art the way that Mike’s events have allowed me to rekindle that love and that appreciation.” 

Since launching in April, Ward’s classes have drawn dozens of Tulsans, like Keast, searching for a low-cost avenue to connect over art and LGBTQ+ identity. A volunteer guest instructor leads attendees through techniques and offers feedback as they sketch inside Mixed-Use Space Tulsa, 2417 E. Admiral Blvd.

The response has been “overwhelming in a good way,” Ward said, with enough donations at the door each month to cover storage expenses for art supplies and model pay. Ward’s artistic style is DIY, and the classes came together the same way — from collaborating with MUST on the space to flyering across the city and chatting up strangers who he thinks might be interested in coming through. 

“People are only strangers if you make them strangers,” said the 24-year-old artist and drag performer, who identifies as gender nonconforming. “Talk to your community, and you’d be shocked at the amount of people who just want to show up and support you and do things.”

Ward didn’t always feel that way. Born and raised in Tulsa, Ward sought community at open mics and artistic events where like-minded people might be. But it was difficult to find “explicitly queer things for queer people,” especially outside of bars and nightlife, he said. 

You may see a sign on a business that everyone is welcome, but that doesn’t mean the space is specifically designed with the LGBTQ+ community in mind, Ward said. That was part of the inspiration behind launching the classes. 

“There’s a difference there when you make it explicit,” Ward said. “There’s a comfortability already present there when I introduce myself: ‘Hey, I am a queer artist,’ and I like to be upfront about that. ‘This is a safe place and, if anything were to arise, come talk to me.’ But I’ve been fortunate that I haven’t had anything come up yet.”

Strong interest has already allowed Ward to expand into collage, poetry and zinemaking over the last couple of months. He hopes to bring in enough funds to start paying guest instructors, too. 

Not all impact is measured in how many people walk through the doors. Attendees have made genuine friendships and are hanging out long after leaving a class. Ward has been especially moved by the reactions of teenagers who attend the all-ages sessions. 

The looks on their faces as they talk to models, artists and other LGBTQ+ people, potentially for the first time, are “sheer joy and happiness,” he said. 

“It’s just stuff that, for me and my friends growing up, would have meant the world to see that,” Ward said. “I can live my life as an out queer adult, I can live my life as an entertainer — all these different things that you don’t even know are an option for you.”  

As much as Keast would like to see more events like Ward’s, it’s less about quantity than quality. She wants Tulsa to invest in the locals who are already creating unique spaces and only need more funding to provide them on a consistent basis. 

It’s hard for a smaller artist to make a living in Tulsa, Ward said, but his experience proves how much taking a leap can pay off. He’s found his calling in hosting the series with virtually no budget or backing. 

“No matter what you believe, we all ultimately want and need the same things, and we are social creatures,” Ward said. “It’s just about finding your people and finding your space, and that exists. And if it doesn’t exist, you can create it.” 

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