Helen Opper
Artist Bio
Helen Opper is a fine art curator, appraiser, advisor, and educator based in Oklahoma City. She studied art history at UC Berkeley and earned her graduate degree in Museum Studies from New York University. Her professional and educational specializations are in postwar, contemporary, and emerging art, with a focus on activist, feminist, and collective art practice; land art; public art and murals; and new media art.
In her professional role, her goals are to work with artists traditionally underrepresented in the fine art world; expand equal access to avenues to artistic success through exhibitions and collaborations; help to close the knowledge gap surrounding the business of fine art; provide general education about the importance of professional appraisals for artist and client advocacy; and create an inclusive framework within which her students are exposed to diversity within the arts. Recent curatorial projects include Rising at Modella Gallery and The Art Hall; Momentum 2022 with the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition; and ArtNow 2021 at Oklahoma Contemporary. Outside of her professional engagements, Ms. Opper is also involved with many community organizations, including serving as Vice Presidents of the Boards of Directors for the Jewish Federation of Greater Oklahoma City and Sunny Dayz Mural Fest. Through her work and community activities, Ms. Opper’s personal goal is to utilize the visual arts to help make Oklahoma City, and Oklahoma in general, a more accepting, diverse, and welcoming place to live for all people.
Artist Work
Title: Shyanne Dickey & Edward Grady: Rising
Category: Exhibition
Genre: Contemporary local art
Description: This exhibition pairs the work of two Oklahoma-based artists, Shyanne Dickey and Edward Grady, for a two-part exhibition at Modella Gallery in Stillwater and The Art Hall in Oklahoma City. Dickey and Grady make artwork that explores their cultural and personal influences, honors strong women and matrilineal heritages, and celebrates Black identity. The project was supported by Thrive Grants, a program of the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Title: Momentum 2022
Category: Exhibition
Genre: Contemporary local art
Description: The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition’s annual Momentum exhibition features Oklahoma artists aged 30 and under, working in a variety of media. The exhibition presents a diversified look at the young artistic talent in Oklahoma. I was honored to serve as the Guest Curator for the 2022 iteration of Momentum, with Cara Alizadeh-Fard as Emerging Curator. Momentum took place over three days in late March and concluded with a curators’ and Spotlight Artists’ talk. In 2022 we showcased 62 emerging visual artists, including three Spotlight Artists - Shyanne Dickey, Carrie Kouts, and Kayla Ohlmer, using a wide range of media including, painting, printmaking, sculpture, video, and much more!
Title: ArtNow 2021
Category: Exhibition
Genre: Contemporary local art
Description: Organized by Guest Curator Helen Opper, ArtNow 2021 presented a dynamic group of 27 Oklahoma-based artists whose works respond to the complexities of contemporary culture, reflecting the vibrant diversity of contemporary art in Oklahoma.
2021’s ArtNow represents the first iteration of the biennale model, an approach adopted to better showcase the new works of selected artists with active studio practices in Oklahoma.
Marking this inaugural edition was a special exhibition that features a number of Bert Seabourn’s works in recognition of his contribution to the cultural landscape in the state. Seabourn’s works are in national and international collections, and he is the recipient of the Governor’s Arts Award from the Oklahoma Arts Council (1981) and an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters (1997) from his alma mater, Oklahoma City University. Besides his dedication to art, Seabourn fostered comradeship in the arts in Oklahoma and committed his time and talent teaching at Oklahoma Contemporary for many years.
Location
Oklahoma City, OK 73118