New 101 Archer exhibition interrogates the foundation of American mythology.
The first Friday of every month is a refresh for the Tulsa Arts District bringing in new sights and sounds to Downtown Tulsa. These Fridays serve as a day free for all to come check out all of the symphony halls, galleries and more that the district has to offer. This month’s First Friday falls on Feb. 6 and features an exciting new exhibit opening up at The University of Tulsa’s own 101 Archer, the home of the Oklahoma Center for the Humanities.
American Myths is an exhibit that opens the conversation of what a “myth” is and what myths mean to culture, specifically our American Culture. What mythology directly affects how we are and how we behave? Which myths do we see in our everyday lives and which ones blend into the background of American culture? When thinking of myths one might consider the Greeks or Romans and their gods and eccentric stories, but do we have any of those here in America?
Perhaps not many come to mind, but we do! Native American stories, our founding fathers, tragedies and the rumors that spread about them and superheroes are all examples of American Mythology, and there’s more waiting to be explored.
The many hard working people at the OCH, along with students of the Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge and graduate students, have been working on this exhibit since the start of summer 2025. It was created and run by Professor Sean Latham, an English professor here at TU and the former head of the Oklahoma Center for the Humanities. Everyone who has worked on this project is very excited for people to see the work they have done.
Creating this project started with research then moving on to selecting photos, art pieces, comic books and more to be displayed, carefully combing through months of research by many different people to find the perfect fit for this exhibit’s message. They further worked on writing pitches, obtaining copyright permissions, creating the layout of the gallery and more before finally being able to open this exhibit to the public.
The exhibit will open on Feb. 6 at 6:00 p.m. with speeches given by some of those who worked on it starting at 6:30 p.m. On opening night, the exhibit will be available to the public until 9:00 p.m.
Even if you can not make it on opening night, the exhibit will be up for about three months for viewing at the OCH. The OCH is open Wednesday through Saturday from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. This exhibit is for all ages and great for those who love mythology, superheroes, history or those who are just curious about American Mythology and what that means to us and our culture. TU students and faculty are encouraged to attend and bring their families and friends. Everyone at OCH want people to come see this exhibition as it is something they are all very proud of and excited to share.
