The GRAMMY Museum, in conjunction with Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc. and the Woody Guthrie Archives, announced plans to commemorate the life and career of Oklahoma folk music legend Woody Guthrie in Tulsa.
Tulsa’s Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration will take place March 5-11 and will include an exhibition at Gilcrease Museum, educational programming, a conference at The University of Tulsa and a tribute concert, headlined by John Mellencamp and Arlo Guthrie.
The Tulsa celebration will begin with a new exhibition Woody at One Hundred: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration 1912-2012 sponsored by the George Kaiser Family Foundation. The exhibit will open at Gilcrease Museum on Feb. 5, 2012, and run through April 29, 2012. The exhibition will consist of Guthrie’s lyrics, journals, original artwork and ephemera from Guthrie’s life. As part of this special exhibit, Guthrie’s original draft of the alternative American anthem “This Land is Your Land” will be on display for the first time in Oklahoma.
“We are delighted that Gilcrease Museum has been selected as the venue for the debut of the exhibition celebrating the life and body of work of Woody Guthrie. The exhibition will offer the public its first glimpse into the Guthrie Archives recently acquired by the George Kaiser Family Foundation,” said Duane H. King, Ph.D., Executive Director of Gilcrease Museum.
The George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF), a Tulsa-based charitable organization, purchased the Woody Guthrie Archives in 2011 from Woody Guthrie Publications in New York and will create a permanent home for the Archives and make Guthrie’s collection available for research and education in downtown Tulsa.
TU will host an education al look at Guthrie’s life, Different Shades of Red, on March 10th. It will explore Guthrie’s Oklahoma roots and feature three panels: “A Culture of Protest,” which examines the political and cultural environment that shaped Guthrie’s views; “Red Dirt Roots,” which considers Guthrie’s musical influences; and “Echoes of Woody,” which addresses Guthrie’s legacy as it pertains to the Dust Bowl and Depression-era Oklahoma.
“For far too long, Woody Guthrie’s contributions have not been fully appreciated in his home state of Oklahoma. Now, 100 years after his birth, we are able to honor his musical legacy, explore his societal contributions and truly appreciate this iconic piece of state – and national – history right here in the Heartland. The University of Tulsa is thrilled to kick off this yearlong celebration of Guthrie’s multifaceted life,” said Brian Hosmer, H.G. Barnard Associate Professor of Western American History at TU.
The pinnacle of the Tulsa celebration will take place on Saturday evening, March 10, with the first installment of This Land Is Your Land ~ The Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration Concert at the historic Brady Theater. Performing classic Guthrie songs, Jackson Browne, John Mellencamp, Arlo Guthrie, Rosanne Cash, Del McCoury Band, The Flaming Lips, Old Crow Medicine Show, Hanson, Tim O’Brien and Jimmy LaFave make up the star-studded event.
“The goal of The Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration is not just to pay tribute to Guthrie’s obvious contributions to American music, but to also broaden the national understanding of his cultural impact,” said GRAMMY Museum Executive Director Bob Santelli. “The line-up scheduled for the Brady Theater show in Tulsa speaks volumes about Guthrie’s influence. It’s truly an honor to be producing this all-star event.”
The Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration is one of the largest and most comprehensive centennial celebrations ever staged for an American music icon. For the most up-to-date information and click this linke for a complete schedule of events for the nationwide
Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration.
