Q&A with Arts Council OKC’s Angela Cozby

VeloCityOKC: What drew you to ACOKC in 2008? How has it felt to return and lead the organization?

Angela Cozby: At the time, I was leaving the Oklahoma Arts Council, having worked with the state art collection and curating exhibits at the capital. I had just earned my bachelor's degree focusing on art history and criticism. I wasn't familiar with the events produced by Arts Council OKC, but my friend Lindsey Pever was the director of Opening Night, absolutely loved it, and she encouraged me. I was already on a path to a career in the arts and I saw the opportunity to plan art events as a more collaborative way to engage with the community.  I had no idea about the sheer magnitude of ACOKC and how its impact went beyond Festival of the Arts. All Access Arts encompasses six programs that include summer programs in our parks and libraries, teaching artists in schools, and my favorite, Creative Aging – connecting professional teaching artists to senior living facilities. During my first stint with ACOKC, I loved visiting All Access sites and observing the teaching artists working with children and adults. Festival of the Arts brings art to 650,000 people, which is extraordinary. But these one-on-one encounters in classrooms or in a library, that’s life changing.

You left for a period of time and have now come back. How has it felt to return and lead the organization?

I've been away for eight years and so to return, really has felt like coming home. It's such an interesting organization in that we have volunteers who are generational. We have grandparents and parents and kids who have volunteered for Festival of the Arts. It's like one tremendously large family. When I stepped on Festival grounds in April for the announcement, I received such a warm welcome from so many people. It was quite emotional. Volunteering for ACOKC is unlike any other volunteer gig. Our volunteers have a sense of ownership because they spend months planning their respective areas and numerous hours working the event. As staff members, you build relationships as you build the Festival and those relationships can last years. A transition at this level can be complicated but I also have been especially fortunate to be welcomed by the incredible ACOKC staff. I’m surprised daily by their talent and dedication to the mission. The board of directors is very dynamic and has implemented this exciting and fresh strategic plan with an amazing outlook for the future of the organization. I’m so grateful to have the support of our board, staff, and volunteers.

What is your vision for ACOKC in 2023? What do you hope to accomplish in the short term and in the long term?

In this post-pandemic world, the way we live, work, and play has shifted along with our mindset in how we interact and connect with one another. Leaders who ignore that are setting themselves and their organization up for failure. I want Arts Council Oklahoma City to be one of the most coveted places to work in the Metro. My goal is to cultivate a healthy, balanced, and joyful working environment. A place where values, creativity and growth aren’t mere rhetoric but cornerstones of our daily operations.

With our programming, I'd really like to see us expand beyond downtown Oklahoma City with key art experiences and building new partnerships with like-minded organizations. Maybe not necessarily always arts organizations but organizations looking to improve the quality of life throughout the metro. COVID also taught us there's this virtual space where we connect, so a long-term goal is considering how that fits with our favorite in-person events such as Festival the Arts and Art Moves.

Absolutely. COVID-19 showed everyone how creative and how much of a reach you could have on the virtual side. Obviously being in person and having that experience together is so incredible, but if you're not able to be there, your organization can still have such an enormous reach.

Sometimes we can't be in person or maybe we choose not to be. If the Arts Council's mission is to bring the arts and the community together and if some of our community is choosing to stay home because we've learned to cultivate special experiences at home, how can we still fulfill our mission, and what exactly does that look like? Whether it's takeaway art kits or virtual performances, I’m excited to explore that space as an option for future ACOKC programming.

Your last position was focused on research. How will your experience with data and analytics help ACOKC inform and shape your programs?

I've spent nearly eight years collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative research and utilizing research outcomes for specific program creation in vulnerable communities. To bring those skills to ACOKC is to delve into what we're doing right, where we need to improve, and opportunities for expansion. We have our numbers, and a lot of funders want to see our impact through numbers but also what I find to be interesting is the qualitative data that adds a narrative to those numbers. The stories our community can share with us, stories about our impact.

Change can be difficult and often contested, especially when it’s happening within an organization that has been thriving for almost 60 years. But it's hard to dispute data especially when numbers are coupled with the individual experiences of those who have been a part of ACOKC for decades. ACOKC is wonderful, and there's such a strong legacy that I get to be a part of, but it's also time to evaluate our programming to ensure we are efficiently allocating resources to effectively achieve this mission of bringing the arts and the community together. The entire OKC community. The optimum way to do that is through data-informed decision-making.