ENID, Okla. — Christy Northcutt always has been drawn to arts and education.

That’s why whenever she sees needs in those two important sectors in the Enid community, she steps up — sometimes intersecting the two.

Whether she’s chairing the Public Arts Commission of Enid, serving on various boards of directors for different organizations or coordinating a partnership between between Enid Public Schools and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Northcutt said she wants to improve the lives of those around her through her passions.

“Arts and education … enrich your life — the quality of your life and of the community,” she said. “They made a difference in my life, so I want to share that with other people who may not otherwise have an opportunity to have arts in education.”

‘Important at any age’

Northcutt, born and raised in Enid, learned the importance of volunteerism from her parents while growing up, as they helped people and organizations in the community through donating, running a Mobile Meals route and more.

“Watching them do things for the community made a difference in my life,” she said. “I saw that doing things for other people is important, and you do things without expecting recognition or rewards. You do those things because it’s a need, and you see and can fill the need.”

Northcutt attended William Woods University in Fulton, Mo., and after two years she took one year off to travel with Up with People, which provides experiences “where young adults can take their passion of travel, volunteering, performance, education and leadership and put it into action through the power of their own voice.”

“In every town I went to (with Up with People), I did some type of community service,” she said. “That was a neat thing to remember in my early 20s — that community service is important at any age you can do it. …

“It’s important to give back to your community when you can and in any capacity that you can. Some give monetary donations. Others give their time and talents, and there’s true value in that.”

Returning to serve Enid

After graduating with bachelor’s degrees in fine arts and marketing and business from WWU, Northcutt worked there for two years. She later worked for Phillips University, but after its 1998 closure she moved to Tulsa and worked for Bank of Oklahoma as the vice president of marketing.

She married her husband Scott and moved back to Enid, where she worked with Bank of Oklahoma for another year before resigning in 2004 to care for her oldest child Nate, later having her second child Len.

Northcutt also formed Stroller Fit, a fitness program for mothers and their children; Be Fit Kids, later taken over by Community Development Support Association, and the Be Fit Kids Buzz Run, which is still held every year for children to participate in a fun event that promotes health and fitness in a low-risk, high-reward environment; and Fit Chicks, which is the umbrella under which she operates, still teaching bar classes twice per week.

Almost immediately after returning to Enid, Northcutt became active on different boards of directors for Enid Symphony Orchestra and Enid Arts Council, both per request, and Leonardo’s Children’s Museum.

While Northcutt was on the arts council, a partnership between Enid Public Schools and the JFK Center for the Performing Arts, through the Partners in Education program, was started in 2005.

Northcutt served as the coordinator for Partners in Education for about 15 years. She went to Washington, D.C., annually to select professional development programs for EPS’ teachers to receive training for and then implement arts integration curriculum into their classrooms, like Marcia Daft’s “Moving Through Math,” which allows students to use art forms such as storytelling, music and movement to represent and solve problems such as skip counting, place values and spatial shapes.

Northcutt has been recognized through awards and other honors, but that’s not why she has dedicated her time to volunteerism.

“It’s an honor to be recognized, but it’s humbling because you don’t do it for the recognition — you do it for others,” she said.

And she hopes her efforts will leave an impact on her children and inspire them to volunteer and serve their communities in their own ways — “to match their passions and talents.”

Art in public places

Art adds to the quality of life in Enid, Northcutt said, and enriches people’s lives.

She also said art can draw people to communities and is important for the people who are growing up and living in Enid.

“‘What are they seeing? What are they learning?” Northcutt said. “You have to have those things for all ages, and that’s why I love art.”

For a few years now, Northcutt has been on the Public Arts Commission of Enid, currently serving as the chair.

Northcutt said having a say in Enid’s public artwork means a lot, adding that it’s been nice to see the various art projects from beginning to end and then to see community members enjoy them.

“I think that’s the thing that means the most to me — seeing our community’s positive reaction and enjoyment of the artistic additions that we do for the community,” she said.

Some of the art projects PACE has helped fund include “Under Her Wing Was the Universe,” “Lazy Circles in the Sky” and Woodring Wall of Honor’s “Heroes from the Heartland” exhibit.

PACE is also bringing touchable art to the Enid Trail System. So far, two different art projects have been chosen to be installed along a portion of the trail.

Northcutt said her biggest role with PACE, to date, has been commissioning an artist to paint a mural at Enid Skate Park.

Out of 21 submissions, Los Angeles artist Matt Dean — known as Kiptoe — was chosen, with Northcutt having other members of PACE and stakeholders in the community around the Enid Skate Park included in the selection.

Throughout the painting of “Shred City,” Northcutt said children were watching Kiptoe and asking him questions, and on the day Kiptoe signed his name to the finished mural, children were there asking him to spray paint his name on their skateboards, scooters and even T-shirts.

“(The children) were talking to an artist from California. They were seeing, ‘OK, an artist doesn’t have to be someone who is sitting in a studio painting a watercolor flower,’” Northcutt said. “It was showing somebody something different. … It motivates people to think about what they could do themselves.”

The seemingly sudden emergence of artificial intelligence into our everyday reality has unsettled many – but not Illma Gore.

“We are entering a new era,” she says. “What an exciting time to be an artist. What a cool time to be making shit.”

The Brisbane and LA-based artist is known for her provocations and is no stranger to controversy, from tattooing the names of thousands of strangers on to her body, to being sued by Marilyn Manson for her role in documenting claims of his sexual abuse, to painting Donald Trump having a very small penis.

But the work she will create for the Brisbane street art festival is, on its surface at least, far more bucolic than all that.

In Artistic Visions of a Brighter Future a small boy sits among grass and wildflowers, his bare feet dangling above a stream as he pencils his homework into a bound paper book. Dappled in warm yellow sunlight beside the boy is a dog – of a sort.

This is no flesh and blood canine but Boston Dynamics’ Spot, described in one Washington Post headline as “the $74,500 robot dog of our dystopian dreams”.

But Gore is bored of a dystopia dreamed up by artists like Mike Winkelmann, or Beeple, whose work features dismembered human body parts branded with serial numbers and attached to electronic machinery and giant robotic avatars of tech billionaires being worshipped like deities.

Gore gets that people are scared.

“We have so many issues with climate and capitalism, the American government and the two-party system is absolutely fucked, everyone’s angry,” she says.

Though born and raised in Brisbane – her developer father, Mike Gore, was one of Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s infamous “white-shoe brigade” – Gore’s mother was from the US and the artist moved to California at the age of 20.

She has more first-hand experience of the anger and dysfunction circulating in the US than most Australians.

After her infamous nude Trump portrait she was suspended from Facebook, hounded with death threats – even physically attacked.

Gore recently returned to her home city – a place she says has “grown so much creatively the last 10 years” – for a break from the US, describing the moment her plane touched down as a “huge relief”.

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“America is like a third-world country driving a Porsche,” Gore says. “It’s quite intense at the moment.”

It’s not just legislatively that we, as a society, are lagging the rapid advance of technology, Gore believes, but emotionally.

Which explains why, as an artist, Gore is excited.

“Imagine looking back at the 21st century in history and being like: ‘this is right before we had AI and robots fully integrated into society, what art were they making?’,” she says.

For a decidedly contemporary artist, Gore is acutely aware of their place in history. And she believes we’ve been here before.

What were the fireside discussions when the wheel was invented, Gore asks – “kids these days and their wheels, they got it so easy”.

And just as Andy Warhol’s soup cans came to visually define the era of US mass production, Gore can’t help but wonder what the great thinkers, writers and creators of the past would have made of the rapidly emerging future in which we find ourselves.

What would Diogenes the Cynic, who so scorned the superficiality of his fellow Athenians that he dressed in rags and lived in a barrel in the agora, what would Diogenes have thought of the selfie generation and how would he have performed his ripostes?

What would Mary Cassatt and Frida Kahlo have made of the evolution of femininity?

What timeless phrases could Shakespeare have conjured with lol, rizz and our endless stream of slang and buzzwords?

Gore’s far from alone in grappling with the emotional significance of this moment in history – she’s not even the first artist to play with a Boston Dynamics’ robotic dog.

Art and marketing collective MSCHF bought themselves a Spot and mounted a paintball gun on it, in what Gore describes as a valid conversation around the militarisation of robotics.

But far fewer are those committed to imagining a future with robotics and artificial intelligence that “all just works”.

Because Gore, a techno-optimist like Agnieszka Pilat – who trained Boston Dynamics’ dogs in the art of portraiture – believes things can be bad and still be getting better at the same time.

“There will be new jobs, there will be new stuff to do,” she says.

Is Gore being naive? That is a question that, for now, not even artificial intelligence can answer.

“I am an AI language model and do not have the ability to interpret the behaviour or state of mind of individuals,” was ChatGPT’s response.

But then, if the program was intent upon world domination, it would say that, wouldn’t it?

Gore’s is one of nine temporary artworks being installed in the Queen Street Mall for the street art festival which also includes permanent works being put up on walls around the city.

TEWKSBURY — The Tewks­bury Select Board met on April 24, 2023 at town hall, welcoming new­ly elected member Pat­rick Holland.

The board approved an order of taking for easements on Pringle Street for a culvert replacement project. The board also ap­proved a transfer of an all alcoholic beverages package store license from Lincoln Liquors to MB Spirits at the same premises.

The board took up a National Grid pole petition for installation of un­derground facilities at Foster Lane. This comes after the Planning Board recently held a discussion regarding a land disturbance permit for Kev­in O’Brien and O’Brien Homes at the same location.

The original proposal sought to disturb about 63,000 square feet over two areas — one for the construction of a home and one for the improvement of Foster Lane.

At the Select Board meet­ing, Plunkett asserted that O’Brien had no right of access, while O’Brien sought a determination from town counsel on the issue. O’Brien stated that he and his attorneys have repeatedly asked for documentation from Plunkett, which has not been provided.

O’Brien asked why a war­rant article for the up­coming Town Meeting was even on the docket, asking how the town can give away the rights to his property, which he has owned for over 20 years.

The board tabled the discussion to a future date, citing a need for more in­formation before making a determination.

The board discussed en­tertainment licenses for Wamesit Lanes. Market­ing director Janelle Wag­staff sought blanket ap­proval for several events based on demonstrated past success, including La­dies Nights, movie nights on the patio, comedy shows, Dueling Pianos, and a magician.

“Is it G-rated?” asked Hol­land of the comedy show.

Wagstaff confirmed the show would be appropriate for use with an amplification system. The board approved the requests, and Town Manager Rich­ard Montuori suggested that next year’s licensing could bundle all events into one package.

The board approved a change of office request for the 99 Restaurant. The board also appointed Hol­land to serve as its representative to the Commu­nity Preservation Commit­tee.

The board discussed sche­duling of retail marijuana license hearings. Member James Mackey sought to “draw a line” and start moving the pro­cess forward for applicants.

Member Jayne Wellman asked to set firmer deadlines so applicants could understand the town’s pro­cess and get in front of the Planning Board, hold community meetings, etc. as required.

According to the town manager, applicants were sent a letter at the beginning of the year reminding them to finish filing their paperwork, but no specific deadline was set.

Wellman proposed closing the round of applications on May 11 for all pro­ponents who have filed with the Select Board but have not set a date to go before the Planning Board.

“This is a new process that we’re going through,” said chair Todd Johnson.

“It’s not to anyone’s ad­vantage to wait,” added Wellman.

The board voted to ap­prove designs for switchbox art at Chandler and East Street, as part of a public arts program spon­sored by the Tewksbury Beautification Commit­tee, founded in 2015. The existing art on the box was chipped and the art­ist moved out of state.

The new designs were submitted by Shawsheen Tech students and represent “Tewksbury: Past, Present, and Future.” The board approved the designs.

The board voted to ap­prove participation in an affordable housing trust fund buydown at Merri­mack Meadows for two units at risk of losing their affordable deed riders. $215,640 from the Af­fordable Housing Trust Fund were approved to support the buydown with state contributions.

The deed restrictions are expiring, and the buy­down allows the town to retain affordability status and keep restrictions in place.

The board reviewed warrant articles for Town Meeting on May 1 and 3. The board voted to recommend adoption on most articles. Articles 16-19 were tabled for discussion at the board’s meeting before Town Meeting, as was Article 27.

Article 24, to eliminate secret ballots as a re­quired method of voting for personnel bylaw articles, was recommended for adoption in a 3-2 vote. Article 28 was recommended for indefinite postponement.

The board deferred re­commendation on Arti­cle 35, a zoning article, to the Planning Board, and recommended adoption of Article 25 to allow for a specific type of con­version of commercial space to affordable residential use.

The board voted to table Article 27. The board voted to recommend ad­option on all six special Town Meeting articles.

In board member re­ports, Wellman shared that the town recently received a Tree City designation, following an initiative by residents, in­cluding Al Mancini and Susan Young. Spring town clean up day will take place on May 6, sponsored by the Tewksbury Beautification Commit­tee. Supplies will be avail­able for pick up at town hall from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., and filled bags can be brought to the DPW.

Residents can also make food pantry and textile donations at the DPW, and participate in electronics recycling and document shredding. Fi­nally, the Tewksbury Po­lice Department is nearing accreditation.

The next meeting is sche­duled for May 1, 2023. Re­sidents may find the meeting agenda on the town website. The meeting may be viewed on Com­­­cast chan­­nel 99 and Veri­zon channel 33.