The Oko Arts Experience

OKO Arts is located on 528 Pleasant Street in culturally diverse and historic downtown New Bedford. The space is perched above Tip Top Nail Salon, directly adjacent to the Used Book Store. OKO Arts has many defining characteristics that make it both unique and pleasurable to visit. It serves as a space for creative expression as well as a thrift store for books, records, and pieces of art. Owner Hilary Burkitt strives to provide a diverse place for artists and musicians to display their work. She hosts small shows for local musicians. Musicians that have performed at OKO are; Anthony Savino, Aaron Alves, Nick Leblanc & The Pink Beans, Divorcees, Jenna Legge, Shelley Cardoos, Ethan Weiss, Brittny Kouta and Sarah Dickow.

I talked to Hilary about her plans, goals, and background in art in this interview.

Please explain your reasons for starting OKO.

Hilary Burkitt: “OKO Arts was the product of my unrest after I graduated from Umass Dartmouth with a degree in Photography. I wanted to explore my options in New Bedford, as I tried to figure out what direction I wanted to take with my work. I worked for almost a year and a half as a nanny and found myself feeling disconnected from my community. After everyone I’d gone to college with had moved away, It felt like I no longer had a creative outlet or group of people that I could talk to critically about my work, goals and ambitions. I opened OKO with the desire to create an environment that would bring artists, musicians and writers out of the woodwork. I knew there were a lot of like-minded people in the community, but I found myself going out only to drink. I felt like no one was really present or engaging in meaningful conversations like I had experienced in school. The New Bedford art scene, as much as it is well received in the media, felt static to me and that it was more about the politics of art as a way to bring money and tourism into the city.”

What goals do you set out to accomplish with OKO?

Hilary Burkitt: “I wanted to create a place that promoted cultural awareness and supported working artists, providing a safe and open environment to form connections within the community, provoke people and provide an outlet for artists making contemporary work.”

How did you expect to pay for the space and what is your job history?

Hilary Burkitt: “I expected to generate some income selling locally hand-crafted jewelry, zines, art books and supplies to students, and by increasing my exposure to get jobs as a photographer. Instead, I took other part-time jobs, like working for a professional photographer in Newport as a photo-editor, doing layouts and submissions for magazines. This has given me time to work on my own projects, but I’m still looking for part-time work.”

What have you accomplished with OKO so far?

“My personal accomplishments at OKO were having the opportunity to show work of friends, lesser known artists and the works of my family – notably wall reliefs by my Uncle, Richard Perry, my mother, a Cape Cod print-maker, and my sister, Mass. Art graduate Katrine Burkitt, a painter and video artist. I also had a solo show for the New Bedford Studios. I would say that our biggest accomplishments at OKO have been our music events, exposing young and local talents.”

How did you come about the idea of hosting small shows?

Hilary Burkitt: “After pairing up with my friend and housemate Aaron Alves, we worked to organize events that would benefit from the intimate setting that OKO provided. Lit mostly by streetlamps, local musicians filled the space with their acoustics and vocals, as friends and passerby’s quietly gathered and took the time to really listen. These events highlighting the original mission of OKO.”

What are your current plans with the space?

Hilary Burkitt: “Our current goal is to keep the space running with a few more art shows and music events, until the lease is up at the end of April. In order to sustain OKO, I’ve realized I need to team up with other artists and musicians to share the costs. I’m also looking to find a street-level location that is more suitable to the crowds that we were getting at our events. This will also provide us with a storefront and more visibility. I really want the space to be accessible to all people, particularly those that are handicapped or in wheelchairs, which is  another downside to our 2nd floor location. We also plan to look for grants and funding for community-based projects like recording music with kids to keep them active and involved. It was an idea shared among some of the local musicians we met at OKO, and is still in the planning stages. We are exploring our options and hope something begins to blossom soon.”

What are the benefits of owning OKO?

Hilary Burkitt: “One of the most beneficial things for me in having the space is the opportunity to organize monthly art critiques with a small groups of photographers. It’s been really encouraging and I plan to continue with more meetings and groups like these at the space in coming months.”

The name of the art space is derived from the Polish word “oko” which means “eye”. Hilary chose this name to honor her great-grandfather, Kazimierz Proszynski, who was also a photographer. He named his popular camera/projector that he developed in 1912 “oko”, as well as his film company.

OKO Arts is currently hibernating for the Winter of 2011-2012. It is open by appointment only.  You can keep up-to-date on Oko Arts on their facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/okoarts

Some significant Art shows: First Solo Exhibit of works by Phillip J. Mellen, Solo Exhibit for Cape Cod Printmaker Ann Guiliani, Oko Kids Fair and Zine release for 9 year old Malcom X. Monteiro, New Bedford Open Studios, OKO Art & Flea Market.

Other artists frequently shown at OKO: Andy Anello, Jose Falconi, Vincent Martin, Tim Graham, Works by Nick Ferreira and Kerry Cardoza of Amigos publishing.