NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Sept. 25, 2008

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Ann Dee Lee
Public Information Director
Oklahoma Arts Council
(405) 521-2931
anndee@arts.ok.gov

RICHARD BILLINGSLEY TO RECEIVE
GOVERNOR’S ARTS AWARD

Oklahoma City, OK -- Richard Billingsley, Wewoka, will be honored by Governor Brad Henry at the 33rd Annual Governor’s Arts Awards. Billingsley will receive an Arts & Education Award which recognizes an individual organization, school, educator or group for their outstanding leadership and service in the arts benefitting youth and/or arts in education.

Sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council, 15 individuals and three organizations will be honored for their contributions to the arts in their communities or throughout the state. The ceremony is scheduled for 4:00 p.m., Thursday, October 23rd in the 4th Floor Rotunda of the State Capitol and is open to the public. Presiding at the ceremony will be Council Chair Jim Tolbert and Oklahoma Arts Council Executive Director Suzanne Tate. A reception on the first floor of the Capitol will follow the 4 p.m. ceremony.

Billingsley has a unique gift for imparting knowledge to the citizens of Seminole and Hughes Counties whether to young students enrolled in his public school art classes or older adults in various art workshops. He also created videos for teachers to use as supplemental materials, namely, Van Gogh, The Holocaust and How to Fold an Origami Fish. He designed and constructed many sets for musicals and theatrical productions for Medford, Wewoka and Holdenville Schools. For 15 years he has served as Holdenville High School Student Council sponsor, making banners for homecoming parades, creating senior videos and painting downtown windows in support of troops during the Gulf War.

As a gifted artist, Billingsley has contributed many hours to area schools and organizations. Using the Cherokee alphabet, he has illustrated learning materials for the Cherokee Tribe in order to enhance Native American awareness in the public schools systems. He developed the City of Seminole and Seminole Public School’s websites. He also helped design Holdenville Public School's original website and maintained the arts section on that site. He participated in juried art shows including those held at the Seminole Indian National Museum, the Tulsa Regional Show, Oklahoma State University Alumni Show, East Central State College Alumni Show and the Holdenville Society of Painters and Sculptors.

Billingsley’s professional involvement in the arts began shortly after receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Oklahoma State University. In addition to teaching art at Butner, Pleasant Grove, Medford, Wewoka and Holdenville public schools, he also worked as Advertising manager for the Holdenville Daily News. He is a member of the Holdenville Educational Association, Oklahoma Education Association, National Education Association, Holdenville Society of Painters and Sculptors and the First Christian Church of Holdenville.

A complete list of Governor’s Arts Awards recipients and their photos are available at www.arts.ok.gov.

For more information, contact Ann Dee Lee, Public Relations Director, Oklahoma Arts Council, (405) 521-2931 or anndee@arts.ok.gov.

ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA ARTS COUNCIL

The Oklahoma Arts Council is a state agency whose mission is to improve lives through the arts by promoting and sustaining the development of a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education and economic vitality for all Oklahomans.

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