OKPOP Museum's goals and the rise of Oklahollywood – Blake Ewing, OKPOP Museum

Welcome to Tulsa Talks presented by Tulsa Regional Chamber. I’m your host Tim Landes. 

Late next year OKPop Museum is slated to open across the street from Cain’s Ballroom. Once the doors open museum visitors will walk past an authentic Bob Wills tour bus as they begin learning about our state’s rich and diverse history in pop culture and how it connects to today’s famous Oklahomans.

Blake Ewing is my guest on this episode. He serves as the museum’s creative director. He provides a construction update on the new museum and shares when it’s slated to open. Blake also talks about some exhibit concepts and how it all fits into an overall goal to connect our past to the present while inspiring future creatives. 

OKPOP will open on the heels of the television and movie industries embracing Oklahoma as the backdrop for stories to be told, with many of them being written about Oklahoma and/or by Oklahomans. 

Speaking of some pop culture, if you slept on the first season of Reservation Dogs, it’s time to fire up Hulu and enjoy a great show co-created by Sterlin Harjo. It’s the first show to be shot entirely in northeast Oklahoma, features the first all-indigenous writers’ room in Hollywood and it’s got a killer soundtrack featuring numerous Okie musicians. ICYMI, Sterlin was also on the podcast last fall.

Blake talks about the greatness that is Rez Dogs and the growing film industry and how both those things mean great things for the museum and our state. 

Blake is featured in this month’s issue in our covers revisited piece from our 2009 downtown issue, when he, Elliot Nelson and Marybeth Babcock graced the cover as leaders of downtown revitalization before the BOK Center and ONEOK Field were built. 

At the time, Blake owned Joe Momma’s Pizza and some other food and bar operations. He was also a city councilor representing downtown, so he’s been involved in downtown’s growth in various ways over the last two decades. 

He reflects on those old days of downtown and how it’s continuing to grow and evolve, including his buddy Elliot’s upcoming Santa Fe Square, which you can read about in our October issue. 

I love pop culture and downtown, so I had a lot of fun chatting with Blake. Following my conversation with him, hear a song from Thabos. More on that later.

Just a reminder that if you haven’t already subscribed to this channel, you should. We share two in-depth conversations a month, plus multiple mini episodes of About Town that go behind the scenes of the magazine and more. We also appreciate your ratings.

OK, Let’s get this going. 

This is Tulsa Talks with Blake Ewing. 

 Thabos /ta, bos/ is a seSotho noun for one who is never without joy. Thabos’ goal is to reach lost ones with his passion of music and art. He started making music on his phone at age 15 in Richmond Virginia, and since then has released over five projects, one being “HIS OWN: MY OWN” which took over 2 years to make in his ORU dorm room. Thabos says he is far from done, he has plans for music and much more and says he is working on a new project that will dwarf any that have come prior.

Find him on Instagram @_thabos (and his music is on Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube. Just search Thabos.