'Pretty Magical:' Public Art Project Begins On Tulsa I-244 Underpasses Along MLK

In order to move forward, sometimes people have to look back.

A crew is looking back to a time before the underpass on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard was built. 

Joel Daniel Phillips is transforming the walls of the underpass into a celebration of Tulsa’s past.

“We are actually seeing it for the first time in person, and it's pretty magical,” he said. 

He is one of the artists creating part of the Pathway to Hope Public Art Trail. The project aims to remember and honor the history of Tulsa’s Greenwood district on the underpasses of I-244.

He and Alexander Tahman have spent the last three years working together.

“It’s kind of crazy that it’s all happening, we’ve really like lived in this for literally years,” said Tahman. 

Each steel panel pays tribute to entrepreneurs, historians, and civil rights leaders.

“It just kind of only made sense to honor community stakeholders past and present, who have had a vision for Tulsa, particularly for north Tulsa and historic Greenwood and the legacy,” Tahman said. 

“The vibrancy and the power of some of the stories that we were diving into is really something special, I think Tulsa is starting to come to terms with a lot of its history,” said Phillips. 

While the installation itself is just getting started, Tahman says it's exciting knowing every day, thousands of eyes will see the work and grasp the history.

“This is public art that people don’t necessarily need permission to access and engage with, and so that in and of itself is a win and is super exciting to know that people will engage with this every day," he said. 

The history of Greenwood has been overlooked before, but now people passing by can't ignore it.

Both Phillips and Tahman plan to be on-site the rest of the week for the finishing touches.

Once finished, they say each panel will include a QR code that people can scan to learn more about each visionary.