We were walking out of Quail Springs Mall after a movie when Godzilla stopped me.
That is not a sentence I expected to write about a mall trip in north Oklahoma City, but there we were, leaving the theater side of the mall when a few pieces of pop-culture art caught my eye near Art Central Co-Op Gallery. I noticed Godzilla first, then some dinosaur artwork, and that was enough to pull me through the door.
I figured it would be a quick look around. It was not.
Art Central is much bigger than it appears from the mall walkway. Once you get inside, the gallery keeps going through several rooms, with artwork filling nearly every open stretch of wall. It feels less like a small mall shop and more like a working local art space that happens to be tucked inside Quail Springs.
The official name is Art Central Co-Op Gallery, and it features work from Oklahoma artists. The co-op setup makes the variety the point. On my walk through, I saw landscapes, wildlife, portraits, abstract pieces, Oklahoma scenes, pop-culture-inspired work, artist merchandise, and plenty of pieces that did not fit neatly into one category.
The Godzilla and dinosaur pieces were what hooked me, because I am apparently very easy to stop with a giant monster painting. But the longer I walked around, the more the place opened up. One wall might lean toward wildlife and western color. Another might have bright abstract work. Another might have portraits or smaller pieces that looked like they belonged in somebody’s home office, hallway, or gift pile.
Before filming, I stopped at the front desk to ask permission. The artist working there was Bee, and he could not have been more welcoming about it. He seemed genuinely glad somebody had wandered in and wanted to look around.
I would have liked to interview him on the spot, but I did not have my microphone with me. He was also getting ready to start an art class with a group of students, so the timing was not exactly built for a sit-down conversation. That is probably a return trip.
That class setup is part of what makes Art Central more interesting than a simple browse-and-leave gallery. The space offers art classes, workshops, events, paint parties, and a free Kid Central art space for younger visitors. So if you are at Quail Springs with kids, or if you are an adult who keeps saying you should try something creative and then does absolutely nothing about it, this is one of those places worth knowing exists.
The mall location also gives it a strange advantage. You do not have to plan a gallery day. You can be at Quail Springs for a movie, shoes, the food court, or whatever errand brought you to Memorial Road, then accidentally end up walking through a room full of Oklahoma art. That is exactly what happened to us.
Art Central is on the east side of Quail Springs Mall, near Entrance A, by Von Maur and Blue Zoo. If you know the mall, that helps. If you do not, just give yourself a few extra minutes to find it and then a few more to actually walk the rooms.
The best part of the stop was the surprise. We went in because of a few pieces near the exit and found a gallery with more depth than expected, both in size and in the number of artists represented. It is easy to walk past things in a mall because your brain is already aimed at the parking lot. This one rewarded slowing down.
Next time you are at Quail Springs Mall, especially if you are already near the theater side, take the detour into Art Central. Give it more than a glance from the walkway. The good stuff is not all up front.
Details
- Name: Art Central Co-Op Gallery
- Address: 2501 W Memorial Rd, Suite 127, Oklahoma City, OK 73134
- Location note: Inside Quail Springs Mall, east side near Entrance A, by Von Maur and Blue Zoo
- Hours: Monday-Saturday 11 AM-8 PM, Sunday 12 PM-6 PM
- Website: https://artcentralok.com/
