Karl Jones

Karl Jones is a Tulsa-based interdisciplinary artist and independent curator whose work bridges the gap between regional history and avant-garde performance and storytelling. As the co-creator of Goff Fest and curator of exhibitions and performance series for the Vintage Barbie Museum, Gilcrease Museum, Center for Queer Prairie Studies, and the Route 66 Commission, he explores the intersections of kitsch, community, and identity. Before returning to his Oklahoma roots to participate in the Tulsa Artist Fellowship, Karl was an editor at Penguin Random House, acquiring New York Times bestsellers and working with voices like Alok Vaid-Menon, Kimberly Drew, and Jake Marcionette. His multidisciplinary practice has led to performances at the Hirshhorn Museum and Dixon Place, as well as lectures at Bard CCS and his local Rotary Club. With work featured in Hyperallergic, Architectural Digest and The Washington Post, Karl continues to challenge cultural narratives through a uniquely prairie-focused lens. He currently works at NYU Tulsa, a prairie-based global study away site for New York University.