ENID, OK - (AUGUST 5, 2026) LynnDe Funk, Enid News & Eagle
The Enid News & Eagle will be promoting Public Art in Enid by giving out the recently printed Enid Public Art Guide and sponsoring “Public Art Quest” from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, as a part of Main Street Enid First Friday. The art guides will be handed out free at a table next to the entrance of the Garfield County Courthouse north driveway. The hours for First Friday are 6 to 9 p.m., but the Public Art Quest locations will be open from 5 to 7 p.m.
The courthouse will be open until 7 p.m. Friday for public viewing of the Ruth Monro Augur wall murals, featured in the Public Art Guide, that cover most of the first-floor hallway walls. Augur researched the details for a year before beginning to paint in 1935, making these paintings almost a century old. Also during the extended viewing hours, hosted by the Rotary Club of Enid, courthouse visitors can see the new Jailhouse Art Gallery featuring prints of the paintings painted directly on the fifth-floor jailhouse walls by Ponca Tribe members Burgess and Paladine Roye.
Want to do your own art? The Enid Public Library will offer a “Paint! Come & Go” event during the Public Art Quest from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday. Supplies and ideas will be provided for visitors to paint their own small canvas. Adults and children are welcome.
Guests coming to the library also can meet well-known Enid artists Kelly and Ty Tompkins who have many art pieces featured in the Public Art Guide. One large mural, “All Together Now,” located in the library, Kelly designed and helped Summer Reading Program children paint. Also on display will be a rendering of their future artwork, “Jesse Chisholm on the Trail,” soon to be added to the downtown library’s outdoor grounds.
What better way to show your appreciation for Public Art than to take a selfie with one. The outside mural at Enid Brewing Co. and Eatery – also featured in the Public Art Guide – is perfect for that. “I Love Enid” even has the outline of a person for you to stand in front of as you take your selfie. Those taking a selfie during Public Art Quest also may enter a drawing for three prizes for people of any age. Enid Brewing will be serving food and beverages their usual Friday hours.
When art is mentioned, the people of Enid always think of sculptor H Holden, whose several downtown Enid works include the Boomer statue, an icon of the Cherokee Strip Land Run. The Western Art Gallery of Harold T. Holden at 128 N. Independence will have a special opening during Public Art Quest. Your copy of the Public Art Guide will also help you find a few of Holden's sculptures on the courthouse lawn and throughout Enid.
The Enid Public Art Guide has photos of more than 100 Public Art pieces throughout Enid – 37 of them being in the downtown area – with maps showing artwork locations. Pick one up during Main Street Enid’s First Friday Aug. 7 and go on your own Public Art Quest and see them all.
