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The Arvest Foundation has awarded a $10,000 grant to the Bartlesville Community Center to support a new exhibition series designed to showcase emerging artists and expand opportunities for local creatives.

The donation will fund "First Impressions," an emerging artist series that will feature the work of four new, unestablished artists throughout the year in the Center's Lyon Gallery. Each artist will receive an individual exhibition, providing the opportunity to display their work in a professional gallery setting and helping advance their artistic careers.

Arvest Wealth Management Trust Officer Aaron Tesavis and Arvest Marketing Manager Stevie Williams presented the donation to the Center's Development Director Valarie Hulse and Managing Director Caitlyn Kraemer.

"We are happy to present this donation on behalf of the Arvest Foundation," Williams said. "The Center continues to find imaginative ways to inspire the community through various forms of art. We enjoyed exploring the gallery during the first show featuring the talented Josh Wadell, on display now through July 31."

The Bartlesville Community Center said the "First Impressions" series aligns with its mission to provide cultural and educational facilities and programming that strengthen the city's culture and economy.

Designed by architect William Wesley Peters, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright, the Bartlesville Community Center opened in 1982 as a complement to Price Tower. Since then, the facility has served as a venue for civic meetings, performing arts productions, art exhibitions in the Lyon Gallery, educational seminars in the Marie Foster Performing Arts Hall, and community events held both indoors and at Unity Square.