Tulsa’s public art boom – Case Morton, co-founder Clean Hands Army

Welcome to Tulsa Talks presented by Tulsa Regional Chamber. I’m your host Tim Landes. My guest is Case Morton, co-founder of Clean Hands Army. 

Nearly a decade ago, a group of artistic friends decided to launch a business. One of their early projects was painting a couple of murals in downtown, including the Woody Guthrie Center. 

Today they have more than 35 murals across Tulsa. Their work sparked a public art revolution in the city and now there are paintings on business walls all over the metro with more popping up every week.

Clean Hands launched the Habit Mural Festival that will host its fifth annual event in April. There are Clean Hands stickers, shirts and hats. They’ve promoted musicians and are now partners in the long-running Easter Island Music Festival.

Case grew up in Tulsa and graduated from East Central High School, where he says he was a “greaser.”  He reflects on how those years shaped who he is today. He then went on to gradute from Northeastern State University and returned to Tulsa. He realized he wasn’t happy with the corporate lifestyle he found himself in, so he bolted to Hawaii where he lived for months without spending a dollar. 

As you’ll hear in this conversation, even though he boomeranged back to Tulsa, he’s rarely here for an extended period of time. He splits his time between here and his home in Vancouver, Canada, when he’s not traveling the globe. Wait till you hear how many countries around the world have a Clean Hands sticker displayed on a wall or light post.

I’ve been a fan of Clean Hands since I learned about them in 2012, yet I knew very little about how they operate as a business. So I was excited to sit down and learn more from Case. As you’ll hear, they operate the business like it’s a hobby. Case says they are not driven by money or profit. Everyone involved in Clean Hands has other business ventures that allows them to have fun with this operation. 

They continue to do murals for companies and private commissions. They continue to experiment and have fun, and we all get to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Great stuff.

Following that discussion, The Voice’s Kyra Bruce shares a conversation with Allison Ward of the band Tom Boil. They discuss the its formation and why every song on their album is named after a dinosaur, including the single “Pterodactyl” that closes out this episode. 

Let’s get this going. 

This is Tulsa Talks.