Midwest HQ: How Two Students Transformed Creativity in the Midwest

Written By: Shelby Emery

In March 2024, OU students Eliana Johnson and Lauren Boone met while living at the same apartment complex. One month later, they joined forces aiming to create a magazine that would highlight artists from the Tulsa and Oklahoma City areas. They immediately began to lay the foundation for Midwest Creative Group.

According to Johnson, Midwest provides students and local creatives opportunities to work professionally without needing to move to larger cities where the creative scene is harder to break into. 

Initially, Johnson’s and Boone’s goal was to highlight local artists in their upcoming publication, but they soon realized they could take their startup a step further by recruiting creatives to produce professional work. Throughout the spring and summer, the Midwest team completed projects like commercial shoots and collaborative advertising photoshoots with local businesses. Midwest quickly went from an idea for a magazine to a full fledged media agency run entirely by OU students.

Midwest held its magazine and website launch event Dec. 8 at The Wagon, a bar on Norman, Oklahoma’s Campus Corner. The newly-opened college bar was transformed into a runway and vintage market, with Oklahoma-based vendors covering one side of the space. The event also featured a live art installation, later ending the  night with a fashion show highlighting local designers and models. 

“[At the show] all these groups can come here together and meet one another,” Boone said. “That's a really big moment, and something that just hasn't happened yet here.”

Heading into the new year, Midwest is launching a creative boot camp for high school students, headshot services and a full suite of creative production services and will begin hosting more fashion shows, events and the recurring Midwest Market series.

“2025 is going to be a really big year for us,” Johnson said.