The City of Dallas kicks off its second annual Arts Week next month, April 5-13, during the Dallas Art Fair (DAF). The week will highlight the various cultural activities of the city — art, theater, literary events and festivals—showing “that, year-round, [Dallas] features myriad opportunities to engage in creative activities.”
Arts Week, while offered to the local Dallas audience, is heavily geared toward showing the slew of well-heeled out-of-towners, in town for the Art Fair, just how viable an art city Dallas really is. It’s a concerted effort, on the part of city government and city business, to promote its always-on cultural institutions in the form of an event. It took a number of years for the ever-increasing Dallas Art Fair foot traffic to prove to the city that such a city-wide event had legs. Meanwhile, a swath of Dallas-based artists have monopolized on DAF week by mounting intelligent shows, independent of the Art Fair and city involvement, in spaces all around town since the fair’s beginning.
However, while Arts Week may seem a bit contrived, belying Dallas’ ill-famed penchant for showing off, the week is well-intentioned. Since taking office in 2011, Mayor Mike Rawlings has put a great deal of energy toward championing the role of the arts in shaping a healthy urban center. To that point, Rawlings will moderate the Creative Conversation panel discussion on April 8 at City Performance Hall in order to further the dialogue about the “contributions of Dallas’ creative sector on the overall success of the city.”
Here’s the full release:
DALLAS ARTS WEEK 2014
EXPERIENCE, ENGAGE AND INSPIRE
April 5 to 13, 2014
DALLAS: Mayor Mike Rawlings and the City of Dallas Cultural Affairs Commission announce the 2nd annual Dallas Arts Week to be held April 5 to 13, 2014. Dallas Arts Week 2014 features more than 80 arts and cultural events in venues across the city: from Downtown to Fair Park; Northeast Dallas to Oak Cliff, and all points in-between!
Dallas Arts Week 2014 encourages residents and visitors to participate in Dallas’ arts and cultural offerings by experiencing the community’s creative resources and enjoying the breadth of activities; from festivals and plays, to concerts, exhibitions and literary events. This city-wide initiative highlights the vibrant arts and cultural sector of Dallas that, year-round, features myriad opportunities to engage in creative activities. Campaign partners include the Business Council for the Arts and KERA’s Art&Seek.
“Dallas Arts Week is a fantastic opportunity for the citizens and visitors of Dallas to experience the passion and vibrancy of the arts in our city,” Mayor Mike Rawlings said. “It allows people to experience the arts, engage in conversation about the arts, and realize the power of the arts.”
On April 8, Mayor Rawlings will moderate the Creative Conversation panel discussion to further the dialogue about the contributions of Dallas’ creative sector on the overall success of the city. The event takes place at Dallas City Performance Hall and is sponsored by the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau. The event is free and open to the public.
KERA’s Art&Seek has developed a dedicated calendar of events listings for Dallas Arts Week, providing a comprehensive online resource for all activities (www.artandseek.org/artsweek). A Facebook page for social media postings is available atwww.facebook.com/DallasArtsWeek. Residents and visitors wishing to share their arts experiences are invited to participate by posting their comments and photographs on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at #DallasArtsWeek.
Dallas Arts Week 2014 commences with ARTsPARK, an annual celebration of the arts presented by the Business Council for the Arts and held at NorthPark Center. ARTsPARK is a family-friendly festival of arts and culture. Now spanning two days, ARTsPARK includes performances, hands-on activities and demonstrations. ARTsPARK After Dark is a ticketed social event that takes place from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday, April 4. ARTsPARK is a free event that takes place from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m., Saturday, April 5, 2014.
The community-wide Dallas Arts Week celebration takes place at venues across the city with programs for all ages and interests. See Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s Spring Fiesta! in the Arts District (April 9 and 10), the Undermain Theatre’s regional premiere of We’re Proud to Present a Presentation … in Deep Ellum (April 5 to 12), Cambalache Teatro en Español’s La muerte y la doncella at the Bath House Cultural Center in East Dallas, or learn how to Make a Plate at the Kittrell/Riffkind Gallery in North Dallas.
Musical offerings include the Dallas Opera’s Barber of Seville on stage at the Winspear Opera House (April 5, 11 and 13), the Texas Camerata at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library (April 6) , and the Cool Thursday Concerts at the Dallas Arboretum (April 10).
Visual art exhibitions ongoing through the week include the Chrysalis fiber arts exhibition at the Texas Discovery Gardens in Fair Park, a retrospective of work by Dallas native David Bates at the Nasher Sculpture Center, the 11thAnnual Hecho en Dallas exhibition at the Latino Cultural Center, and public art tours of the Love Field Art Collection at Dallas Love Field Airport (April 8 to 10).
Family-friendly activities include the Crow Collection of Asian Art’s Kids Club (April 5) at the Trinity River Audubon Center, theCulture Out of School Open House at the South Dallas Cultural Center, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Play AlongConcert (April 11 and 12) at the Meyerson Symphony Center.
Festivals abound during Dallas Arts Week and include the Dallas International Film Festival (April 3 to 13), the 20th Annual Deep Ellum Arts Festival (April 4 to 6), Dallas Art Fair (April 11 to 13) and Dance Planet 18 (April 12 and 13).
For details about these and other arts and cultural events during Dallas Arts Week please visit www.artandseek.org/artsweek.
