Exterior view of the Women’s Museum, Fair Park, Dallas.
Last week and weekend marked the third annual Vignette Art Fair, a Dallas-based, non-profit fair that takes place each year during Dallas Arts Month and highlights the work of Texas-based women artists.
Vignette takes place in the defunct Women’s Museum in Dallas’ Fair Park. The building, circa-1910 (its Art Deco exterior largely intact), has seen myriad renovations to its 70,000 square-foot interior. The building’s interior and layout is, to put it mildly, challenging. Some artists and fairgoers love it, and some don’t, but it does make for a memorable venue. And when the art meets the challenges of the space, everybody wins.
This year, independent curator Leslie Moody Castro, who’s based in Mexico City and Austin and knows the Texas art scene very well, curated Vignette — deftly and thoughtfully. This year there were 78 artists represented, from all over the state. The fair and its programming took place from April 10-14.
Sarah Rastegarpouyani
Julie Libersat
Amy Scofield
Melanie Clemmons
Emily Duval
Carolyn Sortor
Britt Thomas
Erin Stafford
Erin Cunningham
Sara Cardona
Rachel Wolfson Smith
Ginger Cochran
Elaine Bradford and Sara Cress
Sarah Fox
Montoya Williams
Trish Ramsay
Alisa Ochoa
Molly Dierks
Catherine Allen
Devon Nowlin
Sierra Forester
Alissa Taylor Wendt
2 comments
I visited Vignette on Sat Apr 13 and I have two comments: (1) The predominance of conceptual, experimental and statement art without some description leaves viewers without context (there was nothing in the exhibition guide or on the Vignette website). IMO this is a disconnect — many viewers can’t make the leap to understand an artist’s intent or theme without some guidance. should be easy to fix. (2) The predominance of conceptual, experimental and statement art — it would be a “win” for Vignette to include (IMO) a better balance of aesthetically-focused artists across all categories along with the conceptual/experimental artists.
Many thanks to the curator, organizers and volunteers who worked hard and successfully to bring us the third Vignette. This year’s selection included an increase in number of Texas artists working beyond DFW area. Hopefully next year will bring better informational documentation (wall labels with artists names, artists statements, etc.) And while the Women’s Museum has to be the funkiest venue for the installation of art, kudos for again finding a repurpose for this important public space with a history of the advancement of women. More kudos to Jeremy Strick of the Nasher and DMA’s Katherine Brodbeck for their participation and interest in the show. Dallas needs to continue to foster connections between the grass root artists and big deal art institutions. All in all, a great addition to Dallas’s Art Month.