Arts Fort Worth to Vacate Community Arts Center; Galleries to Close in January

Last week, Arts Fort Worth, the organization that administers city grants, oversees Fort Worth Public Art, and has operated the Fort Worth Community Arts Center (FWCAC), announced its plans to vacate the center and cease its exhibition programming in the coming year. This shift comes amidst the City of Fort Worth’s stalled decision regarding the repairs and renovation needed at the city-owned building.

Arts Fort Worth

FWCAC, located at 1300 Gendy Street, has been operated by Arts Fort Worth for over twenty years, following the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth vacating the building to move into its permanent space designed by Tadao Ando. In 2022, the architectural firm Bennett Partners determined that the building is in need of $26 million in repairs, though this amount has now grown to $30 million due to inflation. The following year, the Fort Worth City Council appointed a task force to assess the building’s existing and potential uses and potential funding sources for the repairs. Following its assessment, the task force recommended that the City issue a request for proposals for the site to be redeveloped.

The original timeline assumed that the City would approve the redevelopment contract in January 2024, however after significant delays, the City rejected both of the finalists’ proposals in May 2024. In a statement on the City’s website, it indicates that the proposals did not “[meet] the expectations desired as outlined in the Council’s guidelines.”

As the City determines what will happen with the building, Arts Fort Worth has decided to end its management of the building. In a press release Wesley Gentle, Executive Director and President of Arts Fort Worth, stated, “While changes like this can feel surprising and concerning, Arts Fort Worth isn’t turning its back on the local arts community. We will focus on leading the growth of our arts ecosystem into an even more accessible, sustainable, and vibrant future.”

The organization will continue to manage the City’s public art program and provide grants to local arts organizations, however, beginning in August, Arts Fort Worth will begin to wind down its programming. As of August 1, the following programs will end: the Original Works Series (a program that offered opportunities for new and emerging playwrights to showcase their work), exhibitions selected through the SoCur open call (an annual open call for solo and curatorial proposals), the 2024 Biennial exhibition, artist talks, and Art Aid workshops. The August Fort Worth Art Commission meeting will take place at 1300 Gendy, however, future meetings will be hosted at a yet-to-be-determined location. Exhibitions currently on view that are scheduled for deinstallation will be extended, with approval by the participating artists, to be on view during the Fort Worth Art Dealers Association’s September 7 Fall Gallery Night.

Installation view of “CTRL+X: Composed/desCompuestos,” at Arts Fort Worth

As of January 1, 2025, the galleries at FWCAC will close to the public. Additionally, all events and programs scheduled to take place after this date will be canceled. Subtenants of the FWCAC, including artists renting studios spaces and nonprofit offices, must relocate by April 1, 2025. Current subtenants include Q Cinema, Stolen Shakespeare Guild, Texas Institute of Orchestral Studies, Texas Network of Theatres, and Thank You Darlin’ Foundation. Arts Fort Worth plans to have its staff relocate to a new space by July 1, 2025. 

Carol Ivey in her studio at Arts Fort Worth.

Arts Fort Worth’s decision comes on the heels of an announcement by KWC Performing Arts, a nonprofit theater group that was situated within the W.E. Scott Theatre inside FWCAC, that it would close after 35 years of programming. KWC’s last performance will be on August 4. Though the press release announcing the closure did not indicate that the building’s issues were part of the decision to close, founder and Executive Director Deborah Jung stated, “Sometimes, God gives us endings. Our job now is to bless, release, and do the Kids Who Care ‘thing’ — finish well!”

Mr. Gentle told Glasstire, “For more than a year, the Arts Center operation has increasingly lost more money than it brought in, an issue that is exacerbated by the growing maintenance and repair needs of the facility. We had initially hoped to reduce losses enough to sustain Arts Center operations until such a time as the City of Fort Worth’s redevelopment process might have required those operations to pause or cease. However, Arts Fort Worth cannot afford to operate the Fort Worth Community Arts Center beyond the planned timeline.

In a press release, the City said it received notice regarding Arts Fort Worth’s plan to terminate its lease agreement on Thursday, July 25. David Cooke, Fort Worth’s City Manager, stated, “1300 Gendy is an important site to Fort Worth’s Cultural District and what becomes of this space poses a once-in-a-generation opportunity. We are committed to getting this process right.” Mr. Cooke did not say whether the building will remain an art space, or if any renovations are currently approved or scheduled for the space. The most recent update on the City’s webpage dedicated to the 1300 Gendy redevelopment was made in June 2024 and also does not clarify what will happen next in the process.

Assistant City Manager Fernando Costa told the Fort Worth Report, “Our intent is to support the arts and to make sure any future use of the property is centered on the arts, and whatever happens here contributes to the vitality of the overall Cultural District and the city as a whole.”