Venues

Dallas Museum of Art

The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) was founded in 1903. In 1984 the DMA moved to its current location, the 370,000-square-foot Edward Larrabee Barnes–designed building, as the first arts organization in the newly designated Arts District. Today, the DMA ranks among leading art institutions in the country and is distinguished by its innovative exhibitions and groundbreaking educational programs. The Museum’s collections contain over 23,000 works of art spanning 5,000 years of human creativity. The DMA is the only “encyclopedic” (art from all cultures and time periods) art museum in North Texas. The Museum is especially known for its arts of the ancient Americas, Africa, Indonesia, and South Asia; European and American painting, sculpture and decorative arts; and American and international contemporary art. The Museum also features a Sculpture Garden surrounded by cascading water walls.

The Dallas Museum of Art welcomes more than 600,000 visitors each year and offers eight to ten special exhibitions annually, along with over 2,000 activities and programs, including the popular Late Night series on the third Friday of the month, when the Museum remains open until midnight, and Thursday Night Live, featuring live jazz music each Thursday from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Each weekend, the Museum offers an extensive array of family programs, including Studio Creations, films and storytelling.

The DMA acts as a catalyst for community activity and a showcase for the performing arts, engaging people of all ages and backgrounds with a diverse spectrum of programs, from exhibitions and lectures to concerts, literary readings and dramatic and dance presentations. In 2008 the Museum opened the Center for Creative Connections, a groundbreaking interactive space that involves visitors in the creative process and allows them to experience works of art in a more direct and engaging way.

The Museum is open Tuesday–Sunday from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. with extended hours on Thursdays until 9:00 p.m. Admission to the Museum includes an audio tour of the collections. Two restaurants, the Atrium Cafe and Seventeen Seventeen Restaurant, are on-site, open for lunch and available for special events. Also on-site is the Museum Store, offering unique gifts, hard-to-find art books, jewelry, prints and designer items, such as Vitra Design Museum, Alessi and more.

For hours, admission prices, program schedules and other information, please visit DallasMuseumofArt.org or call 214.922.1200.

Nasher Sculpture Center

The Nasher Sculpture Center opened in 2003 as the first institution in the world dedicated exclusively to the exhibition of modern and contemporary sculpture with a collection of global significance at its foundation. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano in collaboration with landscape architect Peter Walker, the 55,000-square-foot-building and 1.4-acre sculpture garden occupy a city block in the heart of the Arts District. The Nasher Sculpture Center is the realization of the long-held dream of the late Raymond and Patsy Nasher to establish a public home for their extraordinary collection.

Considered to be one of the foremost collections of modern and contemporary sculpture in the world, the Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection features more than 300 sculptures dating from the late nineteenth century to the present with seminal works by Auguste Rodin, Constantin Brancusi, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore, Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, David Smith, Willem de Kooning, Richard Serra, James Turrell and Jeff Koons.

The Nasher Collection demonstrates considerable balance between early modern and postwar works of art, abstraction and figuration, monumental outdoor sculptures and intimately scaled indoor works.

A distinguishing feature of the Collection is the depth of representation among key artists including Giacometti (ten sculptures), Matisse (nine), Moore, Picasso, Medardo Rosso and David Smith (seven each). Such well-rounded perspectives of these masters provide, in effect, a series of mini-retrospectives within the Collection’s overall historical spectrum. In addition to changing installations of the Collection, the Nasher organizes and hosts major loan exhibitions. Recent temporary exhibitions have featured the work of artists such as Picasso, Smith, Giacometti and Matisse, as well as architects Renzo Piano and Norman Foster.

Programs include the much-lauded NasherSALON Lecture Series, which has welcomed cultural icons such as John Updike, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Glover, Philip Glass and Twyla Tharp for intimate conversation. The Saturday Night in the City Garden Concert Series features live music and al fresco dining under the stars. Target First Saturdays is a free monthly event for children and families.

The Nasher Store features beautiful contemporary jewelry, home décor, artwork, books and gifts. Nasher Cafe by Wolfgang Puck, overlooking the sculpture garden, provides a lovely luncheon experience.

For more information, please visit NasherSculptureCenter.org or call 214.242.5100.

Trammell Crow Center and Crow Collection of Asian Art

The Trammell Crow Center was deigned by SOM partner Richard Keating in 1984. Corporate offices are located on the upper levels of the building, and retail on the ground floor and mezzanine level, including Aija Restaurant, Starbucks and Fresh Choice Express. At its base, the Trammell Crow Center is surrounded by lush sculpture gardens and a low-rise pavilion (housing the Crow Collection of Asian Art).

The Trammell and Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art is nestled like a small jewel in Dallas’ Arts District, offering visitors a glimpse of a world possessing serene beauty and spirituality in the heart of a bustling city.

In 1997, the Crow Family Foundation made the decision to share with the community one of the most important collections of Asian Art in the United States. A 12,000-square-foot space adjacent to the Trammell Crow Center was renovated, creating four light-filled galleries that evoke traditional aspects of Asian architecture in a museum without walls.

The first floor of the Crow Collection is devoted to the art of Japan and is filled with scrolls, screens, ceramics and more. Upstairs the primary focus of the Crow Collection is unveiled—treasures of jade and objects of art from China’s Imperial dynasties. Crossing the skybridge to Gallery III, visitors discover the arts of India, Southeast Asia, Tibet and Nepal. As the Crow collection’s permanent works celebrate the past, ongoing exhibitions and the newest exhibition, LinkAsia, celebrate the future of Asian art.

For the culturally curious, the Crow Collection offers many ways to experience Asia for all ages. AdventureAsia programs are developed with the young artist in mind, and include family days with art, theater, music and cultural experiences that bring Asia to life. In the summer, programs such as CampAsia provide young campers with an extended journey East. Annual festivals such as Otsukimi, Chinese New Year and Discover India embrace the Asian community in North Texas, presenting the very best of food, dance and art, adding a spirit of cultural fare to the Dallas Arts District. For adults, InsideAsia features a series of discussions with artists, scholars, writers, musicians and those working with contemporary social issues of Asia. Each week visitors can unwind from the stresses of the world with Tranquil Tuesdays. Yoga and meditation classes are taught in the galleries, alongside timeless works of art. The museum offers two weekly docent-guided tours on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 1:00 p.m.

The Lotus Shop, on the Crow’s first floor, is downtown Dallas’ newest global boutique and the perfect place to find an Asian-inspired gift. Clothing lines, spa products and delicate porcelains are just a few of the world-class pieces the Lotus Shop has to offer.

Whether learning Indian classical dance, writing a Japanese haiku or staring breathlessly at the construction of a Tibetan sand mandala, the Crow Collection brings you Asia—and it is closer than you think.

For more information on hours and programs, please visit CrowCollection.org or call 214.979.6430. Admission is free.

Belo Mansion

The current home of the Dallas Bar Association, the Belo Mansion was built c. 1890 by Coleonel A. H. Belo, founder of the Dallas Morning News. The builder was David Morgan, who completed the new Dallas County Courthouse in 1893. In the late 1800s, Ross Avenue was one of Dallas’ most prestigious addresses, where the city’s most successful bankers, manufacturers, merchants and lawyers resided. A replica of an earlier family home in Salem, North Carolina, the Classical Revival residence was stylistically different from the High Victorian homes on Ross Avenue. In 1962, the Belo Mansion was leased to the funeral home operators George Loudermilk and Will Sparkman and later gained notoriety whne the bullet-riddled body of Clyde Barrow (of the infamous Bonnie and Clyde) was presented for public viewing in the front parlor. The mansion was purchased from the family in 1978 and gracefully restored and expanded by the Dallas Bar Association in 1978.

For more information, please visit BeloMansion.com or call 214.220.0239.

Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe

The city’s oldest Catholic parish, this High Victorian Gothic cathedral was built in 1902 by Galveston’s great nineteenth-century architect, Nicholas Clayton. The Cathedral is the second busiest Catholic cathedral in the nation. Over 13,000 people file through the church during the weekend. Services alternate between Spanish and English.

For more information, please visit CathedralGuadalupe.org or call 214.871.1362.

Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center

In September of 1989, a new era in the cultural life of Dallas began with the completion of the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. The Meyerson, as it is known, was created by internationally renowned design team, architect I.M. Pei and acoustician Russell Johnson.

Since its grand opening celebration, the legendary rich sound of the Meyerson’s Eugene McDermott Concert Hall has made it a premier destination for the world’s finest soloists and conductors.

Dallas Morning News Classical Music Critic Scott Cantrell wrote:

“The Meyerson washes you in sound. I still marvel at the sonic sumptuousness, the way the sound can be felt moving in space. Release one of those big chords in a Bruckner symphony, and it disappears into the ceiling with a breathtaking ‘tail’ of reverberation. The effect still sends chills down my back.”

For more information about the Meyerson Symphony Center, please visit MeyersonSymphonyCenter.com or call 214.670.3600.

AT&T Performing Arts Center
Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House

The Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, designed by the firm of Foster + Partners under Pritzker Prize-winning architect Norman Foster, seats 2,200 (with capacity up to 2,300) in its Margaret McDermott Performance Hall. The design of the performance hall is a 21st century interpretation of the classic horseshoe configuration, designed to provide excellent sight lines and acoustics. With transparent, soaring 60-foot glass walls revealing views of the Grand Lobby and a café open throughout the day, the Winspear Opera House is a destination for all. On a national scale, the multi-venue AT&T Performing Arts Center is hailed as the most significant new performing arts complex to be built since New York City’s Lincoln Center. Woven together by a ten-acre urban park, the Center’s individual state of-the-art venues create a dynamic all-inclusive cultural destination for the performance of music, dance, opera, theatre—and more. Home to many of Dallas’ finest performing arts organizations, the Center hosts more than 500 performances and events annually. Beyond the presentation of music, theatre, jazz, ballet, lectures and concerts, the Center will also serve as an educational center for visitors of all ages, from primary grades through college and beyond. The focus of the educational component is to build wide-ranging appreciation for the arts to inspire future generations of artists and audiences. The AT&T Performing Arts Center includes the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, Annette Strauss Artist Square and City Performance Hall, all set within the ten acre Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park, the largest public park in downtown Dallas.

For more information, please visit ATTPAC.org or call 214.880.0202.

AT&T Performing Arts Center Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre

Designed by Joshua Prince-Ramus of REX and Rem Koolhaas of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, on the south side of Sammons Park, seats up to 600 for performances of classical and experimental theatre, contemporary dance, musical performances, lectures and more. The world’s only vertical theatre, the innovative design of the Wyly Theatre creates ultimate performance flexibility. With mechanized seating towers, the theatre can transform from a proscenium to thrust to flat floor configurations, removing limitations for artistic directors. Surrounded on three sides by glass walls, the Potter Rose Performance Hall allows for pedestrian views into the theatre, and a variety of audience views of the Dallas Arts District and city skyline.

Woven together by a ten-acre urban park, the Center’s individual state of-the-art venues create a dynamic all-inclusive cultural destination for the performance of music, dance, opera, theatre—and more. Home to many of Dallas’ finest performing arts organizations, the Center hosts more than 500 performances and events annually. Beyond the presentation of music, theatre, jazz, ballet, lectures and concerts, the Center will also serve as an educational center for visitors of all ages, from primary grades through college and beyond. The focus of the educational component is to build wide-ranging appreciation for the arts to inspire future generations of artists and audiences. The AT&T Performing Arts Center includes the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, Annette Strauss Artist Square and City Performance Hall, all set within the ten acre Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park, the largest public park in downtown Dallas.

For more information, please visit ATTPAC.org or call 214.880.0202.

Booker T. Washington High School
for the Visual and Performing Arts

Booker T. Washington High School originally opened in 1922 as the first African-American high school in Dallas. In 1976, the high school re-opened as a magnet school to educate gifted artists with both the potential and aspiration for careers in the arts.

In 2008, a brand new $47 million state-of-the-art facility designed by Brad Cleopfil was completed. The main building, incorporated as an historical landmark, has been preserved. Since its inception, Booker T. Washington has received national acclaim as a prototype for magnet schools throughout the country. The school’s dual emphasis on arts and academics has produced a stellar list of famous graduates including Grammy Award®-winners Norah Jones, Erykah Badu and jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove. Booker T. Washington holds the honor of being the only school in the Dallas Arts District.

For more information, please visit DallasISD.org/BTW or call 972.952.1200.

St. Paul United Methodist Church

St. Paul United Methodist Church was founded in 1873 by freed slaves from Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Construction of the Gothic-styled building with Victorian influences began in 1901 and was finally completed in 1925. The church has recently begun a renovation to upgrade, modernize and enlarge the landmark building.

For more information, please visit StPaulUMCDallas.com or call 214.922.0000.

One Arts Plaza

One Arts Plaza is a multiuse structure comprised of residences, corporate offices and retail, the first of three buildings on over 10 acres at the eastern edge of the Dallas Arts District. One Arts Plaza is the corporate headquarters of the retailing giant 7-Eleven and home to the law offices of Thompson and Knight, LLP. On the top floors of One Arts Plaza there are 61 luxury residences that provide sweeping views of the Arts District, downtown and east Dallas. In addition to a 7-Eleven retail store, five extraordinary restaurants reside on the ground floor of One Arts Plaza – Screen Door, Dali, Fedora, Tei An and Jorge’s. These restaurants frequently feature live music and outdoor entertainment, including live dance.

Future plans for Two Arts Plaza and Three Arts Plaza include outdoor parks with wi-fi, fountains and cafes.

For more information about One Arts Plaza, please visit OneArtsPlaza.com or call 972.820.2200.

Dallas Black Dance Theatre

Dallas Black Dance Theatre is the city’s oldest continuously operating dance company. Founded in 1976 by Ms. Ann Williams, she remains the only artistic director the company has ever had. The contemporary modern dance company is comprised of 12 professional dancers who perform a mixed repertory of modern, jazz, ethnic and spiritual works by nationally and internationally known choreographers. In 2008, Dallas Black Dance Theatre completed the renovation of the historic Moorland YMCA building, built in 1930, which now serves as the permanent center for rehearsals, training, and dance education programs for the Dallas Black Dance Theatre.

For more information, please visit DBDT.com or call 214.871.2376.

AT&T Performing Arts Center Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park

Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park embraces and unifies all venues of the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Weaving together the Winspear Opera House, Wyly Theatre, Strauss Square and City Performance Hall, the ten-acre park stretches from Woodall Rodgers Freeway to Ross Avenue, and is the first public park in the Dallas Arts District. To the west, Sammons Park links the Center to the Meyerson, and to the east it connects with Booker T. Washington High School. A signature feature of Sammons Park is the beautiful reflecting pool in front of the Winspear Opera House. Numerous small gardens scattered throughout the Park enhance its appeal with mature trees, perennials, bulbs and grasses lending bursts of color year-round. Sprawling lawns provide serene settings for picnics, informal and formal performances and other outdoor activities. Woven together by a Sammons Park, the Center’s individual state of-the-art venues create a dynamic all-inclusive cultural destination for the performance of music, dance, opera, theatre—and more. Home to many of Dallas’ finest performing arts organizations, the Center hosts more than 500 performances and events annually. Beyond the presentation of music, theatre, jazz, ballet, lectures and concerts, the Center will also serve as an educational center for visitors of all ages, from primary grades through college and beyond. The focus of the educational component is to build wide-ranging appreciation for the arts to inspire future generations of artists and audiences. The AT&T Performing Arts Center includes the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, Annette Strauss Artist Square and City Performance Hall, all set within the ten acre Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park, the largest public park in downtown Dallas.

For more information, please visit ATTPAC.org or call 214.880.0202.