It’s April in Dallas, which means a bevy of cultural activities are upon us. Later this week the Dallas International Film Festival kicks-off. Next week, the Dallas Art Fair opens at Fashion Industry Gallery. Also next week, the Dallas Museum of Art will host the annual Art Ball, Love Field will unveil new public art works, Dallas Black Dance Theater will receive a historic recognition plaque, and the Business Council for the Arts and NorthPark will host their third annual ARTsPARK. Add to that events like the opening of a new Dallas Opera production, happenings at the Latino Cultural Center, the League of Historic American Theatres Conference, and all the other ancillary activity that usual sprouts up around the Art Fair (new openings at the Design District galleries, the Power Station, Deep Ellum Windows, and the Fallas Art Fair), and you have about the business week of the year for local culture.
It’s a lot, and Mayor Mike Rawlings has taken notice. Tomorrow at City Hall he will proclaim April 7-14 Dallas Arts Week. In addition, he’ll declare April Dallas Jazz Appreciation Month, or “D-Jam” for short (yikes).
And to celebrate, the Mayor is launching a few events of his own. There’s going to be an Dallas Arts Week photo contest (upload a pic of yourself enjoying art and win prizes!). And on April 10, the Mayor’s hosting a panel discussion with an interesting cross-section of local art folks, including the DMA’s Max Anderson, local art protagonist Kevin Jacobs, the Dallas Theater Center’s Kevin Moriarty, playwright Will Power, and the Texas Theatre’s Eric Steele and Barak Epstein.
For more on all of it, here’s a release:
April 3 at 12 p.m. – Mayor’s Press Conference: Arts organizations will gather at noon to kick-off a month full of arts activities (more info in advisory below).
- · April 10 at 5:30 p.m. – Dallas Arts: A Creative Conversation: We’ll send more details later this week, but the Mayor is also hosting a dialogue with artists and creative thinkers. A panel of leaders like Max Anderson, Kevin Jacobs, Kevin Moriarty, Will Power, Eric Steele and Barak Epstein will ponder questions such as – What can we do to make Dallas a destination for artists and creative thinkers? How can we foster a culture of creativity?
- · April 7-14 – #DallasArtsWeek Photo Contest:We’re encouraging everyone in Dallas to participate in the arts in some way during the week of April 7-14. If you take a photo of your activity (museum, concert, children’s art project…anything goes!) and post it to social media (upload to the photo contest tab on Facebook, or use the #DallasArtsWeek hashtag on Twitter and Instagram), you will be entered to win some great art prizes, like:
- o Grand Prize 1 includes an overnight stay at The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, two Friends of the Park memberships, The Crow Collection of Asian Art Pearl Level membership, two tickets to “Avenue Q” at Theatre Three and a beer flight and growlers from Craft and Growler. (Additional prizes to be added!)
- o Grand Prize 2includes a weekend night stay at The Fairmont Dallas including complimentary valet parking, two Friends of the Park memberships, two Dallas Historical Society memberships, two tickets for Kitchen Dog Theater, a personalized tour of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science and two tickets to Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s Spring Celebration Series at Wyly Theatre. (Additional prizes to be added!)
- o Like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DallasArtsWeek) and follow us on Twitter (@DallasArtsWeek) and Instagram (@dallasartsweek).
Mayor Hosts Arts Organizations to Kick-Off April Cultural Activities
Dallas Arts Week Announced for April 7-14; April declared Dallas Jazz Appreciation Month (D’JAM)
What: To officially kick-off a month full of arts celebrations, Mayor Mike Rawlings will host a wide variety of arts organizations at City Hall. The Mayor will officially proclaim April 7-14 Dallas Arts Week and the month of April as Dallas Jazz Appreciation Month (D’JAM). Other signature arts events in Dallas this month include: Dallas Art Fair, Dallas Art Ball, ARTsPARK, the dedication of new public art works at Love Field Airport, the official historical marker of the Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Dallas International Film Festival, Target Second Saturday at the Latino Cultural Center, Dance Planet 17, the League of Historic American Theatres Conference and many more performances and exhibitions around the city.
Who: Mayor Mike Rawlings
John Paul Batiste, Cultural Affairs Commission Chair
Joanna St. Angelo, Dallas Jazz Appreciation Month
John T. Sughrue, Dallas Art Fair
Maxwell Anderson, Dallas Museum of Art
When: Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Noon (during break of Council Briefing Agenda)
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