Delight: Selections From the Texas Fashion Collection
Through May 21 | CVAD Gallery of the UNT Art Building
This is a rare chance to sneak a peek inside perhaps the most historically important closet in the world. Normally accessible only to researchers, the collection housed at UNT’s College of Visual Arts and Design has more than 20,000 pieces, some going as far back as the 18th century. It contains, for example, the largest number of designs by Cristóbal Balenciaga outside of Balenciaga’s own archive. This curated sampling includes one of those, a lace-and-silk taffeta evening gown from 1955. Almost 40 other accessories and garments will also be on display, from couturiers such as Hubert de Givenchy and popular American designers such as Vera Wang. Some of the pieces come from designers with local connections, including Michael Faircloth, Todd Oldham, and Page Boy Maternity. “Delight” draws inspiration from The Book of Delights, a 2019 collection of essays written by Ross Gay, which celebrates small joys in everyday life. Don’t miss this one.
Dallas Blooms: Birds in Paradise
Through Apr. 10 | Dallas Arboretum
Celebrate the first day of spring surrounded by 500,000 blossoms, azaleas, Japanese cherry trees, and colorful spring bulbs. As the name suggests, the delightful display will include peacock topiaries and a series of bird-themed programming, such as avian flight demonstrations and educational talks.
Deep Ellum Arts Festival
Apr. 1–3 | 3100–3700 Main Street
Under the name ATCK (aka All the Cool Kids), boy-band vets A.J. McLean, Jeff Timmons, and Chris Kirkpatrick headline the annual arts and entertainment festival, topping a lineup that includes more than 300 performers and artists.
Charli XCX
Apr. 10 | House of Blues
The British singer-songwriter performs songs from Crash, her fifth and latest studio album, which reimagines the musician as a femme fatale. It’s the kind of danger that inexorably draws you in.
The Secret Life of Bears
Apr. 13, 7 pm | Perot Museum of Nature and Science
For decades, Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant researched lions in East Africa living in close proximity to humans. Her basic question: can the two groups get along? Now she’s turning her attention to the grizzly. At this talk, she’ll share her thoughts on how to improve the relationship between primate and carnivoran.
bbymutha
Apr. 13 | House of Blues
One of Southern hip-hop’s most innovative and promising talents returns to Dallas after a two-year exploration of self and her role as a mother. She will perform songs from left4dead, a three-track EP that reaffirms her position as one of the genre’s new queens.
Christian Fennesz & Derek Rogers
Apr. 13, 7 pm | The Wild Detectives
Known for his signature genre-shifting sounds, Fennesz will perform a career-spanning selection of songs that shows his equal facility with guitar and computer. The Austrian musician will be joined by local ambient musician Derek Rogers for a night of experimental music.
Saba
Apr. 14 | House of Blues
Saba’s latest, Few Good Things, is an autobiographical album that details the Chicago rapper’s search for fulfillment and an end to his savior complex. The album solidified his stature among his Chi-town friends and collaborators Chance the Rapper, Mick Jenkins, and Noname.
FuelFest
Apr. 16 | Texas Motor Speedway
More than 600 exotic cars will take over TMS for 24 hours of drifting and dragging. Away from the track, there will be food, music, art, famous faces, and cars—even an Easter egg hunt for kids.
Natalie Wadlington: Places That Grow Lonnie Holley: Coming From the Earth Borna Sammak: America, Nice Place
Through Aug. 21 | Dallas Contemporary
Wadlington’s paintings are inspired by the artist’s recent move to Texas and her admiration of the Texas sky at night. Holley, raised in Alabama, uses ceramics and sculpture to describe his experience growing up as an African American man in the Deep South. And Sammak, based in New York, offers a somewhat ironic critique of the social movement toward a digital-centered reality in his latest collection of mixed-media works.
Questlove’s Hip-Hop Brunch: A Visual Journey Thru Hip-Hop with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Apr. 16 | The Factory in Deep Ellum
Amir “Questlove” Thompson, the Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated musician and filmmaker, makes learning fun with this audiovisual history of hip-hop. Dallas-based artists Jeremy Biggers and J.M. Rizzi provide the visuals, while Brunchaholics and Low Country Quisine provide the victuals.
The Art of Arthello Beck
Through Apr. 22 | African American Museum Dallas
This month, the city of Dallas will dedicate a statue to Beck, a highly influential figure in the city’s arts scene. The Lincoln High School alumnus was the first African American man to own and operate an art gallery in Dallas. To honor his accomplishments, 35 of his paintings, works that address the social and political issues among the city’s Black community, will be on display.
Welcome
Through Apr. 24 | Kinfolk House
The first collaborative project at Fort Worth’s Kinfolk House—a community arts space located in the former home of Hallie Beatrice Carpenter—is a love letter from her grandson Sedrick Huckaby and his wife, Letitia, who now own the house. Taking its title from Carpenter’s maiden name (which really was Welcome), the installation includes a number of family portraits.
Focus: Jamal Cyrus
Apr. 1–Jun. 26 | The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
Houston-based artist Cyrus often melds music, everyday materials, and even edible objects into his work to pay tribute to Black American history and culture. For instance, in his 2016 painting Transformation_Green, he incorporates grits in his abstracted take on an Al Green concert poster. Cyrus’ new work spotlights Julius Hemphill, a Fort Worth musician who was an integral member of New York City’s free jazz movement.
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