• Silver Soiree: A Monthly Mix of Mind, Body, and Creativity – Hojalata Mexican Tin Art
  • Wednesday, September 11, 2024 from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
  • Oak Lawn Branch Library (4100 Cedar Springs Rd.)
  • This month, explore the captivating craft of hojalata, a Mexican tin art program! Participants will learn the traditional techniques used to create vibrant, embossed tin artwork, a staple of Mexican folk art. This hands-on class will guide you through designing and crafting your own colorful and intricate tin pieces, celebrating the rich cultural heritage of Mexico as we gear up for Hispanic Heritage Month. All materials provided.
    
• 2024 Viva Dallas – Dallas City Hall
  • Saturday, September 14, 2024 from 4-9 p.m.
  • Dallas City Hall Plaza (1500 Marilla St.)
  • Viva Dallas! The Official City of Dallas, Mexican Independence Festival, Grito and Procession and launch of Hispanic Heritage Month for all to enjoy and celebrate. The FREE Festival will be held at City Hall Plaza with music, arts and crafts, fine spirits, ales, Mexican street food and main stage for the best of Dallas, Mariachis, Bandas and much more. The Festival will host a procession at Dallas City Hall at 6:00pm with the procession to end with the Official “Grito” at 7:00pm. The festival will continue till 9pm with music and best “Grito” Contest, sponsored by El Rancho Supermercado with first prize of $1,000, and a music tribute for Norma Rocha Valles.
    
    
• Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration with Ollimpaxqui Ballet Company
  • Saturday, September 14, 2 to 3:15 p.m., Lochwood Branch (11221 Lochwood Blvd.)
    Saturday, September 21, 11 a.m. to noon, Dallas West Branch (2332 Singleton Blvd.)
    Saturday, September 28, 2 to 3 p.m., Pleasant Grove Branch (7310 Lake June Rd.)
  • Enjoy a special dance performance celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by the Ollimpaxqui Ballet Company. In this exciting show, they will showcase some fun dances from Latin America.
    Disfrute de una presentación especial de baile celebrando el mes de la Herencia Hispana con la Compañía de Ballet Ollimpaxqui. En este excitante espectáculo se mostrarán algunos bailes divertidos de Latinoamérica.
    
    
• Dieciseis Celebration – Mexican Independence Day
  • Saturday, September 14, 2024 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
  • Park Forest Branch Library (3421 Forest Ln.)
  • Join us for a celebration of Mexican Independence Day, the 16 of September!  There will be food and games, crafts and drinks, a pinata, and a lot of music!  Dancing by the Allegre Ballet Foklorico!  Come and hear the Call for Independence, the Grito de Dolores.
    Los invitamos a nuestra celebración del 16 de septiembre, el Día de la Independencia Mexicana! Tendremos comida, bebidas, juegos, actividades, una piñata, y mucha música!  Baile de la Alegre Ballet Folklorico!   Vengan a escuchar El Grito de Dolores. 
    
    
• Sombrero Hat Making
  • Monday, September 16, 2024 from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
  • Arcadia Park Branch Library (1302 North Justin Ave.)
  • Join us for an engaging program designed to immerse children in Mexican culture through hands-on crafting! Learn about the cultural significance of sombreros, followed by a guided crafting session to create your very own sombrero.
    ¡Participe en un programa diseñado para sumergir a los niños en la cultura mexicana a través de manualidades! Aprenda sobre el significado cultural de los sombreros, seguido de una sesión de manualidades guiada para crear su propio sombrero.
    
• Mini Piñatas Making
  • Tuesday, September 17, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., Arcadia Park Branch  (1302 North Justin Ave.)
  • Thursday, September 19, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., North Oak Cliff Branch  (302 West Tenth St.)
  • Create your very own mini piñata! Join us for a fun and colorful celebration of Hispanic Heritage month.
    ¡Crea tu propia mini piñata! Ven y disfruta de una divertida y colorida celebración del mes de la Herencia Hispana. 
    
• Hispanic Heritage Month: Through The Spirit of Latinx Art and Music 
  • Thursday, September 19, 2024 from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
  • City Hall Lobby (1500 Marilla St.)
  • Join us at Dallas City Hall as we honor Hispanic Heritage Month with an incredible showcase of Latinx art, music, and culture! This vibrant event will feature talented artists, captivating musical performances, and inspiring guest speakers, including elected officials and city executives.
    
    
• Hispanic Heritage Event- Celebrating our Latinidad!
  • Saturday, September 21, 2024 from 10:00 a.m.- 3 p.m.
  • Girl Scouts (6010 Whispering Cedar Dr.) 
  • It’s time to celebrate Hispanic Heritage with the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas. Bring your family and enjoy an exciting day filled with music, dance, and enriching activities of the Latino community. All activities are free. There will be food and goodies for purchase. Attending this event will earn you a GSNETX Hispanic Heritage Month Patch. You won’t want to miss it!
    
    
• After School Craft – Guatemalan Kites!
  • Tuesday, September 24, 2024 from 4:30- 5:15 p.m.
  • Pleasant Grove Branch Library (7310 Lake June Rd.)
  • Continuing our celebration of Hispanic Heritage month, today we will be making Guatemalan kits while learning about their special kite festival! All material will be supplied! Take home your creations!
    Continuando con nuestra celebración del mes de la Herencia Hispana, hoy haremos cometas guatemaltecas mientras aprendemos sobre el festival especial de cometas. ¡Todo el material será proporcionado! ¡Llévate a casa tus creaciones!
    
• White Rock Hills Presents: Hispanic Heritage Event
  • Wednesday, September 25, 2024 from 5:00- 6:30 p.m.
  • Uplift White Rock Hills Preparatory (7370 Valley Glen Dr.)
  • Please join Uplift White Rock Hills Preparatory for their Hispanic Heritage Event. There will be amazing scholar performances, food vendors, games & more!
    
• Latinidades Festival & Symposium
  • September 26, 2024 – October 13, 2024
  • Latino Cultural Center (2600 Live Oak St.)
  • In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Cara Mía Theatre proudly announces its 2024-2025 season, beginning with Dallas’s largest international Latino theatre festival, the 5th annual Latinidades Festival & Symposium.
    Cara Mía Theatre’s International Latinidades Festival will expand from three productions to 11 productions, including live theatre, dance, music and poetry to celebrate diverse Latin American voices. Productions hail from Dallas; San Francisco; Miami; Barcelona, Spain; Mexico City; Bogotá, Columbia and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
    
• Hispanic Heritage Celebration
  • Saturday, September 28, 2024 from 11 a.m.- 2 p.m.
  • White Rock Hills Branch Library (9150 Ferguson Rd.)
  • Celebrate Hispanic Heritage month and shop from local businesses for jewelry, clothing, art, and food! Stick around for a dance performance and music!
    11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. –  Alegre Ballet
    1:00 to 2:00 p.m. – Jennifer Gonzalez
    Featuring Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc. – the first Latin fraternity. 
    
• Hispanic Heritage Festival
  
  • Saturday, October 5, 2024 from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m.
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (2922 MLK Jr. Blvd.)
  • The festival is free to attend. Live entertainment, selling vendors, and FREE activities for children. 
    
• Mini Mercado
  
  • Saturday, October 5, 2024 from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m.
  • Oak Lawn Branch Library (4100 Cedar Springs Rd.)
  • Celebrate the vibrant spirit of Hispanic culture at the Oak Lawn Branch Library’s 3rd Annual Mini Mercado! Indulge in delicious food and explore unique goods from local vendors while being dazzled by a breathtaking dance performance from Ollimpaxqui Ballet. Get creative in our hands-on Papel Picado workshop led by local artist Sal Barron, and discover an array of crafts that will delight the whole family.
    
    
• Learn about Latin Dance
  • Tuesday, October 15, 2024 from 4:30- 5:30 p.m.
  • Renner Frankford Branch Library (6400 Frankford Rd.)
  • Celebrate Hispanic Heritage month and learn about different styles of Latin dance like bachata, cumbia, and salsa with Jennifer Gonzales, a local dancer, choreographer, and performer. Then follow along with an interactive dance performance. This event is fun for the whole family! For more about Jennifer’s other projects visit www.ladieswithflava.com
    

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Hispanic Heritage Month is an annual celebration of the history and culture of the U.S. Latinx and Hispanic communities. The event which spans from September 15 – October 15 commemorates how Hispanic individuals and communities influenced and continue to influence and contribute immensely to American society at large.

• Yanga and the AfroMexican Experience
  • Exhibition NOW – Saturday, October 15, 2022
  • Latino Cultural Center (2600 Live Oak St.)
  • Yanga and the AfroMexican Experience features an entire gallery devoted to Yanga, exploring this historical story with documents from the Archivo General de la Nacion (National Archives) in Mexico City and Archivo General de Indias (Archive of the Indies) in Seville, Spain. Learn about the African experience in the Mexican state of Veracruz, as the main landing site for many of the enslaved Africans that went directly to Mexico on the Caribbean coast, Costa Chica, the southern Pacific area that crosses the Mexican states of Guerrero and Oaxaca and the Texas bordering state of Coahuila that became a refuge for former slaves from the US.

• Flor, Canto, y Grito!
  • Friday, September 16, 2022 at 5 pm
  • Latino Cultural Center (2600 Live Oak St.)
  • The curated event highlights Hispanic and Native Cultures with food, drink, poetry, music, dance, and expressions of the spirit. The afternoon-into-evening program will delight the senses and give attendees a glimpse of the Hispanic and Native cultures of yesterday and today. There will be a mercadito with vendors and exhibitors offering folk arts, crafts, imports, and food.
• Ollimpaxqui Ballet Company
  • Saturday, September 17, 2022 at 11:30 am
  • Dallas Public Library – Renner Frankford Branch (6400 Frankford Rd.)
  • Celebrate Hispanic and LatinX Heritage Month with dance! Learn about the the spirit and traditions behind dances such as Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Folklorico, and more in this family friendly interactive program full of music and dance. 
• Latinidad Festival 2022
  • Saturday, September 17, 2022 at 5 pm
  • AT&T Performing Arts Center (2389 Flora St.)
  • Join us as we kick off Hispanic Heritage month with the first Latinidad Festival 2022 in Annette Strauss Square presented by the AT&T Performing Arts Center and Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico with a pop-up market curated by Hecho Con Amor. Celebrate the diversity of Latin America through food, music, dance, local vendors, and art. This festival is a FREE family-friendly event that brings the color and diversity of Latin America while also supporting and spotlighting local businesses, organizations, and artists.
    
    
• Family Movie Night: Coco!
  • September 21, 2022 at 4:30 pm
  • Pleasant Grove Branch Library (7310 Lake June Road)
  • A boy named Miguel dreams of becoming a famous guitar player, despite the misgivings of his close-knit family. When his lofty ambitions cause him to run afoul of a curse, he must journey into the Land of the Dead to seek forgiveness from his ancestors.

• Hispanic Heritage Celebration
  
  • Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 3:30 pm
  • Fireside Recreation Center (8601 Fireside Dr.)
  • Performances by Cara Mia Theater, Anita Martinez Ballet Folklorico (with live Mariachi band), and our City of Dallas Poet Laureate. 
    
• Sunny Sauceda Concert
  • Friday, September 30, 2022, 8-10 pm, Doors open at 7 pm
  • Latino Cultural Center (2600 Live Oak St.)
  • Sunny Sauceda is a three-time Grammy-winning Tejano music artist from San Antonio, Texas. Sauceda plays the accordion and is known as the most energetic accordion player in the world. His accordion playing often overshadows his vocal prowess. Sauceda has a sultry but powerful modern voice.
    

• Hispanic Heritage Month Festival
  • Saturday, October 1, 2022 at 10 am
  • The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (2922 MLK Blvd.)
  • This year The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center are hosting our first ever Hispanic Heritage Festival on Saturday, October 1, 2022, which will be an in-person community event with free activities for children, live entertainment, and local vendors. Special guests include Ballet Folklórico Ollimpaxqui and the Cristo Rey Dallas Aesthetic Literacy students. There will be a live Zumba demonstration by Ariana Zuniga. We will also have a special art display from local students showcasing original art reflecting the diversity of Hispanic and Latino culture.
    
    
• Fronteriza: A Collaborative Project by Nuestra Collective
  
  • Exhibition from October 1 – November 4
  • Reception will be hosted Saturday, October 1 from 6 – 8 pm at the Oak Cliff Cultural Center
  • Oak Cliff Cultural Center (223 W. Jefferson Blvd.)
  • Nuestra Artist Collective is focused on creating a platform that includes only women artists in order to support and empower the often-excluded voices of Xicana and Latina artists. As women we approach art and themes about the border in a collaborative way. The interconnectedness in our work includes aspects of the female perspective about our family history, culture, place, and politics. During the past year, we have been fortunate to experience group meetings with the artists in the exhibit. This was an opportunity for us to exchange thoughts, share information, and learn from each other. Throughout our studio visits we discussed cultural identity, family history, socio-political issues, the environment, migration, and immigration policies. We realized the border is not just a line separating two countries, but it is also a cultural entity that unites us and informs the art we make.
    
    

• Explore Latin America: Colombia
  • Saturday, October 1, 2022 10:30 am  
  • Audelia Road Branch Library (10045 Audelia Rd.)
  • Bilingual Storytime, dance workshop led by Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico where you can learn to Cumbia, and craft paint your own Terra Cotta pot and learn about Ráquira, a small town known as the ceramics capital of Colombia.
    
    
• Explore Latin America: Puerto Rico
  
  • Saturday, October 8, 2022 10:30 am 
  • Forest Green Branch Library (9619 Greenville Ave.)
  • Bilingual Storytime,  Dance workshop and learn some traditional Puerto Rican dances such as Salsa and Reggaeton including some craft! Learn about the Taino, the indigenous people of the Caribbean and make your own Taino rock art.
    
    

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June is Pride Month, which means the LGBTQ+ community is ready to stand up for equal rights like never before. If you’re looking to celebrate, learn, sing and dance check out some events that Dallas has for you!

• City of Dallas Pride Kick Off
  
  • Wednesday, June 1st at 8 a.m. and 12 p.m.   
  • Dallas Love Field (8008 Herb Kelleher Way)
  • City Hall Plaza (1500 Marilla St)
  • The Dallas Pride flag was adopted as an official city flag last year. By council resolution, the Pride flag will fly over Dallas City Hall for the month of June every year.

• A Night of Poetry 
  • Thursday, June 2nd at 7:30 p.m.
  • Latino Cultural Center (2600 Live Oak St.)
  • Arttitude is excited to announce a “Night of Poetry” for Pride 2022 with special guest Joaquin Zihuatanejo on June 2 at the Latino Cultural Center. Limited seats available. Featured artists: Ofelia Faz Garza, Poetix Guru, Eva Whatley, Thomas Dillard, Princess, Logen Cure, C.R.U.S.H. Hosted by Lady B Smoove.

• Dallas Pride (Festival/Parade)
  • “Festival” Saturday, June 4th at 11 a.m.
  • “Parade” Sunday, June 5th at 2 p.m.
  • Fair Park (3809 Grand Ave.)
  • Dallas Pride is out and proud with a return to Fair Park June 4-5 to celebrate love and inclusion. Pride weekend kicks off with the Dallas Pride Music Festival on Saturday, followed by Dallas Pride’s Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade on Sunday. Bring the whole family to these all-ages events, which make for a weekend of fun honoring the LGBTQ+ community, its allies, sponsors and supporters.

• Dallas Arts District Pride Block Party
  • Tuesday June 17th at 6 p.m.
  • Dallas Arts District (1900 N. Pearl St.)
  • In celebration of national LGBTQ+ Pride Month, join Dallas Arts District for pride-themed tours, performances, story-time, movies, local artists, food trucks, makers, and artisans, drag shows, runways, outdoor activities, and more! Don’t miss this lively intersection of arts, culture, and LGBTQ+ community pride!

• The Queer Birth Project
  • Exhibition through July 17th
  • Nasher Sculpture Center (2001 Flora St)
  • Liss LaFleur ‘s exhibition of the birthing experiences of queer people in America features neon sculptures of the body’s progression in pregnancy and a sound element.

• D.I.Y. Pride Wreaths!
  
  • Saturday, June 18th at 11 a.m.
  • Skillman Southwestern Branch Library (5707 Skillman St)
  • Celebrate PRIDE Month by making your own door or wall wreath! Express yourself this Pride Month with this fun and decorative DIY craft. Make it a rainbow or in the colors of a specific flag, come and join this craft session! All supplies are provided in limited quantities. First-come first-serve. This program is brought to you by the Friends of the Dallas Public Library.

• Marsha & Friends Drag Brunch
  • Two Performances June 19th at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
  • Cedar Springs Tap House (4123 Cedar Springs Rd)
  • JUNE 19 for SPECIAL PRIDE EDITION of Marsha & Friends Drag Brunch benefiting the Coalition for Aging LGBT. 100% of the tips and any other donations go directly to the Coalition for Aging LGBT.

• Slash/Off
  • June 30th at 5:30 p.m.
  • Skillman Southwestern Branch Library (5707 Skillman St)
  • FanFiction, but make it Queer. Participants will get two random fandoms, it is your task to turn it into a whole new slash fiction with their characters. Could Harley Quinn (Batman) and Rowena (Supernatural) make it work? or Nandor (What We Do In The Shadows) and Prince Eric (Little Mermaid) blossom into true love? 

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Dallas–Juanita Craft House Museum, home of local Civil Rights activist

Dallas, Texas – The City of Dallas was awarded a National Park Service (NPS) Grant in the amount of $500,000 to preserve African American civil rights history. This funding will support major renovations of the Juanita J. Craft Civil Rights House. The African American Civil Rights Grant Program awarded $12.2M and is funded by the Historic Preservation Fund and administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Through this nationally recognized award, NPS seeks to support efforts nationwide to preserve resources, places and stories which tell defining parts of our nation’s history and the African American experience and civil rights movement.

“As Mayor, I truly believe that the Juanita J. Craft House tells a piece of our City’s history that has been long ignored,” said Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson. “Telling the full history of Dallas and highlighting the leadership of those who helped advance our City through the Civil Rights Era is vitally important as we continue to address our contemporary challenges. I was heartened that the City Council included $250,000 in next year’s budget for this project, and I am elated to receive this generous grant so we can properly honor Juanita Craft’s legacy and inspire generations to come. I am eager to visit the restored Craft House — and to take my children with me.”

The 1,300 square foot, one-story frame home is located at 2618 Warren Ave. in the Phyllis Wheatley Historic District of South Dallas. This was the home of Juanita J. Craft, one of Dallas’ most significant civil rights figures and only the second African American woman to serve on the Dallas city council. Juanita J. Craft lived in this house for 50 years and both Lyndon B. Johnson and Martin Luther King, Jr., visited her there to discuss the future of the civil rights movement. Craft played a crucial role in integrating two universities, the 1954 Texas State Fair, Dallas theaters, restaurants and served the NAACP for 50 years helping to establish 182 chapters across the state of Texas.

“The Office of Arts and Culture is honored to receive this monumental investment in the Craft House by the National Park Service,” said Jennifer Scripps, director of the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Cultural. “Juanita Craft’s legacy of serving her community, advocating for civil rights and mentoring young people will now be able to be appropriately honored in the home once it is restored and re-opened.”

In May of 2018 a major flood occurred resulting in major damage to the home, resulting in its closure to the public. In June 2019, the City of Dallas Arts and Culture Advisory Commission adopted the first-ever Historic Structures Report, a document with a complete assessment of the home, its historic significance and recommendations for how to improve it going forward.  Efforts to engage the community in conversation about their collective vision for the home and to raise funds for its restoration and exhibits and programming for future audiences are currently underway. The entire budget for this project is just over $1M, and the City of Dallas 2019-2020 budget includes $250,000 in capital funds for this project.

“I am thrilled that the National Park Service will grant $500,000 towards the Craft House,” said Councilman Adam Bazaldua. “South Dallas has always recognized the legacy of Juanita Craft in our community, but this high level of support by our nation’s Historic Preservation Fund signifies that her work and inspiration is valued and recognized nationally. Juanita Craft’s legacy carries on in the fight for equity in District 7 and throughout Southern Dallas. It is my hope that preserving and reopening the Juanita Craft House will draw perspective, inspiration and vision from across Dallas – and our country, to spark civic engagement, inspire activism and bring together allies in our continued fight for equity.”

Renovations for the Craft house are scheduled to begin in 2020 and anticipated to conclude by the end of 2021.

To learn more about the Craft House visit: https://dallasculture.org/cultural-venues/juanita-craft-house/

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Dallas Mayor Michael S. Rawlings accepts the 2018 National Award for Local Arts Leadership from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, January 26, 2018.

WASHINGTON, DC, January 26, 2018—Americans for the Arts and The United States Conference of Mayors today awarded Dallas Mayor Michael S. Rawlings the 2018 National Award for Local Arts Leadership for cities with a population of 100,000 or more.

“I am deeply honored to join the distinguished list of leaders who have received this award from Americans for the Arts,” said Rawlings. “The arts lift us up and make life worth living. This really isn’t about me. It is truly a team effort, and Dallas would not be the burgeoning international arts destination that it has become in recent years without our residents, artists, arts organizations, businesses and our philanthropic community coming together to elevate the creative industry and our city’s cultural vibrancy. I am proud to serve as their mayor, and I dedicate this award to them.”

Since taking office in 2011, Mayor Rawlings, wanting to be known as the “Arts Mayor,” has spoken extensively about the importance and impact of the arts on the city’s economy and quality of life. The Dallas Arts District, with its iconic visual and performing arts venues, has drawn tourism downtown, spurred development, boosted property values and generates $395 million a year in economic impact.

At the start of his first term, Mayor Rawlings started Dallas Arts Week to shine a spotlight on the city’s arts organizations and work. It has proven so successful that last year it expanded to the full month of April, showcasing 55 groups and 156 events, including Mayor Rawlings’ Creative Conversations panels discussing tough issues for the arts. Dallas Arts Month is designed to build awareness and appreciation for the work of Dallas artists and organizations and foster creative learning and activity throughout the city.

Mayor Rawlings also supported the effort to create a new cultural policy for the city – the first since 2002. He supported city staff efforts to add funding to the Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs, including the first-time use of the city’s hotel occupancy tax toward the arts. Mayor Rawlings also supported efforts to create another special marketing fund within the new Tourism Public Improvement District, which now provides almost $1.2 million annually in marketing grants, mostly to arts and cultural programs that attract tourists to Dallas.

“Dallas is a city with a dynamic and growing cultural ecosystem, and a major reason this ecosystem remains so vibrant is Mayor Michael Rawlings. He understands the importance of using the arts in very creative ways to help enhance the quality of life for Dallas residents, while at the same time harnessing the economic potential of investment in culture. We applaud Mayor Rawlings for his leadership worthy of this recognition,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts.

“Every year, The U.S. Conference of Mayors recognizes the exemplary efforts of local leaders who believe as much as we do that the arts are an integral part our society,” remarked Tom Cochran, CEO and Executive Director of The U.S. Conference of Mayors. “Mayors understand the connection between arts and business, and the significant contribution the arts make to the local economy.”

Americans for the Arts and The United States Conference of Mayors presented their 2018 Public Arts Leadership Awards at the mayors’ Winter Meeting in Washington, DC. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan received the National Award for State Arts Leadership; Santa Fe Mayor Javier M. Gonzales received the National Award for Local Arts Leadership for cities with a population of fewer than 100,000; and actor and musician Michael Cerveris received the Citizen Artist Award.

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Americans for the Arts is the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education in America. With offices in Washington, D.C. and New York City, it has a record of more than 55 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Additional information is available at www.AmericansForTheArts.org.

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The nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $891,170,549 in annual economic activity in the Dallas—supporting 33,554 full-time equivalent jobs and generating $97,232,000 in local and state government revenues, according to the Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 national economic impact study. The most comprehensive economic impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry ever conducted in the United States, Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 was conducted by Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education.

Results show that nonprofit arts and culture organizations spent $631,469,325 during fiscal year 2015. This spending is far-reaching: organizations pay employees, purchase supplies, contract for services and acquire assets within their community. Those dollars, in turn, generated $856,249,000 in household income for local residents and $97,232,000 in local and state government revenues.

“These numbers show in a truly compelling way the economic return on investment that Dallas has made in our arts and how vital our industry is to the economic well-being of Dallas,” said Jennifer Scripps, director of cultural affairs for the City of Dallas. “We want everyone to be able to use these findings in their organizational advocacy and in the ways they tout our sector overall.”

Nationwide, the Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 reveals that the nonprofit arts industry produces $166.3 billion in economic activity every year, resulting in $27.5 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues. In addition, it supports 4.6 million full-time equivalent jobs and generates $96.07 billion in household income.

“This study demonstrates that the arts are an economic and employment powerhouse both locally and across the nation,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “A vibrant arts and culture industry helps local businesses thrive and helps local communities become stronger and healthier places to live. Leaders who care about community and economic vitality can feel good about choosing to invest in the arts. Nationally as well as locally, the arts mean business.”

Arts Industry Boon for Local Businesses

In addition to spending by organizations, the nonprofit arts and culture industry in Dallas leverages $259,701,224 in event-related spending by its audiences. As a result of attending a cultural event, attendees often eat dinner in local restaurants, pay for parking, buy gifts and souvenirs, and pay a babysitter. What’s more, attendees from out of town often stay overnight in a local hotel. In Dallas, these dollars support 33,554 full-time equivalent jobs and generate $97,232,000 in local and state government revenues.

The Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 study was conducted by Americans for the Arts and supported by The Ruth Lilly Fund of Americans for the Arts. Americans for the Arts’ local, regional, and statewide project partners contributed both time and financial support to the study. Financial information from organizations was collected in partnership with DataArts, using a new online survey interface. For a full list of the communities who participated in the Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 study, visit www.AmericansForTheArts.org/AEP5Partners.

The City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA), a division of the City Manager’s Office, works to enhance the vitality of the City and the quality of life for all Dallas citizens by creating an environment wherein arts and cultural organizations thrive and people of all ages enjoy opportunities for creative expression and the celebration of our community’s multicultural heritage.  OCA’s mission is to establish a cultural system that ensures all Dallas citizens and visitors have an opportunity to experience the finest in arts and culture.  Visit DallasCulture.org for more information.

Review the Dallas Report:

Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 – The Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Cultural Organizations and Their Audiences in the City of Dallas, TX (Fiscal Year 2015)

More information can be found from Americans for the Arts here

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Appointed by Councilwoman Sandy Greyson, Sylvia served on the CAC for more than 5 years, most recently as our Vice-Chairwoman. Sylvia loved serving on the Public Art Committee and was instrumental in our dialogue with the arts community on issues of cultural equity.

In addition to her dedicated service on the CAC, Sylvia was a long-standing board member with the Friends of the Bath House Cultural Center and helped steer that group through several challenging years. She was a devoted patron and supporter of many, many arts organizations including TITAS, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, the Nasher, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

For me personally, Sylvia was a thoughtful and empathetic listener and thinker who brought years of experience and leadership in public service, not to mention a wry and hilarious sense of humor, to each of our interactions.

Services for Sylvia will be held this Saturday, July 1, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the Nasher Sculpture Center. The family suggests wearing red lipstick – in her honor.

Jennifer Scripps

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