Dallas was recognized today by Art Place America as the second best city in the nation for cultivating the arts. The list was compiled by utilizing criteria gauging which communities have most successfully combined artists and galleries within pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods rich with independent small businesses.
"Special things happen during special times," says artist Ricardo Paniagua. "No one can really predict when the stars will align for a certain point in time and place, but as a Dallas native and someone who is concerned with cosmopolitan history, it is certain that high points for certain places come and go. Dallas is certainly in the midst of a burgeoning crest of culture and with major international establishments and landmarks popping up, the world is watching. As an artist I could not ask for anything more. Dallas is booming and blooming that's for sure."
Given the fact that the Dallas Arts District - and the vast majority of the art scene in Deep Ellum didn't even exist in the late 1970's, reports such as the one by Art Place America speaks volumes for the amazing efforts that have been put forth by the citizens of Dallas in the past few years to really elevate the arts and culture to a great new level.
Veletta Forsythe Lill is the recently retired Executive Director of the Dallas Arts District and was a driving force behind the evolution of where the area is today.
"It is exciting to see Dallas being recognized by ArtAmerica as one of "America's Top ArtPlaces 2013,' says Veletta Forsythe Lill. "What honors like this spotlight is Dallas' maturation as an arts community - more than buildings, more than organizations, more than art forms, more than individual artists. It is recognition of the wholistic interaction between all of these things which is making Dallas a unique place. Now I am looking forward to growing into that #1 position."
As noted in Art Place America:
"Each community has a particular story to tell, but they share a common theme: when a community mobilizes to place the arts at the core of a set of strategies to effect positive civic change, everyone benefits."
The list of the top twelve cities included in the report are:
- Brooklyn, NY / The intersection of Downtown, Fort Greene, Gowanus, Park Slope and Prospect Heights
- Dallas, TX / The Dallas Arts District, with parts of Deep Ellum and Exposition Park
- Los Angeles, CA / Central Hollywood
- Miami Beach, FL / South Beach
- Milwaukee, WI / East Town and a portion of the Lower East Side
- New York, NY / Manhattan Valley
- Oakland, CA / Downtown, including Chinatown, Old Oakland and Jack London Square
- Philadelphia, PA / Old City
- Portland, OR / The Pearl District and a portion of Downtown
- San Francisco, CA / The Mission District
- Seattle, WA / The Pike-Pine Corridor
- Washington, DC / The intersection of Adams Morgan, U Street, and Dupont Circle
© Raine Devries 2013
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