Dallas Arts District Named No. 1 Arts District in America for Second Consecutive Year

Through a combination of reader voting and editor recommendations, USA Today named the Dallas Arts District as the no. 1 best art district in America for a creative escape earlier this week. Dallas received first-place honors last year as well, with the website citing the city’s numerous art galleries and museums, as well as a concentration of buildings built by Pritzker award-winning architects.

If we can call Dallas lucky for having such a great arts district, we have to also thank the many extraordinary people who have worked so tirelessly to keep it afloat that they’ve earned back-to-back awards in USA Today.

“How did you not hear me screaming with joy from Flora Street?” jokes Dallas Arts District chair Jill Magnuson as she remembers hearing about the win. “The real magic is in the diversity of our offerings. From our oldest church at 156 years to our latest hotel and restaurants, we remain the heart of the city.”

She’s referring to the First Baptist Church, which was built in 1868 and recently survived a fire in July 2024. It’s one of many iconic Dallas landmarks located in the district, along with Klyde Warren Park, the Moody Performance Hall and the Dallas Museum of Art.

“I’m grateful for the sincerity and talent of our leader, Lily Cabatu Weiss, and our board chair, Jill Magnuson,” says Charles Santos, executive and artistic director of TITAS/Dance Unbound, which is located within the district. “They are focused on doing great work, and it is paying off.”

Weiss is a legendary figure in the Dallas art scene, first joining the faculty of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in 1978. She taught dance for 36 years at the school, leading to her becoming the executive director of the Dallas Arts District, and proved to be a steady hand throughout her 36-year tenure at the school, which led to her becoming the executive director of the Dallas Arts District in 2016.

“The Arts District is in my artistic DNA, “ Weiss says. “Each of the last five years there have been two cultural districts from Texas nominated, which reflects positively on our state and the importance of the cultural landscape."

In 2024, Arts District Houston landed at No. 7 on USA Today’s list. This year, the El Paso Downtown Arts District placed No. 5. Ultimately, the arts districts are a cultural force, but Weiss made a point to also label them as an "economic engine." She cited a 2022 study called the Arts & Economic Prosperity Study, presented by Americans for the Arts, which found that Dallas had a total of $853,611,875 industry expenditures made by local arts and culture organizations.

It's being put to good use. The Dallas Arts District online calendar is an incredible resource to stay up to date on beautiful events put on in the city, with full symphonies, contemporary art installations and an interactive science exhibition scheduled for the next few weeks.

“I have always known that the Dallas Arts District is one of the best in the country,” says Kristina Kirkenaer-Hart, director of cultural tourism at VisitDallas. “This recognition, especially winning for the second time, only reaffirms that.”