Dallas Arts District Looks Back at 40 Years of Shows, Plays, Concerts and Performances

Art, theater, music, dance and other forms of expression are found throughout the city, from the murals that grace buildings in Deep Ellum to theater companies like Kitchen Dog and Theatre Three. One very important part of the city's efforts to create and preserve artistic expression has been in business for four decades.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Dallas Arts District (DAD), a space designed and dedicated to a variety of artistic study and performances in the northeast corner of downtown. The district encompasses a number of popular visitor attractions and theaters such as the Dallas Museum of Art, The Winspear Opera House and the Nasher Sculpture Center. USA Today's 10 Best ranked the DAD third in a list of the nation's best arts districts, calling it "the largest contiguous urban arts district in the nation."

"It started at 68 acres," says DAD executive director Lily Cabatu Weiss, referring to DAD's beginnings in 1983. "We've expanded to 118 acres, which encompasses the south side of Ross [Avenue] and San Jacinto [Street] and from North Central Expressway to St. Paul [Street]."

The DAD started as part of the Dallas Arts District Urban Design Plan, also known as the Sasaki Plan for the firm that drafted it in 1982. The plan recommended dedicating 12 blocks in the downtown area to "a steady stream of activity" by adding a network of pedestrian walkways, landscaping and access to buildings dedicated to the performing and visual arts next to one of downtown's busiest communities of restaurants, boutiques and galleries, according to city records.

"This is pre-pandemic, but data show we had over 4 million visitors each year and more than a $6 billion value with a $400 million economic impact," Weiss says. "That's how much our arts venues impact in terms of economics, and we actually give $41 million back to state and local government."

The district houses five museums, including the Dallas Museum of Art and Perot Museum of Nature and Science, and 12 theater spaces, including the AT&T Performing Arts Center. The DAD also hosts arts programs like the Dallas Symphony Theatre, the Dallas Opera and the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, which turned 100 years old in 2022. These venues have displayed the artistic visions of icons like Pablo Picasso, Rodin, William Shakespeare and countless other artists, musicians and playwrights. The DAD has inspired and created careers for big names like Erykah Badu, Edie Brickell and Norah Jones.

Even the buildings are artistic endeavors. Five of the DAD's buildings are historically protected structures, such as the Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe and the Arts District Mansion, which is home to the Dallas Bar Association. Six of the newer buildings were designed by architects who've won the Pritzker, the highest honor an architect can receive for their work.  "Twice a month, there are architectural tours that come through the arts district," Weiss says. "So it's not just a performing and visual arts district. It truly is for people who love architecture. The buildings themselves are quite beautiful."

The accolades didn't come without challenges. The biggest obstacle in recent memory was the COVID outbreak of 2020, which shut down all in-person performance venues for more than a year and created a massive round of staff layoffs and cutbacks. Most recently, the Tony Award-winning Dallas Theater Center announced it would have to lay off part of its staff as a cost-cutting measure last month.

People are starting to return to live shows and outdoor events, but Weiss says, "We're still at a dip. It's taken awhile for people to feel comfortable coming into theaters and museums," she adds. "During COVID, what we needed to do in the arts and rightfully so when venues closed, all the organizations had to stay relevant by streaming programming or doing additional programming online, and most of them did it as free access."

Even though the pandemic is officially over and people are feeling safe enough to go outside their homes, the shutdown has had a major effect on how people consume and access arts in their own homes.

"People got used to picking up to-go food and streaming at home," Weiss says. "This whole idea of getting back to the live experience, that's our mantra, getting into the theaters and going into the museums."

Some encouraging signs emerged during the current season such as the near-capacity audiences for the DTC's annual Christmas Carol production and the sold-out performances of The Nutcracker Suite during the holidays in 2022. This year, The Dallas Opera is seeing several sold-out performances.

"We're anxious to see how we do in 2022–23," Weiss says.