The Dallas Museum of Art Will Honor David Bowie With Starman Program on Thursday

On Thursday, the Dallas Museum of Art will honor the life and legacy of the Thin White Duke himself, Mr. David Bowie.

Every second Thursday, the DMA hosts an event titled "Second Thursdays with a Twist,” an occasion during which the Arts District staple modifies its programming and interactive experience to fit a unified pop culture theme.

This program, aptly named Starman, will have eight different event offerings over the course of its 5 to 9 p.m. run. The first of these is “Look Up Here, I’m In Heaven” (a nod to the Blackstar single “Lazarus”), which the program directory states will “Revisit some of Bowie’s most memorable looks and theatrical moments in the music videos, TV performances, and live concert appearances that created the visual backdrop for his many musical personas.”

One event with a more universally understood reference is “Major Tom to Ground Control,” which gives museum-goers an opportunity to paint over a wall decoration resembling a 7-inch record. At “Put On Your Red Shoes” you can channel one of Bowie’s many characters by visiting a makeup station. Both activities have a limit of 50 participants, except “Major Tom to Ground Control,” which will accept 50 more applicants every 45 minutes.

For those itching to experience the art offerings through film, “I Move the Stars for No One” will consist of a screening of Jim Henson’s Bowie-featured 1986 fantasy epic Labyrinth. This screening will take place at the Horchow Auditorium at 5:30 p.m.

If you were hoping the affair becomes more of a party, stop by DJ Yeahdef's booth, as he'll be spinning cuts from Mr. Ziggy Stardust himself, and a photo booth will give visitors an opportunity to pose for a photo in the style of an album cover. Both events, along with “Put On Your Red Shoes,” will take place at Hamon Atrium.

If you’re a person who needs some good visual stimuli, an installation called “If We Can Sparkle” offers, “A dazzling journey of cosmic transformation and sensory delight.”

Now, if poetry and lyricism are more your speed, you can cut-and-paste various Bowie lyrics and aggregate them together to create a poem of your own. This is a style of songwriting Bowie took on in the early ‘70s, which he applied to the composition of songs such as “Heroes” and “Moonage Daydream.” The name of the poetry event, “We Can Be Heroes, Just For One Day,” is a nod to this.

But most important? This will all be happening the evening before the four-year anniversary of Bowie’s untimely death. It’s a fitting homage to one of pop culture’s most acclaimed and influential icons. Or, shall we say, “Heroes.”

Tickets for Starman are $5 for nonmembers, free for educators, at dma.org.