THE MOVE 2009

Moving Forward! Dallas Contemporary Artspace Campaign

Dallas Contemporary incubates artists and ideas, ignites thought and learning and inspires the community. 

Before we can open eyes and minds, we have to open doors.

In 2009, Dallas Contemporary will open the doors to its new home on Glass Street. Our city’s only dedicated contemporary artspace will begin a new life in a setting as innovative as the art it will house.

Vision: Setting the new standard for contemporary artspaces.

With the expansion of Dallas Contemporary, Dallas keeps its place among the top-ranked U.S. cities that support a top-flight contemporary artspace and an encyclopedic museum. Our community’s credentials as an arts center depend on Dallas Contemporary’s secure future.

The Glass Street facility with its view of the Calatrava Bridges, will anchor the developing area between the Trinity River trails and Stemmons corridor.

The renovated structure will raise the bar for green-aware, cost-conscious artspace design ~ attracting widespread interest for the functional beauty of the building as well as the art it contains.

Art: Dallas’ venue for next-generation art and artists.

Exhibitions at the new Dallas Contemporary will showcase some of the finest examples of experimental and emerging art by up-and-coming artists from Texas around the world. The new building will add space to accommodate multiple exhibitions, large art installations and sculpture.

The new galleries will serve as meeting places where artists share their creative visions with visitors, where the art-aware mingle with the art-curious, where a diverse and eclectic mix of people find common ground through contemporary art.

Education: Using contemporary art to ignite learning.

Each year, thousands of students learn creative thinking, analytical skills and verbal expression through the acclaimed Art Think™ youth education program, developed by Dallas Contemporary.

With more space for first-hand interactions with artists-in-residencies and visiting curators, the teaching opportunities become limitless.

Plan: Adaptive reuse of a 1950s modernist industrial structure.

In keeping with the contemporary spirit of finding new uses for old things, we’ve purchased a classic industrial building at 161 Glass Street. 

The handsome structure, with its 20-foot ceilings and clerestory windows, will be repurposed to serve in its new role under the guidance of national-award-winning architect, Edward Baum.

Opportunity: A single gift supports art, education and the future of Dallas.

Dallas Contemporary’s Moving Forward Capital Campaign has set an initial goal of $7.5 million to support the purchase and renovation of our new home and the endowment of current and future programs.

Since the funds will come entirely from private donations, without governmental support, we’ll seek gifts at all levels from everyone who cares about art, about education and about our city.

You’re invited to be part of a project that will define the future of Dallas as an arts center. 

We invite you to lead the way, to open the doors that will open eyes and minds.

Please contact the campaign staff or Joan Davidow, director of Dallas Contemporary, to learn more about giving opportunities @ 214-821-2522 or