Get your party outfits ready in time for the second DMA Speakeasy, the most anticipated party in town, on Saturday, February 24. If you are gunning for first prize in the costume contest, look back on an Uncratedtutorial on how to become a Speakeasy Star.
The evening kicks off with custom crafted cocktails from Dallas’ finest, the Singapore Swingers 18 piece orchestra, 1920s dance lessons, novelty gaming tables and admission to our amazing galleries. The vintage 1974 version of the Great Gatsby will be rolling on the big screen in Horchow Theater. Our guests will be attired in their finest 20s rags. A scavenger hunt is planed that will take our guests throughout our vast collection to “Track down the bootleggers”.
The night is capped off with fantastic raffle prizes; to include a package from the Joule Hotel; Two DMA Arts and Letters Live VIP Packages: one for Maria Shriver and one for Lidia Bastianich; Stock Your Bar Package compliments of ROXOR, NUE, and Title No 21; and a Five Course Tasting for four at Wolfgang Puck at Reunion Tower. Tickets are a throwback to the 20s at only on buck.
Tickets to this event are available to DMA Members starting at $70. All tickets include 2 drink tickets redeemable for your choice of our “bootleggers” crafted cocktails, live entertainment, dance instructions by the talented hoofers from The Rhythm Room, access to the gaming tables, tasty bites and photo booths.
Jennifer Harris is the Director of Special Events at the DMA
What a year 2017 was at the DMA! Below is a brief look back on some of our memorable moments.
Photos of the January 2017 DMA Late Night. Images taken on Friday, January 20, 2017.
Photos of the April 2017 Late Night. Images taken on Friday, April 21, 2017.
Photos of the May 2017 “Mexico 1900-1950”-themed Late Night. Images taken on Friday, May 19, 2017.
Pano
Photos of “Mexico: 1900-1950” during spring break. Images taken on Wednesday, March 14, 2017.
Photos from the August 2017 Late Night. Photos taken on Friday, August 18, 2017.
January The launch of the C3 Visiting Artist Project.
The DMA Teen Advisory Council organized and debuted their Disconnect to Reconnect program.
The launch of Sensory Scouts, a monthly program designed for teens and tweens on the autism spectrum.
The 26th season of DMA Arts & Letters Live kicked off on January 14 with Zadie Smith.
The DMA welcomed Anna Katherine Brodbeck as The Nancy and Tim Hanley Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art.
February The DMA launches its first ever crowdfunding campaign, Destination Dallas: Bringing México 1900–1950: Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, José Clemente Orozco, and the Avant-Garde to Dallas, bringing in more than $100,000.
The DMA’s Speakeasy was the bee’s knees, celebrating the Shaken, Stirred, Styled: The Art of the Cocktail exhibition.
March México 1900–1950: Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, José Clemente Orozco, and the Avant-Garde opens at the DMA on March 12, presenting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the greats of Mexican modernism in Dallas.
The first of a total of 12 DMA Family Days launched on Sunday, March 26, with a total of 39,778 visitors on those days, with almost half being first-time visitors.
April The 52nd Art Ball raises more than $1.3 million.
The DMA is proud to be the recipient of the second annual Dallas Art Fair Foundation Acquisition Program, which included the addition of work by Justin Adian, Katherine Bradford, Andrea Galvani, Matthews Wong, and Derek Fordjour.
The Keir Collection of Islamic Art Gallery opens to the public, marking the largest public presentation of the collection to date.
May Aruto’s Nest got a new look. Visions of America: Three Centuries of Prints from the National Gallery of Art and Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion open, kicking off our summer fun.
June Works of art centered around the idea of communication went on view in C3.
Twenty-four DISD students with vision impairment participated in the DMA’s first indoor touch tour of the Museum’s European sculptures.
Six hundred and fifty sleuths help solve our sixth annual Museum Murder Mystery evening.
President and Mrs. Bush explored México 1900–1950 with DMA Director Agustín Arteaga.
July More than 1,000 people participated in our Guinness World Record attempt on what would have been Frida Kahlo’s 110th birthday during the DMA’s Frida Fest, with almost 6,000 visitors in attendance. México 1900–1950 welcomed 125,894 visitors before it closed on July 16.
Visitors went gaga for our Iris van Herpen-themed Late Night featuring a Lady Gaga costume contest.
August Guerrilla Girl Käthe Kollwitz discussed the groups iconic work during the August Late Night
The Junior Associates celebrated the last days of summer during their August 25 Kickoff Party.
September The DMA celebrated the first anniversary of Agustín Arteaga’s tenure as The Eugene McDermott Director.
DMA Members got to be the first to step into infinity during two weeks of preview days for Yayoi Kusama: All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins.
More than $17,000 was gifted to the DMA during North Texas Giving Day.
The Dallas Cultural Plan held a kickoff event at the DMA to help shape the future of arts and culture in Dallas.
October Yayoi Kusama officially opened and immediately became an Instagram sensation. Truth: 24 frames per second, the DMA’s first time-based media exhibition, opened.
TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art, benefiting amfAR and the Dallas Museum of Art, raised over $7.3 million.
It was Potter-mania during a spellbinding Second Thursday with a Twist.
November The second annual Rosenberg Fête featured an evening themed around François Lemoyne’s The Bather from the Rosenberg Collection.
More than 7,000 visitors took part in our three-day Islamic Art Festival: The Language of Exchange celebrating the Keir Collection of Islamic Art.
December Asian Textiles: Art and Trade Along the Silk Road goes on view in the Museum’s Level 3 gallery.
We traveled to a gallery far, far away during the final Second Thursday with a Twist inspired by Star Wars. The DMA reflects upon a year of amazing art, events, and visitors!
No one has ever become poor from giving. —Maya Angelou
Have you ever wondered how the DMA can offer free general admission to its collection and many of its educational programs? The answer is simple—it’s because of you!
Once again, it is time to band together for one exciting and enormous day of giving. On Thursday, September 22, every gift made to the Dallas Museum of Art will receive matching funds for our work in the community, which will help us continue to provide free access to 5,000 years of human creativity.
To help us gear up for this special day, visitors gathered in our Center for Creative Connections to make buttons showing how or why they give back to the community. They were then encouraged to leave a button for someone else and take one that spoke to them. It was a fun—and meaningful—project!
We are always so proud to see our galleries full of art enthusiasts of all ages discovering the joy and wonder of art. Mark your calendar now for North Texas Giving Day and make your donation on September 22!
Julie Henley is the Communications and Marketing Coordinator at the DMA.
This year’s Art Ball, held this past Saturday, marks the 50th occurrence of the event, which started as the Beaux Arts Ball in 1962. Each Ball usually has a theme, with invitations to match. Below are a few of my favorites from the 1960s and 70s, when the Museum was located in Fair Park.
The first Beaux Arts Ball, held on April 27, 1962
Tlaloc’s Frolic, held on April 27, 1968
A Mad Hatter’s Hoedown, held on May 1, 1971
A Celebration of the Dragon, held on April 7, 1973
A Deco Dance, held on April 26, 1975
The Last Hurrah, held on May 21, 1983. This was the last Ball held in the Museum’s Fair Park building before moving to the new building in Downtown Dallas.
These and a few other favorites are currently on view in the Mayer Library, located on the DMA’s M2 level and included in free general admission.
Hillary Bober is the Archivist at the Dallas Museum of Art.
This year marks the 15th anniversary of TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art, the annual contemporary art auction held at The Rachofsky House benefitting the Dallas Museum of Art and amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. As a part of TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art 2013, the renowned Belgian artist, Luc Tuymans, will receive the amfAR Award of Excellence for Artistic Contributions to the Fight Against AIDS this weekend, in recognition of his generosity and support of amfAR’s programs. In 2009, the Dallas Museum of Art presented Tuymans’ first retrospective of paintings in the United States, and he has since become one of the most significant artists of his generation with work represented in the world’s most important public and private collections.
Tuymans’ work draws on the historical traditions of Northern European art, as well as photography, television, and cinema, to capture the human condition of the late 20th and 21st centuries. Tuymans is best-known for examining the memory traces of trauma, specifically focusing on politically-charged topics like, the Holocaust, the American response to 9/11, and Belgium’s controversial role in post-colonial Congo.
Luc Tuymans, The Man From Wiels II, 2008, oil on canvas, The Rachofsky Collection and the Dallas Museum of Art through the DMA/amfAR Benefit Auction Fund
In The Man From Wiels II, Tuymans explores issues of history and memory, as well as the relationship between photography and painting. This painting was purchased in 2009 with funds from the DMA/amfAR Benefit Auction and is currently on view, along with Tuymans’ Mirror, at the DMA.
Meg Smith is the contemporary art curatorial administrative assistant at the DMA
Held every spring, the DMA Art Ball is one of the Museum’s largest fundraising events, and this year it exceeded all expectations! The reviews are raves for the entertainment, live and silent auctions, seated dinner in an expansive tent on the Museum’s Ross Avenue Plaza, and high-energy After Party in another tent at the Flora Street Entrance. Under the leadership of co-chairs Jennifer Karol and Catherine Rose, Untitled: Art Ball 2013 raised an impressive $2,250,000 to help the Museum in many areas, including conservation, technology, and the recent return to free general admission for all. How did we transform Ross Avenue Plaza into an elaborate venue? Watch the video below to see how the massive tent was constructed:
A highlight of the evening was the video Downtown Artsy, created as a thank you to the evening’s very generous sponsors. It featured DMA Director Maxwell Anderson as “Lord Grantham” and Mayor Rawlings as his valet, along with other local celebrities.
Debbie Stack is Director of Special Events and Volunteer Relations at the DMA.
Art in Bloom guests were immersed in a world of art, color, and flowers today at this year’s floral symposium and luncheon. Bella Meyer, a New York-based floral designer and the artist Marc Chagall’s beloved granddaughter, entertained the audience with stories about life in the Chagall family, the symbolism in her grandfather’s art, and interpretations in flowers of several of his paintings. Over lunch, complete with edible flowers, a colorful fashion presentation by Allie-Coosh provided inspiration for what was to follow . . . a tour of the DMA’s exhibition Chagall: Beyond Color. Did you know that we are the only U.S. venue for this internationally touring exhibition?
Floral arrangement inspired Edgar Degas’ Group of Dancers in the DMA’s collection
Edgar Degas, Group of Dancers, c. 1895-1897, pastel and gouache on panel, Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection
Floral arrangement inspired by Camille Pissarro’s Apple Harvest in the DMA’s collection
Camille Pissarro, Apple Harvest (Cueillette des pommes), 1888, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Munger Fund
Floral arrangement inspired by Victor Higgins’ A Mountain Ceremony in the DMA’s collection
Victor Higgins, A Mountain Ceremony, c. 1930, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, anonymous gift
Preparing for Art in Bloom in the DMA’s Atrium
“Valentina” by Jessica Jesse
“Chimera” by Jessica Jesse
Dallas League Members and models during Art in Bloom 2013
Debbie Stack is Director of Special Events and Volunteer Relations at the DMA.
TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art is an annual contemporary art auction held in the Richard Meier-designed Rachofsky House in Dallas and benefiting two organizations—the Dallas Museum of Art and amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. The event has raised over $34 million in the past thirteen years, enabling the Museum to acquire more than 125 works of art. October 20 marks the fourteenth annual gala and auction, which features Richard Phillips as amfAR’s 2012 Honored Artist. To learn more about the history of TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art, and this year’s events, including the First Look preview party tomorrow evening, visit the TWO x TWO website. Explore past TWO x TWO events below with guests such as Barry Manilow, Alan Cumming, Patti LaBelle, and more.
With Art Ball held this past Saturday, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the Art Ball’s origins in the Beaux Arts Ball. The Beaux Arts Ball was first held in 1962 as a fundraising event organized by the Museum League. The Beaux Arts Ball was a lavish, themed costume ball. Here are some of my favorite Beaux Arts Ball themes and costumes from the first 30 years.
Doris Jacoby Photography
(left to right) Actress Greer Garson and Mrs. Royal Miller (Jody) at the 1967 Beaux Arts Ball, “Arabian Nights.”
From the collection of the Texas/Dallas History and Archives Division, Dallas Public Library
DMFA director Merrill Rueppel as the mad hatter for the 1971 Beaux Arts Ball, “The Mad Hatter’s Hoedown.”
Photo by Bob Jackson, Society Publications Inc.
(left to right) Doug and Patty Campbell, Eric Graham, George Lee, Schatzie Lee, and Eleanor Graham at the 1974 Beaux Arts Ball, “An Elizabethan Evening.”
Photo by Andy Hanson
Idelle and Leon Rabin at the 1975 Beaux Arts Ball, “A Deco Dance.”
Photo by Andy Hanson
(left to right) Unidentified, Jo Cleaver, Anne Bromberg, and Alan Bromberg at the 1981 Beaux Arts Ball, “An Evening of Fantasy.”
Photo by Tom Jenkins
Director Richard R. Brettell and Carol Brettell at the 1991 Beaux Arts Ball, “Le Grande Bal Masque des Beaux Arts.”
Photo by Tom Jenkins
An impressive peacock-esque dress at the 1991 Beaux Arts Ball, “Le Grande Bal Masque des Beaux Arts.”
Another bird-themed ensemble at the 1991 Beaux Arts Ball, “Le Grande Bal Masque des Beaux Arts”
Hillary Bober is the Digital Archivist at the Dallas Museum of Art.
