from the editor Linda James
nuggled in a soft, cozy blanket with a cup of hot tea on a rainy, wintery day, I am not sur- prised to learn that Dallas made it onto a list of the top 12 communities in the United States that have most successfully combined art, artists and venues for creativity and expression with independ- ent businesses, retail shops and restaurants. A new annual initiative conducted by ArtPlace America rec- ognizes neighborhoods in the largest 44 metropoli- tan areas in the country where the arts are central to creating places where people—residents and visitors—want to be.
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You just have to walk from One Arts Plaza to the Dallas Museum of Art to realize that the Dallas Arts District has finally blossomed into the great world center of the 21st century that former Mayor Jack Evans and Dr. Philip O'Bryan Montgomery Jr. envisioned in the 80s when plans for the Arts District were nothing more than artist render- ings. The 2012 openings of the Dallas City Performance Hall and the Klyde Warren Park have added to the buzz of people strolling and tak- ing photographs of the architecture and activities from one end of Flora Street to The Park.
The uptown Arts District has been transformed by dreamers who believed in the ability of the arts to inspire and invigorate. Their vision provided the catalyst for change that contributed to making Dallas a robust and vibrant arts community comprised not only of buildings but also people and arts organizations.
For the first time since its opening three years ago, the AT&T Performing Arts Center is operationally ending its 2012 fiscal year in
2013 Mantra: Transformation and Sustainability
the black. The Center has increased programming staff, volume and quality of programming, and consequently—ticket sales. The Center has doubled its Individual and Annual Fund, increased Corporate Sponsors and more than tripled Corporate Giving. These improved revenues and efficiencies have enabled the Center to progress from being a start-up operation towards being a sustainable nonprofit busi- ness.
Across town at Southern Methodist University arts leaders are also committed to fostering lively metropolitan economies. They are embarking on a project that will serve as a vehicle for the transforma- tion and sustainability of arts and cultural organizations nationwide. SMU arts leaders are exploring how the University can provide data- based insights that will strengthen arts organizations locally and nationally. In collaboration with the Cultural Data Project (CDP), TRG Arts, Boston Consulting Group, IBM, Theatre Communications Group and the Nonprofit Finance Fund, SMU is examining ways to serve the needs of the arts and cultural sectors with information that helps take the guesswork out of managerial decisions. In mid February 2013, SMU will embark on a new phase of discovery and will make an exciting announcement about their plans for the future.
As so aptly stated by ArtPlace America, “when a community mobi- lizes to place the arts at the core of a set of strategies to effect positive civic change, everyone benefits.”
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February 2013
www.thedancecouncil.org
DANCE! NORTH TEXAS
a publication of the dance council of north texas
vol. 16 •
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