February ‘24 Community Calendar
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February Events:
All of February: Granny Said I Can Have One @ The South Dallas Cultural Center
A solo show by Charles Gray
February 1 - March 1: DREAMS @ Frisco Discovery Center Grand Gallery
The DREAMS exhibition features work by artists Rapheal Crump, Demarcus McGaughey, Huey Dynamite, and Leslie Horton Montena, displaying their work in celebration of Black History Month. The art will be on display in the Grand Gallery from February 1 through March 1.
The public reception for the DREAMS exhibition is February 9 from 6-8 p.m. at the Grand Gallery. It will include artist gallery talks, live music by Chima Ijeh, and light refreshments.
February 1 - 29: Black Art History Past, Present, & Future @ the Spellman Museum of Forney History
Opening night - Thursday, February 1, 6:00 pm - 8:-00 pm featuring artist, art critic, and writer Darryl Ratcliff from D Magazine and The Dallas Morning News
Join us on a journey as we embark on a captivating journey featuring renowned artists: the late Burford E. Evans, Frank Frazier, Lakeem Wilson, and curated masterpieces by talents like Don O’Bannon, Victor Hoover, Billy Edmonds, and the late Elwood Blackmon. Enjoy loaned artworks from the Higgins Collection and the Renaissance Collection. Introducing local Forney artists Suphronia Conley, Paul Taylor, and a mystery artist guided by visionary curator Barry Malloy of Renaissance Art Collective.
February 1 - June 22: Woven Together @ Frisco Heritage Museum
Woven Together — The ongoing featured exhibit, Woven Together, will have a special display spotlighting members of the Frisco community, including African American musicians, teachers, military veterans, and City Council members. This exhibit runs February 1 through June 22.
February 2 - February 18: I AM DELIVERED’T @ Kalita Humphreys Theater
Dallas Theater Center in association with Actors Theatre of Louisville
Everybody knows that all the drama takes place on the couch parking lot. Sis, vice-president of the usher board #1, and her protege Pickles find themselves at the center of the commotion when her long lost love - Sister Breedlove - returns, stirring up church gossip. This joyful new comedy by Jonathan Norton celebrates the power of faith, love, and forgiveness. These are the announcements. Let us govern ourselves accordingly.
Historic 10th Street Pop-up Workshop Celebrating Arts, Culture, and Black History
February 3 at 12 noon at the Oak Cliff Cultural Center for the 10th Street Workshop by No Limits Arts Theatre, where participants will learn about the historic 10th Street District and recreate a miniature version of the neighborhood together as a community.
February 3: Common Threads: Celebrating Families - Woven Together @ Frisco Heritage Museum from 9 am - 4 pm
On February 3, Museum staff will have family-friendly crafts and activities in the Museum visitors center, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
February 5: Final Day of ICONoClasts Virtual Exhibit
Tanzanian-Nigerian collage artist Marryam Moma intricately reconstructs repurposed archival paper and mixed media to create vibrant narratives, delving into the complexities of the Black experience. She highlights Black bodies, their strength, and Black joy, while challenging societal perceptions.
Moma’s work is a masterful tapestry of multidimensional stories. Her collages grace international corporate collections like Microsoft, Google, and Starbucks. Her global impact extends to TV programs and prestigious magazines. Departing from formal architecture, inspired by the mundane and extraordinary, Moma creates layered analog collages from apparently disparate elements that uplift and empower. Moma has exhibited in the US and abroad, creating works that foster understanding and inclusion.February 8: Artist Burford E Evans Day - Black Art History Past, Present, & Future @ the Spellman Museum of Forney History from 6:00 - 8:00 pm
February 10: Soul of DFW: Black Cowboy History - Fort Worth Edition
Grab your boots and Stetsons and immerse yourselves into a cultural experience like no other. Explore cowboy history through the lens of Black culture in Fort Worth! Learn the untold history of Black cowboys across the Southwest! Cost includes roundtrip charter bus accommodations to/from Dallas-Fort Worth, history lesson with a professional historian and food writer, food & beverage (lunch provided), Texas BBQ history and a private tasting of tequila. Dress code: Cowboy/girl attire!
February 10: Juanita Craft’s Birthday
In honor of Juanita Craft’s birthday, on Saturday, February 10th, we will offer a docent-guided tour every 30 minutes from 11 am until 4 pm.
To register for a tour, email kendall.ferguson@dallas.govFebruary 10: Closing of Cedric Ingram’s “Homecoming”
Growing up as an African American kid, I never really saw artwork that represented people of my culture. Most other 70s and 80s babies, like me, can remember going to Granny’s house and seeing the paintings of Jesus she had on the wall beside the photo of MLK. When it came to embracing the African American culture artistically, there was nothing. Only until I was an adult did I, and we, realize how important seeing representations of ourselves was so impactful on our lives. Of course, this knowledge comes with learning and recognizing systematic racism that exists and being exposed to more outlets of learning than what our elders had access to. Now being a grownup and having young Black children, I made it a point to make efforts to break this cycle so my children can grow and be embraced by the art they see. Not only for my children, but for all people of my community, I think it is important to see a mirror of ourselves artistically.
February 12: Jazz at Symphony Center
A night of Jazz, blending R&B and pop, the six-time Grammy award winner David Sanborn takes the Meyerson stage for a fantastic night of music.
February 13 : Opening Reception “eMerge: Illuminating Urban Realities Through Perception” by Sherod Grayer @ Mountain View Campus
The Dallas College Gallery team is delighted to present Sherod Grayer’s solo exhibition at Mountain View Campus, eMerge: Illuminating Urban Realities Through Perception. This exhibit serves as Grayer’s open invitation to reflect in our individual and collective “roles in shaping perceptions in an ever-changing world”. This participatory dialogue is reinforced through Grayer’s merging of traditional and digital art. His distinctive use of LED signs serves to create what he calls a “portal” that enables us to challenge our expectations and biases.
February 15: Black Love of Art - Black Art History Past, Present, & Future @ the Spellman Museum of Forney History from 6:00 - 8:00 pm
February 16-18: Uptown Nights: It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing
Inspired by Harlem’s famed musical hot spots like The Cotton Club and The Savoy, this swingin’ night of musical sensations focuses on Harlem’s heyday when Duke Ellington’s orchestra was the house band, and Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald and Ethel Waters showcased the classics of the Great American Songbook.
February 17: Common Threads: William Sidney Pittman - Woven Together @ Frisco Heritage Museum from 9 am - 4 pm
This activity on February 17 highlights William Sidney Pittman, the first practicing black architect in Texas. Pittman designed several historic projects in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Waco, and Waxahachie, including the Colored Carnegie Library of Houston and the Pythian Temple of Dallas. Family-friendly activity in the Museum visitors center, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
February 17: YANGA World Premiere @ Soul Rep Theater in collaboration with Cara Mia Theatre
The second co-production of Soul Rep’s season will serve as its biennial collaboration with Cara Mia Theatre – the Café Negro Arts Series – and Mexico based theater company, Mulato Teatro. This project is funded in part by an NEA grant. YANGA, is inspired by the real-life story of Gaspar Yanga who led a slave revolt and eventually negotiated an independent territory with the Spanish crown less than 100 years after the arrival of Hernán Cortés in Mexico.
Jaime Chabaud is a Mexican playwright, screenwriter, teacher and researcher, who has written more than 130 plays over his career but is popularly known for his television work. His creative work has been translated into multiple languages and has received numerous awards including the 2013 Juan Ruiz de Alarcón Drama Prize, the 2010 World Theater Prize (Premio Teatro del Mundo) from the University of Buenos Aires and 2006 Víctor Hugo Rascón Banda National Drama Prize. Chabaud is also the founder and director of the Paso de gato theater magazine and Mulato Teatro Theater Company based in Mexico.
February 18: Black Violin Experience
This February, the classical-meets-hip-hop duo Black Violin embarked on “The Black Violin Experience Tour” across the US. The tour follows their recent GRAMMY nomination for “The Message,” a collaboration with Blind Boys of Alabama. The song is up for Best Americana Performance at the 65th GRAMMYs, marking the duo’s second GRAMMY nomination after their 2019 album Take The Stairs was nominated for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. In the past few years, Black Violin has been interviewed by PBS Newshour, Morning Edition, CBC’s Q, 1A, MSNBC, Here & Now, CBS This Morning, CNN, and many more.
February 22: Harlem Fine Arts Celebration - Black Art History Past, Present, & Future @ the Spellman Museum of Forney History from 6:00 - 8:00 pm
February 23-24: Festival of Black Dance “Rhythm and Soul of a People”
A Collaboration between The Black Academy of Arts and Letters and Dallas Independent School District. Atalanta Dance Connection returns by popular demand for the fifth consecutive season! Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts Dance Ensemble and the Unified Performing Arts Dance Company share the spotlight in a moving evening of African, contemporary, and modern dance.
February 17: Common Threads: Elijah McCoy - Woven Together @ Frisco Heritage Museum from 9 am - 4 pm
This activity day on February 24 focuses on Elijah McCoy who developed 57 U.S. patents that concentrated on making the steam engine work better. Trains have a special place in Frisco’s heritage, and this event will celebrate imagination and ingenuity through an activity in the Museum visitors center, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
February 29: Eclipsed Visions: Past, Present & Future. What’s Next? - Black Art History Past, Present, & Future @ the Spellman Museum of Forney History from 6:00 - 8:00 pm