TACA Announces 2020 Silver Cup Luncheon Program & Sponsors February 17, 2020

Media Contact: Brett Gray, Brett@BrettGrayPR.com, 214.557.6233

DALLAS – TACA – The Arts Community Alliance – will host the 42nd annual TACA Silver Cup Award Luncheon, presented by J.P.Morgan and Neiman Marcus, on Tuesday, March 10, at 12 p.m. at the Fairmont Dallas’ Regency Ballroom.  This year’s event will honor business and community leader Matrice Ellis-Kirk and former Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings.

Holly Mayer and Lucilo Pena

This year’s luncheon, chaired by Holly Mayer and Lucilo Peña, will be highlighted by performances in both modern dance and opera. Tickets start at $150 and are in limited supply and available by contacting Julie Bice at TACA at 214-520-3930.

Last year’s TACA Silver Cup recipients were Margot B. Perot and J. Davis Hamlin, with other notable arts patrons, including Nancy Nasher and Walter Elcock, receiving the award in recent years.  Celebrated annually for 42 years, the luncheon serves as a unique opportunity to cast the spotlight on two individuals who contribute richly to the cultural fabric of the community through their unparalleled devotion to the arts.

“This year’s TACA Silver Cup will celebrate Matrice Ellis-Kirk and Mike Rawlings, two Dallas leaders who’ve made extraordinary contributions to the arts and culture landscape in our city,” said Terry Loftis, Carlson president and executive director of TACA. “In keeping with TACA’s annual tradition, we will gather to celebrate their many contributions.  Those of us who call Dallas home are the beneficiaries of their vision for our city, and we look forward to honoring them as our 2020 TACA Silver Cup recipients.”

This year’s program will feature a modern dance performance by Catherine Ellis Kirk, dancer in Kyle Abraham’s famed New York dance company A.I.M (Abraham in Motion) and daughter of Matrice Ellis-Kirk and Ambassador Ron Kirk, coordinated by TITAS/DANCE UNBOUND Executive and Artistic Director, Charles Santos.

Silver Cup Luncheon patrons will also hear Angel Vargas from The Dallas Opera performing Nessun Dorma, the famous tenor aria from Puccini’s opera Turandot.

The 2020 Silver Cup Sponsors include:  Co-Title Sponsors – J.P.Morgan and Heart of Neiman Marcus; TACA Ticket Sponsor – The Rosewood Corporation; Program Sponsor – Westwood Wealth Private Bank; Champagne Reception Sponsor – Tara Lewis and John Swords; Entertainment Sponsor – Highland Park Village; Valet Sponsor – Lexus; Media Sponsors – Patron Magazine and WRR Classical 101.1 FM, with Host – Fairmont Dallas, and Official Airline – American Airlines.

*Additional sponsors include:  Allegro Sponsors ($15,000) – Diane and Hal Brierley; Molly Byrne/TurningPoint Foundation; Jennifer and John Eagle/Cindy and Howard Rachofsky/Marguerite Hoffman and Tom Lentz; and Carol and Don Glendenning/Locke Lord;

Concerto Sponsors ($10,000) – Lydia and Bill Addy; Jennifer and Peter Altabef; Mary Anne Cree; Julie and Ken Hersh; Melinda and Jim Johnson; Susan and Bill Montgomery; Holly Mayer/Lucilo Peña; Margot Perot; Sarah and Ross Perot, Jr.; Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger; and Donna Wilhelm;

Sonata Sponsors ($5,000) – AT&T; Nancy and Clint Carlson; Taj J. Clayton; Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Laura and Walter Elcock; Embrey Family Foundation/Karol Omlor; Cindy and Charlie Feld/Betty and Steve Suellentrop; Arlene Ford and Chris Reynolds; HALL Group; Kim and Greg Hext/Amy and Michael Meadows; Ann and Lee Hobson; Tracey Nash-Huntley and David S. Huntley; Interceramic, Inc.; Ann and Chris Mahowald; Nancy Cain Marcus and Nelda Cain Pickens; Lynn McBee/Mari Woodlief; Vin and Caren Prothro Foundation; Catherine and Will Rose; Deedie Rose; Peggy and Carl Sewell/Sewell Automotive Companies; Greg Swalwell and Terry Connor; and TITAS/DANCE UNBOUND and DeMetris Sampson;

Rhapsody Sponsors ($3,000) – Elaine and Neils Agather; Cheryl and Roy Alston; Linda and Bill Custard; Deloitte LLP; Bess and Ted Enloe/Rebecca and Barron Fletcher; Mitch and Linda Hart; Bridget Lopez; Southwestern Medical Foundation; and Jill E. Tananbaum Family;

Minuet Sponsors ($1,500) – AT&T Performing Arts Center; Communities Foundation of Texas ; Dallas Black Dance Theatre; Dallas Symphony Orchestra League; Ernst & Young LLP; Fossil Group; Hinojosa Architects and Interiors; Junior Players; Lone Star Wind Orchestra; Sarah Losinger; Deborah and Jim Nugent; Plano Symphony Orchestra; Theatre Three; The Dallas Opera Board of Directors; Turtle Creek Chorale; Undermain Theatre; Sammons Center for the Arts; Nicole and Justin Small; and Marnie and Kern Wildenthal.

* Listing as of February 1, 2020

About the 2020 TACA Silver Cup Recipients

Matrice Ellis-Kirk (photo courtesy of Gittings)

Matrice Ellis-Kirk

Dallas business and community leader Matrice Ellis-Kirk has been a lifelong lover of the arts and a champion of the Dallas cultural community. She is simultaneously a voice of support for the city’s historic cultural institutions, and for providing resources to support diverse new, small and ethnic-focused arts groups. She has been a strong advocate for arts education and community engagement, and for bringing new voices and diversity onto board and leadership positions.

Chair of the AT&T Performing Arts Center Board of Directors since 2015, her Center Board services began in 2001.  She serves on the Board of Directors for TITAS/Dance Unbound, and has been a longtime supporter of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.  She has also served on the board of the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and the Museum of Natural History and Science.  Last year she was awarded the Peacemaker Award by the Turtle Creek Chorale for her passion for diversity and governance.

Mike Rawlings (photo courtesy of Gittings)

Mike Rawlings

 Prior to his election, former Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings declared, “I want to be the Arts Mayor of Dallas!”  He then spent the next eight years fulfilling that promise, and being the city’s top cheerleader for the arts – at home, in Austin, Washington, or around the world.  In his first term, Rawlings started Dallas Arts Week, expanding it to Dallas Arts Month in 2016.  He launched Creative Conversations during Arts Month to highlight important issues in the arts community, and he was the first mayor to specifically designate a staff member to be a liaison to the Office of Arts and Culture and the arts community.

Working tirelessly to win financial support for the arts, and connecting businesses with arts organizations, Rawlings has been a champion for growth of both the Dallas Art Fair and the Nasher Prize.  Further, he was a critical supporter of the landmark proposal by the Moody Foundation to create the $10 million Moody Fund for the Arts.  His arts leadership is recognized beyond Dallas.  In fact, Rawlings was awarded the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 2018 National Award for Local Arts Leadership from the Americans for the Arts.

About TACA
TACA – The Arts Community Alliance – supports excellence and impact in the arts through grant-making, capacity building, and thought leadership. TACA envisions an innovative, inclusive, sustainable cultural sector recognized for its essential contribution to a vibrant, prosperous community. Since its founding in 1967, TACA has worked to establish North Texas’ cultural community as one of the strongest in the nation. TACA’s growing investment in the arts translates to new premieres and productions, impactful residencies and community initiatives, and more opportunities for artists and audiences to connect – all striving to make Dallas a dynamic city and a great place to live and work.

For more information about TACA, call 214-520-3930 or visit taca-arts.org. Connect with TACA on Facebook at facebook.com/tacadallas, Twitter at @TACADallas or on Instagram at @TACADallas.