January & February 2024 Pop-Up Grant Recipients February 21, 2024

Meet the Pop-Up Grants Recipients for January & February

We are opening the curtains on 2024 with three standout Pop-Up Grants programs! These productions included diverse artistic endeavors, challenging us to see complexity in familiar stories and immerse ourselves in the creativity of the Dallas arts community.

Dallas Black Dance Theatre and Dallas Museum of Art

Echoes of Diaspora: A Ballet Inspired by “Afro-Atlantic Histories”

Unrestricted Grant: $2,500 Pop-Up Grant
Artist Bonus Funds: $5,000 Artist Bonus Funding

Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s second company, DBDT: Encore!, performed the world premiere of Echoes of Diaspora: A Ballet Inspired by “Afro-Atlantic Histories,” choreographed by DBDT: Encore! Artistic Director Nycole Ray and commissioned by the Dallas Museum of Art for its Arts & Letters Live series. Echoes of Diaspora was an immersive and poignant journey through time, culture, and the enduring spirit of the African Diaspora. Audiences were invited to embark on an emotional odyssey portraying the resilience and strength of a people forging their identity amidst adversity and tracing their own profound narratives.

Presented by the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) on the final stop of its U.S. tour, Afro-Atlantic Histories was an unprecedented exhibition that visually explored the history and legacy of the Black diaspora, with a focus on the transatlantic slave trade.

Founded in 1976 by Ann Williams, the mission of Dallas Black Dance Theatre is to create and produce contemporary modern dance at its highest level of artistic excellence through performances and educational programs that bridge cultures and reach diverse communities. With an ever-expanding national and global audience, the company employs a diverse, multi-ethnic troupe of dancers performing for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Dallas Black Dance Theatre is the oldest, continuously operating professional dance company in Dallas. Under the direction of the Artistic Director, Melissa M. Young, the contemporary company consists of 14 professional, full-time dancers performing a mixed repertory of modern, ballet, jazz, and ethnic works by nationally and internationally known choreographers. Over the course of its history, DBDT has performed for 4 million arts patrons and 2.6 million children worldwide (40,000 annually youth grades K–12). Follow Dallas Black Dance Theatre on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Located in the nation’s largest arts district, the DMA is a catalyst for community creativity, engaging people of all ages and backgrounds with a diverse spectrum of programming, from exhibitions and lectures to concerts, literary events, and dramatic performances.

Irving Symphony Orchestra

Let’s Dance

Unrestricted Grant: $2,500 Pop-Up Grant
Artist Bonus Funds: $5,000 Artist Bonus Funding

Irving Symphony Orchestra is keeping classical music alive with composers such as Dvorak, Khachaturian, and Bernstein but blending cultural influences in musical compositions and dance give sight and sound to an evening of amazement. Dancers include MEXICO 2000 Ballet Folklorico, Evolution Tango Dancers, and Dallas Black Dance Theater: Encore!

The mission of the Irving Symphony Orchestra is to provide artistically satisfying musical and educational programs for the people of Irving and the surrounding region; creating a climate in which the Irving Symphony Orchestra will flourish in a fiscally sound manner. Learn more about Irving Symphony Orchestra on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Vimeo.

Nasher Sculpture Center

Empire of Dirt

Unrestricted Grant: $2,500 Pop-Up Grant
Artist Bonus Funds: $5,000 Artist Bonus Funding

Nasher Sculpture Center‘s collective Empire of Dirt comprises Xxavier Edward Carter, Tabatha Trolli, and Gata Voladora, who work in a range of media encompassing ceramics, works on paper, installation, and performance. Their collaboration for Invocation of the Cosmic Body presents, as the artists have put it, “a world-bending environment for visitors to examine their scale against the face of the expanding universe.”Located in the heart of the Dallas Arts District, the Nasher Sculpture Center is home to one of the finest collections of modern and contemporary sculpture in the world. As a nonprofit, community-supported museum and sculpture garden, The Nasher introduces broad audiences to new ideas and experiences via exhibitions and public programs, promotes access to the arts in Dallas, supports the city’s progress as a world-class cultural center, and sets the standard for the display and interpretation of modern and contemporary sculpture. Keep in touch with The Nasher on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest.

WHAT’S A POP-UP GRANT?
We started our Pop-Up Grant program to shine a light on arts organizations creating programming that demonstrates exceptional quality, innovation, and accessibility safely, without skimping on the creative impact.

HOW DO YOU PICK THE RECIPIENTS?
Grant recipients are meticulously selected via a nomination process that incorporates 70+ anonymous volunteers. Nominations are made each month and a selection committee meets afterward to determine grantees based on our criteria above.

To learn more about Pop-Up Grants, please click here.

HEADER PHOTO: Nasher Sculpture Center’s Empire of Dirt