Community Leader Matrice Ellis-Kirk and Former Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings
DALLAS – TACA (The Arts Community Alliance) has announced that Matrice Ellis-Kirk and Mike Rawlings will be honored as the 42nd TACA Silver Cup Award recipients at the organization’s annual luncheon scheduled for March 10, 2020. The TACA Silver Cup Award Luncheon presented by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Neiman Marcus will take place at the Fairmont Dallas. Celebrated annually, the event serves as a unique opportunity to cast the spotlight on two individuals who have contributed richly to the cultural fabric of the community through their unparalleled devotion to the arts.
Students of Junior Players performing excerpts from “Little Shop of Horrors.”
TACA announced Ellis-Kirk and Rawlings as its selected honorees last evening at the Donor Appreciation Reception & Silver Cup 2020 Recipient Announcement event at the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek. The gathering served as an opportunity to thank TACA’s most loyal and generous donors and sponsors. Entertainment was provided by Harpist Alison Read and the students of Junior Players performing excerpts from “Little Shop of Horrors.”
“On behalf of TACA, it’s my great honor to announce the selection of our 2020 Silver Cup honorees, business and community leader Matrice Ellis-Kirk and former Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings,” said TACA Board Chair Michelle Thomas. “Both have contributed significantly to the advancement of arts and culture in our city and are most deserving of this acclaim. We look forward to the TACA Silver Cup Award luncheon next March when we’ll celebrate the honorees as we thank them for their incredible service to Dallas.”
Below please find biographical information about the arts and cultural contributions made by the 2020 honorees:
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
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 Cultural Affairs 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.
To learn more about the TACA Silver Cup Award Luncheon, visit taca-arts.org. To purchase tickets or tables, please contact Bailey Summers, TACA’s Development Associate, at bailey.summers@taca-arts.org or 214.520.3926.
Media Contact: Brett Gray, Brett@BrettGrayPR.com, 214.557.6233
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.
More Media & Blog
TACA announces five 2024 recipients of its New Works Fund
Meet the Pop-Up Grant Recipients for September & October
