TACA Arts Insider with Deborah McMurray and Dustin Vyers
New TACA Brand
Can you share a bit about the collaboration behind TACA’s new brand and the vision that guided your approach? What key elements or themes did you prioritize in shaping the brand’s new direction?
Deborah: I’ve been creating strategies and brands for more than 30 years, and, to me, TACA’s brand and messaging never reflected its impact and relevance as a bold arts leader. As a board member and arts advocate, I was thrilled to be a part of the group to analyze why TACA’s future deserved more. Additionally, by working with the TACA team and consultant Suzanne Smith, we refreshed our mission, vision and values. IGNITE is the acronym for TACA’s values: inclusive, genuine, nimble, impactful, trusted, entrepreneurial. In rethinking the brand, we anchored ourselves there but focused on the horizon of arts’ impact and need.
Maura Sheffler and Rhonda Layton on the inside, and Dustin Vyers, Brett Gray, and me on the outside – together we reimagined the arts world we wanted TACA to lead. The words vibrancy, connection and movement inspired us to push harder to seek an agile, energetic answer.
Dustin: It was wonderful to collaborate with Maura Sheffler, Deborah McMurray, and Brett Gray on this project. Each person brought a unique perspective and skill set to the table when building this new branding. I had been working with Maura on general marketing assets for TACA for a while, and in a discussion early on in 2024, we both sort of concluded that a refresh was necessary for the organization to move forward ––– under new leadership, and as the arts, and marketing in general, move into a more digital space and modern future. Our first foray into the refresh became more of a palette cleanser, using a simple red paint stroke, as if we were saying “under construction.” Maura introduced me to Deborah and Brett, and from there we started workshopping everything from TACA’s mission to its voice, which is where we started this journey. We leaned into words like vibrancy, connection, movement –– and TACA’s role within the arts community. We wanted TACA to evolve in such a way that it honored its history while transitioning into relevance in this new digital future. Lastly, COLOR, COLOR, COLOR! Introducing bold new colors was key for us in telling the brand story.
In what ways do you hope the TACA brand will resonate with the arts community and supporters?
Deborah: I hope this new brand and what it stands for speaks to everyone in Dallas – those who are avid supporters of TACA and the arts, and those who aren’t yet. I hope people see themselves in this brand. Our message is that there is space for EVERYONE here. TACA is the place to discover the vastness of great artistic talent in any medium. If you want your heart and soul to be more open and alive, start with TACA.
Dustin: People do not always like change but sometimes change is necessary. I hope the new TACA brand will make the arts community, and its donors feel proud to be in a city that supports the arts in the way Dallas does. I hope that they feel a deeper connection to the organization –– whether that is through beneficiary applications, applying for grants, or making monthly or annual donations in support of arts organizations.
Support for the Arts
What inspires your passion for the arts, and why is supporting them important to you?
Deborah: My mother was a concert pianist and organist. I was two years old when she sat me at her piano and started my ear training. She turned the playing of notes and rhythms into a game, which I loved, so by age three, I read music before I could read words. Music led to theater, and I was intimately involved in both through college, and with music, into grad school as a flute performance major. My first career was in music as a performer and teacher, until I woke up on my 25th birthday and recognized I was a “morning person” – that’s when my world changed. I started a marketing career, and I transitioned to a theater and music subscriber, volunteer and then benefactor.
Dustin: I have always loved art and the practice of creating things. As a kid, I was always in the studio with my grandmother, painting and firing ceramics. Now, as an artist and creative myself, it’s important to me because it is my livelihood. More importantly than that, art allows for the expression of emotions, both for the artist and the receiver, on a level I’m not sure I fully understand. The way a specific note is combined with a specific word in a musical and how that pairing can bring you to tears or fully engulf your body in tingles, or the way you can get lost in the colors and brush strokes of a painting. It’s truly magical.
Are there any specific moments or experiences that deepened your commitment to the arts?
Deborah: One transcendent moment stands out as a performer: I was in graduate school at the University of Michigan when I played the flute part in Stravinsky’s Octet. Nothing was more extraordinary to me than feverishly working with others to create something meaningful. We were all kids, really, and it was the first time for all of us that we’d dug deeper as individuals than ever before, came together, and trusted our colleagues enough to fully expose what we’d learned about ourselves – to fully expose our souls. That performance was life-changing for all of us; we knew we’d never be the same.
That experience set the stage for me opening my senses to art in virtually every medium. My pulse races when I stand in front of certain pieces of art in a museum or gallery. Countless times in dark theaters, such as Dallas Theater Center, Second Thought Theatre, and others, I watch risk-taking, gorgeous performances where I feel raw with emotion, and I end up in tears. Each audience member has their own reaction to beautiful storytelling; that’s the magic of experiencing art together, of breathing the same air.
Dustin: There are two specific experiences I feel deepened my commitment to the arts – and not just painting. First, I was heavily involved with Spring Sing, a three-night song and dance event at my university where all of the social clubs each built a seven-minute themed show to perform in front of a 2,000+ audience. I spent one year as our club’s Spring Sing Director, working with a small team to write lyrics, design costumes and props, and choreograph our entire show. This was the first time I had ever done anything like this, and I loved it. Second, I saw Wicked for the first time at the West End in London in 2006. I mean, c’mon!
As an active TACA board member and chair of the Marketing Committee, Deborah McMurray — founder, CEO, and Strategy Architect of Content Pilot — brings invaluable expertise and visionary leadership to TACA. In collaboration with Dustin Vyers, a creative artist and designer at DustinVyers.com, they seamlessly combined strategy and artistry to craft a dynamic brand identity that embodies TACA’s mission.