Aurora last lit up Dallas in 2013, but this year you have a chance to be a part of it.
Photo by Scogin Mayo
Aurora, the massive multimedia art exhibit that blew Dallas minds in 2013, would like you to contribute to its next iteration, returning to downtown Dallas on October 16.
An immersive art experience that incorporates music, performance art, video and sound from artists around the world, Aurora takes place in downtown Dallas every two years.
This year, the founders are seeking your personal photos to become part of an installation called Memory Lane. Artists Veronika Georgieva and Stephen Shanabrook and curator Tim Goossens will set up a multi-screen installation on North Harwood Street between Klyde Warren Park and Flora Street. According to a release, it will "allow the community to see what life looked like in our region and the diverse and growing array of citizens who have helped shape it."
If you want to be part of it, submit photos taken from 1901 through 2000, highlighting momentous events such as births, weddings, vacations, get-togethers, aas well as daily life shots from hospitals, army bases, prisons, and orphanages. The deadline is September 23; for rules and submission specifics, go here.
Your submission enters you to win a pair of VIP tickets, which include two adult beverages, access to VIP lounges, and tickets to the afterparty in Strauss Square. There will be two winners: an Artist's Choice, awarded by the Aurora Memory Lane artists, and a People’s Choice, awarded by public vote. Winners will be chosen after the contest closes, and will be notified via e-mail.
It was a shot fired from Austin that rang out around the art world: In a recent CNN/Variety Town Hall featuring actors Timothée Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey, Chalamet offered an assessment of ballet and opera that immediately went viral.
During the onstage conversation at the University of Texas at Austin, Chalamet said, "I don't want to be working in ballet or opera, or you know, things where it's like, 'hey, keep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this anymore.' All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership."
Chalamet immediately seemed to experience a twinge of regret, awkwardly adding, "But um...damn, I just took shots for no reason." He also sang a note and hid his face behind the cards he was holding.
Stars of the art forms, from Andrea Bocelli to Misty Copeland, immediately began to leap (jeté, if you will) to the the defense of opera and ballet.
In a genius marketing move, Austin's hometown ballet company is taking the unique opportunity to turn a hot topic into a promotion for its next production: Ballet Austin is inviting anyone named Timothée, Timothee, or Timothy to claim a free ticket to its upcoming world premiere of Marie Antoinette: Vampire Queen of Versailles, running March 27-29 at the Long Center for the Performing Arts.
"Timothée… you were in Austin? We were literally down the street," a Ballet Austin post says. "Austin has brisket. Austin has music. Austin also has ballet."
All Timothées and folks with similar names will have to do to claim a ticket is send a message to Ballet Austin on social media and show identification. Everyone else who wants to see the supernatural show where "the line between victim and villain blurs" will have to purchase a ticket ($25-$125) at balletaustin.org.
Ballet Austin isn't afraid to add some edge to classic stories. Photo courtesy of Ballet Austin
Even if Chalamet's words were dismissive, he's obviously not wrong about the relative distribution of public interest between the classical arts and major films like Marty Supreme, the late 2025 film he stars in and is busy promoting. The film's commercially successful release set a record for A24, an already renowned studio.
Chalamet brought up ballet and opera in service of a larger point about pacing in movies. He said he exists in a middle ground as a consumer between wanting to be drawn in early and being more patient as a film progresses. Ultimately, he juxtaposed Barbie and Oppenheimer with the classical arts, pointing out that if the masses want to go see a film, they will "be loud and proud about it" organically, without needing performers to advocate for the seriousness of the art form.
Coincidentally, there couldn't be a better counterpoint to this argument than Marie Antoinette: Vampire Queen of Versailles.
As the title suggests, the story follows historical figure Marie Antoinette as she chooses to become a vampire, seeking "power, immortality, and vengeance," according to a press release. It takes a somewhat silly premise and gives it dramatic gravitas, with an original score by Austin composer Graham Reynolds, who is known outside of classical circles and sometimes composes for movie soundtracks.
"For Ballet Austin, the moment is an opportunity to remind audiences that ballet isn’t fading away," says a release about the new promotion. "It’s evolving, drawing new audiences and continuing to thrive in creative cities like Austin."
If Chalamet really does fall in the middle of instant and delayed artistic gratification, this sounds like the perfect production to draw him in.
And perhaps Ballet Austin should add people named Matthew to their promotion, since McConaughey threw the younger star a bone after his momentary walk-back, saying, "That's not a shot — I hear what you're saying."
Ballet Austin isn't afraid to add some edge to classic stories. Photo courtesy of Ballet Austin