Artful innovation

Art collectors can shop their favorite Texas galleries through this new Dallas-based site

The Dallas Art Fair took place virtually this spring.

Photo by Sylvia Elzafon

Like every other business that's had to pivot during the coronavirus pandemic, artists, gallerists, and those who support them have had to innovate, too. Out of that creativity, the team behind the Dallas Art Fair has launched a new digital marketplace for contemporary art collectors to discover, connect, and buy from galleries across Texas.

Called Culture Place (no relation to your beloved CultureMap), the site went live July 9. It's a natural extension of the first-ever online Dallas Art Fair, which resulted in nearly $3 million in sales for participating galleries over 10 days last spring, organizers say.

The goal is to support smaller, local galleries across the region that could benefit from more financial help and year-round visibility.

“Culture Place will enable dealers to connect with our audience of collectors on an ongoing basis, to engage more deeply in conversations about art in today’s world, and to facilitate the sale of art when the opportunity for physical engagement has evaporated," says John Sughrue, Culture Place founder and Dallas Art Fair chairman, in a release. "We have cultivated meaningful relationships and friendships with our gallerists over the past dozen years and we aim to continue to help them showcase their artists’ work to the world."

The marketplace will predominantly focus on Texas galleries, but will also welcome galleries and programming from neighboring states, they say. Weekly artist studio visits, conversations, and other online programming will enhance the site, and galleries will be able to refresh their artworks every 60 days.

Collectors can easily search for art by gallery, artist, and title, and then make their purchase securely through the Culture Place site. Artworks are shipped to buyers.

“Culture Place is an ongoing digital exchange to promote a cultural lifestyle," says Kelly Cornell, director of both Culture Place and Dallas Art Fair, in the release. "We will continue our mission to connect our audience to a curated offering while highlighting the best of our region."

As of launch time, the participating galleries are:

12.26 (Dallas)
Bill Arning Exhibitions (Houston)
Conduit Gallery (Dallas)
Cris Worley Fine Arts (Dallas)
David Shelton Gallery (Houston)
Dirty Dark Place (Austin)
Erin Cluley Gallery (Dallas)
Galleri Urbane (Dallas)
Holly Johnson Gallery (Dallas)
Inman Gallery (Houston)
Laura Rathe Fine Art (Dallas/Houston)
Liliana Bloch Gallery (Dallas)
McClain Gallery (Houston)
Moody Gallery (Houston)
Nancy Littlejohn Fine Art (Houston)
Ruiz-Healy Art (San Antonio)
Sean Horton (presents) (Dallas)
Valley House Gallery & Sculpture Garden (Dallas)
William Campbell Contemporary Art (Fort Worth)

galleries

Museum News

National Medal of Honor Museum offers preview at downtown Dallas event

AT&T

The AT&T Discovery District hosted a mobile museum pop-up.

A high-profile museum opening in 2025 offered a preview in downtown Dallas: It's The National Medal of Honor Museum, slated to open in Arlington, at Nolan Ryan Expressway and AT&T Way in the Stadium district in spring 2025.

To give folks a preview of coming attractions, the institution dispatched a mobile museum to make a visit to the AT&T Discovery District on November 20, during lunchtime when foot traffic is brisk.

Imagine the sense of wonder and amazement that downtown Dallas denizens must have felt upon the sight of a double decker bus, parked in the District, equipped with video and historical information about the Medal of Honor award, stories of the recipients, and a rendering of how the museum in Arlington will look.

The National Medal of Honor MuseumCourtesy rendering

The goal of The National Medal of Honor Museum is to inspire Americans by honoring and preserving the history of the highest military decoration awarded for valor in combat.

They hope it will serve as a national landmark, illustrating the historical thread of sacrifice and patriotism that runs through all U.S. military service members, past and present.

Beyond its state-of-the-art, interactive experiences, a critical part of the Museum’s mission will be to use the stories of Medal of Honor recipients to inspire their fellow Americans.

It will incorporate the AT&T Virtual Recipient Theater, an augmented reality experience where visitors can interact with with Medal of Honor recipients. The space will be equipped with cutting-edge conversational AI technology complete with voice recognition to allow museum goers to have a conversation in a 3D format with medal of honor recipients living and past.

It will also have AT&T Branded Wi-Fi throughput the museum.

Interior of the mobile Medal of Honor Museum.AT&T