Secret Arts Patron

Mysterious donor doles out $9 million to Dallas Museum of Art

Thanks to an anonymous donor, the Dallas Museum of Art is now $9 million richer. The money will support the museum's free admission policy and allow the DMA to digitize its permanent collection with an interactive, educational website.

The DMA revealed the sizable donation on November 5. Museum director Maxwell L. Anderson praised the donor's generosity.

"We are deeply grateful to our donor for the exceeding generosity and the significance of this gift," Anderson said in a statement. "With this donation, the DMA will become one of the world’s most open and accessible museums."

The funds will be distributed almost evenly between free admission support ($4 million) and collection digitization ($5 million). When the museum returned to a free admission policy in January, it also created DMA Friends, a free membership program that has attracted more than 35,000 new visitors.

DMA deputy director Robert Stein called the new donation a strong vote of confidence in the museum's open access efforts onsite and online. "This donation is making an important statement about the value of open cultural data for the future of our field," Stein said in a statement.

"I’m thrilled about the opportunity this provides for the DMA to make a significant impact in the field digitally."

The donation goes into effect immediately and includes a provision to raise $2 million in matching funds over a five-year period.

The $9 million donation will support free admission and collection digitization.

Photo courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art

The $9 million donation will support free admission and collection digitization.

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Season Announcement

Kitchen Dog Theater unleashes immersive 2025 season in new Dallas space

Kitchen Dog Theater presents Safe at Home

Photo by Jordan Fraker

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Seven years after announcing it had purchased a building in the Design District, Kitchen Dog Theater is finally ready to move into its new home.

The third and final production of its 2025 season — the theater company's 34th — will take place all around the new "Doghouse." The other two productions will follow the immersive format at non-traditional performance spaces that was established last season.

With three fully produced events that each run the gambit from captivating and gutsy to heartfelt and hilarious, the monthly New Works Festival Staged Readings Series returns, as does the 23rd annual PUP Fest, nurturing high school talent from all over DFW.

First up is the area premiere of Will Eno's Wakey, Wakey, directed by KDT's artistic director Tina Parker and starring KDT co-artistic director Christopher Carlos.

"Is it now? I thought I had more time." These first words in Will Eno's play are spoken by Guy, a man who knows, like all of us on some level, that he is about to die. The play questions why we are here and the journeys that everyone takes to eventually get to the same place. Performances will take place at Expo Park, 840 Exposition Avenue, and run February 7-23, 2025.

Production No. 2 is full of mystery: The title and performance location will be announced soon and run in March/April 2025.

The Happiness Gymby Ken Weitzman closes out the season in August 2025 (exact dates TBA).

This regional premiere is a joyous, experiential event based on the science of well-being. Participants take part in a curated theatrical experience meant to boost their sense of happiness, joy, and feelings of connection. This one-of-a-kind project will be the soft opening to Kitchen Dog’s new theater and will take place all over the entire facility, giving patrons unparalleled access to KDT’s new home.

From March to July 2025, the 26th annual 2025 New Works Festival will showcase four-to-five staged readings of the newest and most exciting local and regional playwrights working in contemporary theater today. Each reading will feature some of DFW's most accomplished actors and directors and will take place at different venues across DFW.

For its 23rd annual event, PUP Fest will feature six staged readings of jury-selected plays written by DFW high school students, featuring student actors directed by area professional directors. PUP Fest is the culminating event of Dallas Playwriting Arts Collective (D-PAC), a partnership with Dallas ISD and Junior Players. Performance location is TBA, but the event will happen June 7, 2025.

For more information, visit kitchendogtheater.org or call 214-953-1055.

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