An Artful Unveiling

Uptown Dallas’ West Village unveils cool new mural with proper party

Ricardo Paniagua's new mural in West Village is being revealed November 11.

Photo courtesy of West Village

West Village has thrived for almost 15 years as a mixed-use urban district in the heart of Uptown Dallas, embracing culture and change. West Village is committed to developing relationships within the local artist community with the goal of increasing public art in the district.

In October 2016, West Village commissioned a large-scale mural by Dallas artist Ricardo Paniagua, with an unveiling event on Friday, November 11, 6-9 pm. Paniagua plans to reveal the name of his mural, along with the inspiration behind it.

“The last four or five years, I’ve been making these fiberglass wall sculptures, and this mural is kind of a painting of my sculptural work in two dimensions,” Paniagua says. “It was total creative freedom.”

Planners at West Village envisioned a landmark to express their growing relationship with the Dallas artistic community. Paniagua’s latest work, which measures approximately 13 feet by 40 feet, celebrates the realization of that vision.

His artist’s statement explains his mural “attempts to resolve its identity as a color field painting, primarily its vast surface area reduced to a singularity of multitudinous diamonds sets precedent for color alone to achieve a kinetic opticality of trompe l’oeil qualities.”

Dallas native Paniagua is well known in the local art scene. Recurrent within his work are themes ranging from the pattern and decoration movement, op art, color field painting, and other incarnations of geometrical and/or geometric abstraction. With a rigorous work ethic and eye for detail that can be traced back to a lineage of master tile artisans, Paniagua is recognized for uniquely articulated craftsmanship in much of his work.

The unveiling event, held in Center Drive between Taco Diner and Malai Kitchen, is hosted by West Village style ambassador Alex Young of Eat Style Dallas. Expect tunes by DJ Christy Ray, sips and bites, and an interactive photo booth. Many will know Ray as the daughter of famed Salt-N-Pepa artist DJ Spinderella.

Official event partners are Bisous Bisous Pâtisserie, Brewed + Pressed, Buda Juice, Mi Cocina, Grimaldi’s Pizzeria, Nine Band Brewing, On the Rock Cocktails, Public School 214, and Sushi Zushi.

Visit the West Village website for event details and updates: westvillagedallas.com/mural

event-planner uptown inspiration promoted

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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