Get ready for a week of art around town at the Dallas Art Fair

The Dallas Art Fair kicks off Thursday for its 4-day run at the Fashion Institute Gallery (F.I.G.) in the Dallas Arts District. National and international galleries will display a range of artworks, including paintings, sculpture, video and installations by modern and contemporary artists.

Every year, the Dallas Museum of Art also selects works to add to its permanent collection as part of the Dallas Art Fair Foundation Acquisition Program. Ten artworks from this year’s fair have been selected.

“”Three are from right here in Dallas and others coming from around the globe, including Poland and Kenya,” said Dr. Anna Katherine Brodbeck, the DMA’s curator of contemporary art. “Some are at the very beginning of their careers. The youngest artist is just 23. Some have been making work for decades and are newly finding well-deserved acclaim for their robust body of work.”

The Dallas-based artists are Xxavier Edward Carter, Keer Tanchak and Evita Tezeno. The other artists are Sarah Awad, Kohshin Finley, Jessie Homer French, Athena LaTocha, Kaloki Nyamai, Krzysztof Strzelecki and Benjamin Styer.

“It’s truly changed careers,” said Dallas Art Fair director Kelly Cornell. “Putting these artists of all different levels directly into the DMA’s permanent collection? It’s incredible.”

Brodbeck and Cornell said the acquisition program allows the fair and the DMA to be responsive to the most exciting ideas coming out of the contemporary art world right now.

Some of the past artists selected during the fair have gone on to great acclaim. The DMA acquired a piece from the late painter Matthew Wong at the fair in 2017. Now, the museum will host Wong’s first retrospective this fall.

“He had never been in a museum collection before and now he’s widely collected,” Brodbeck said.

Here’s a look at the other events around town this week at or related to the fair.

Wednesday

• Dallas Design District Art Night: Before the Fair even opens, the Dallas Design District hosts its first ever Arts Night. Start the evening with BBQ and drinks at River Bend (150 Manufacturing Street) and visit 12.26, Erin Cluley Gallery, The Green Art Family Foundation, Keijsers Koning, and PDNB. Nearby galleries and museums such as, The Karpidas Collection, Dallas Contemporary, Site 131, Conduit Gallery, Galleri Urbane, Peter Augustus, Cris Worley Fine Art, and Holly Johnson Gallery—will also be open late.
• Power Station: Hadi Fallahpisheh – Young and Clueless Stop by the Power Station in Downtown Dallas for the opening reception of Hadi Fallahpisheh’s exhibition Young and Clueless. Fallahpisheh is a storyteller who incorporates cartoons of cats, mice and stick figures into his art. Themes of isolation, conflict and anxiety are seen in this solo exhibition that include paintings, photography, sculpture, and mixed media works.

Thursday

• Performance | Xxavier Edward Carter: Where There Are Mountains to Move
  For Dallas Art Fair, Carter performs his exploration into the myth of Sisyphus. Suited, Carter moves the remains of a broken rock to higher ground one push at a time, physically reassembling broken pieces. The performance ritualizes struggle and is a reminder to persist even after a burden has seemingly been lifted. The free performance happens at Henry C. Beck Jr. Park at 4 p.m

Friday

• Artist Book Signing with Josh Sperling, Presented by Perrotin and The Joule New York-based artist Josh Sperling, who is best known for his boldly colored shaped canvas pieces, will be signing copies of his catalogue raisonné The ABC to XYZ of Josh Sperling (Volume A) and Volume 8 of Between the Lines: an RxART Coloring Book in the hotel’s lobby.
• Video Art Nights presented by AURORA: Enjoy live music and a market followed by a video program including a selection of videos by Ukrainian artists. The program happens at Pegasus Plaza from 6 to midnight.

Saturday

• Dallas Art Fair Panel Discussion: The Roaring ’20s: Growth of Arts in Dallas The Nasher Sculpture Center hosts Billy Fong – Editor-in-Chief of PaperCity’s Dallas and Fort Worth Editions; Jeremy Strick – Director of the Nasher Sculpture Center; Cris Worley – Dallas-based contemporary art dealer and Dallas Art Fair exhibitor; and William Hathaway – Partner at Night Gallery and a longtime Dallas Art Fair exhibitor for a discussion into how and why the Dallas art market is booming.
• Closing Party – The Eye Ball: The Dallas Art Fair wraps up on the lawn at The Joule Hotel on Saturday with its signature closing party, The Eye Ball. Purchase of a pARTy Pass is required. Check the Dallas Art Fair website for details.

The Dallas Art Fair is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. A complete list of participating artists and activities can be found on the Dallas Art Fair website.