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In the Dallas May bond election, we have an opportunity to make critical infrastructure investments across our city, improving the quality of life today and setting Dallas up for a brighter future. A “for” vote (yes) on all 10 bond propositions will make a significant difference, especially for our city-owned arts facilities — with no new taxes.
Dallas is a national arts leader. The breadth of our cultural community reaches far beyond our downtown Dallas Arts District, the nation’s largest arts district. Dallas has more than 100 nonprofit cultural organizations spanning art forms, genres, size, reach, ethnicity and more. Many rely on cultural venues owned by the city of Dallas, from neighborhood cultural centers and century-old spaces to iconic structures in our Arts District.
Each of these facilities needs critical repairs and updates to deal with maintenance that, in some cases, has been deferred for decades. In fact, the needs inventory for all Office of Arts and Culture venues has grown to $133 million. The 2024 Bond Program provides a historic opportunity to start turning this around.
Proposition E would provide $75.2 million to begin making long overdue fixes to 15 city-owned facilities across Dallas: Annette Strauss Square, Bath House Cultural Center, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Dallas Museum of Art, Kalita Humphreys Theater, Latino Cultural Center, Majestic Theatre, Meyerson Symphony Center, Moody Performance Hall, Oak Cliff Cultural Center, Sammons Center for the Arts, Sammons Park at the Winspear, South Dallas Cultural Center, Winspear Opera House and Wyly Theatre.
Prop E is focused entirely on basic, but critical stuff: HVAC, roofs, elevators, fire suppression, ADA access, restrooms, historic preservation, electric panels and more. Nothing shiny and new; just taking care of what we’ve got. If approved May 4, we can:
- Repair the roof of the Meyerson Symphony Center where water is pooling, threatening the jewel box of a chamber below.
- Replace elevators in the Wyly Theatre, which almost daily deny audiences and staff access to its stages and offices.
- Replace the Dallas Museum of Art’s fire suppression system, protecting patrons, staff and billions of dollars in art — 29% of which is owned by the city of Dallas.
- Make critical foundation repairs to the Latino Cultural Center.
- Upgrade seating in the Majestic Theatre, which hasn’t been changed since it reopened in 1983.
- Repair the crumbling terracotta roof tiles on Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s home, the Historic Moorland YMCA.
These fixes are vital to artists and patrons, and support a critical segment of our local economy. The 2022 Arts and Economic Prosperity Study conducted by Americans for the Arts showed the Dallas nonprofit arts community creates an $853 million economic impact, supports 14,000 jobs, generates $40 million in local and state tax revenue and helps attract corporate relocations as well as cultural tourism. In 2022, Dallas arts attracted 6.8 million visits, 2.5 million from outside Dallas, all of which spent money here.
To sustain this return on investment and remain competitive, we must care for these venues. Frisco wants to build its own performing arts center. Irving’s City Council just approved $30 million in upgrades to Toyota Music Factory, a venue just 6 years old. A new 20,000-seat stage was just approved in McKinney. We love our neighbors, but we can’t sit back and let them pass us by. To maintain our edge, we must maintain our venues.
You’ve likely heard something like, “The city of Dallas is great at building things but not good at taking care of them.” This is our best chance to start turning that around. Again, with no new taxes.
The Dallas arts community is diverse, passionate and outspoken, yet on this, we’re on the same page. Everyone understands the central role these venues play in our cultural ecosystem. They are a source of pride for Dallas and North Texas. But if the roof leaks, the AC doesn’t work, patrons get stuck in elevators, then audiences and artists won’t come.
Our community is united in asking voters to please vote yes on all 10 bond propositions, including Prop E to help our art community thrive and benefit all of Dallas.
Agustín Arteaga is the Eugene McDermott Director of the Dallas Museum of Art. Zenetta Drew is executive director of the Dallas Black Dance Theatre. Warren Tranquada is president and CEO of the AT&T Performing Arts Center.
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