Saturday, August 18, 2007

Dallas Center for the Performing Arts has collected oodles of donations

By Pegasus News wire

The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, the multi-venue complex being built on Ross Avenue, has reached what it calls a "historical milestone" in fundraising efforts: 105 gifts of $1 million or more, with more than $252 million coming mostly from private donations. The amount of money coming in is breaking records. It's unprecedented in U.S. history for an arts or cultural organization. Rich people can't give this place enough money!

The statement from Bill Lively, president and CEO, doesn't get into too much hyperbole. Here:

"We developed the concept and goal of the campaign to build the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts based on our perceptions of the generosity of the Dallas community. We believed that if we explained the concept for a world-class performing arts center and the impact the Center will have on Dallas and the region for the next century, the people in this community would support this project in unprecedented ways. How gratifying it is to report that, with only two years remaining until the Center's grand opening, 100 Dallas families and organizations have made gifts of $1 million and more to help build the Center, an achievement that is a testament to the credibility of the project and the remarkable generosity of the community."

They're also saying that the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts marks the most ambitious arts building project in the U.S. since New York's Lincoln Center in the early 1960's. Did they say New York?

Arts companies slated for residence are the Dallas Opera, Dallas Theatre Center, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Texas Ballet Theatre and the Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico. It is also the center's intention to host Broadway touring productions as well as lectures, films and various arts programs. Broadway -- like New York?

Covering over ten acres, The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts will also provide the city with its first public park -- hey, another park -- and will feature cafes and restaurants. Further information, as well as artist renderings of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, is available by visiting the Web site.

Posted by T.G.

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