Dallas has one of the Top 12 arts district in the nation, according to ArtPlace study

by Tiney Ricciardi

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Did you know Dallas has the largest arts district in the nation?

DALLAS — The Dallas Arts District has grown exponentially in recent years, and now it is being dubbed one of the Top 12 in the nation.

According to an inaugural study released by ArtPlace on Monday, Dallas and 11 other cities have “successfully combined the arts, artists, and venues for creativity and expression with independent businesses, restaurants, and a walkable lifestyle to make vibrant neighborhoods.”

The city selection process was based on six indicative factors: the number of retail and service businesses, the percentage of independent businesses, a neighborhood “walk score,” the percentage of workers involved in a creative occupation, the number of arts-related businesses, and the number of arts-related non-profits. The first four factors indicate the city’s vibrancy and the last two measure artistic influence.

The study found 24 arts-related businesses and 30 arts-related non-profit organizations in the combined neighborhoods of Downtown Dallas, Deep Ellum and Exposition Park. ArtPlace said 87% of businesses in the area are independently owned and 6.5% of workers have a creative occupation.

“Today the Arts District is the meeting ground for the city’s visual and performing arts institutions,” the report says, adding that it is the largest arts district in the nation, spanning 68 acres and 19 contiguous blocks.

The Dallas Arts District attracts more than 1.5 million ticketed visitors a year and has, thus far, generated a $128 million in economic impact, according to ArtPlace.

Local hot spots such as Kettle Art Gallery, Booker T. Washington High School, and the food truck rallies at One Arts Plaza got a shout-out in the report alongside the better-known Nasher Sculpture Center and the Dallas Museum of Art. However, the report acknowledged Dallas' Arts District was a long time coming. Plans began in the early 1970s, and in 2009, the AT&T Performing Arts Center (ATT PAC) was finally a reality.

Joining Dallas on the ArtPlace list are:

• Brooklyn, New York (the intersection of downtown, Fort Greene, Gowanus, Park Slope and Prospect Heights)
• Central Hollywood in Los Angeles
• South Beach in Miami
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin (East Town and a portion of the Lower East Side)
• Manhattan Valley in New York City
• Downtown Oakland, California (including Chinatown, Old Oakland and Jack London Square)
• Old City in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• The Pearl District and part of downtown Portland, Oregon
• The Mission in San Francisco
• The Pike-Pine Corridor in Seattle
• Washington, D.C. at the intersection of Adams Morgan, U Street and Dupont Circle

You can read the full report here.

ArtPlace is a collaboration of 13 national and regional foundations, eight federal agencies and six large banks with the intention to “accelerate creative pace making across the U.S.” by way of grants and loans to artistic organizations.

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