Latinx Artistic Representation In Dallas, Texas

Written by Ash Towry

Everything is bigger in Texas, including the art scenes. There is no doubting the influence that Dallas, Texas has on the international art world. The city is buzzing with artists, collectors, galleries, and other institutions, which makes it a prime area for local artistic happenings. Dallas’ community has historically been extremely supportive and enthusiastic about its art scene, with the city providing spaces for its public to learn and engage with its art. The art community, specifically, is interrelatedly involved in such a way that it elevates Dallas to a communal status above the norm. With many art spaces and institutions providing opportunities to local emerging artists through grants and other programs, the contemporary Dallas art scene is seemingly stable and supportive of its creators. However, there is a group of local artists that do not seem to receive as much acknowledgement as they should: this group being the local Latinx artists of Dallas. Although art institutions have made recent strides towards Latinx inclusivity within their programs, there still lacks that inclusion of local Latinx artists. Such strides include the opening of the Latino Arts Project and the appointment of a Latin Arts Curator at the Dallas Museum of Art. These advancements are extremely important, however, in the journey towards recognition of local Latinx artists. Not only this, but local Latinx creators and/or collectives, such as the Latinos In Architecture group, Viola Delgado, and Angela Faz, will benefit from communal celebration of their work. Through education and celebration of Latin American cultures in the Dallas area, the city can help create a demand for its local Latinx artists. 

To understand the lack of artistic Latinx representation in the contemporary Dallas art scene, one must look upon the history of the city itself in conjunction with the rest of the state of Texas. The idea of Dallas was developed by John Neely Bryan and upon its fruition, was fairly peaceful. Bryan’s idea of what Dallas was meant to be was not one of violence, and instead was a calm merging of people and cultures. Though the colony faced struggles with crops and extreme weather, many wealthy (and mostly European) families stayed in the area, known at the time as “the Three Forks.” This allowed for the colony to invest time into its art community through its invested socialites. In time, Dallas formed a creative community through its support of the arts, both local and national (seen through the continuous efforts of the Dallas Arts Council). However, because of its European origin, there was an emphasis on Western art in the local art scene, as opposed to non-western art. Thus, this idea of Dallas was not directly culturally influenced by other non-white populations after its recognized founding in 1841. Despite this white idealized formation of the city, the history of the land is rich with many cultures. The land was built by Mexico, and before them, by the Wichita Tribe. Contemporary Dallas ignores its non-white history pre-1841 because of the ideal placed forth by John Neely Bryan when he named the land that housed the white settler s of the time. The timely name of “Dallas” demonstrates the seizing of the land by the colonists and thus is partially to blame for the lack of Latinx representation in the city’s contemporary culture. 

In conjunction with this, Texas has historically been a very conservative state and it has upheld white southern values and traditions since it declared its independence in 1836. The white-biased political climate has made it especially hard for Latinx people, or any person of color, to gain recognition among their white peers. Historically, Texas has institutionally inhibited people of color from their basic rights, such as voting, all the way up until 1964, with the establishment of the 24th amendment. This historic negligence of people of color has only added to the growth of racism and white-bias in the contemporary political climate within Texas, and specifically, within Dallas. Though these are not good reasons, they help to explain the lack of representation and the ignorance regarding Latinx culture. In order to solve the deficiency of knowledge regarding Latinx culture, Dallas must take on the task of educating its public of their Latin peers. 

As of May, 2019, Jorge Baldor has done just that and opened up a new door in Latinx artistic representation with the establishment of the Latino Arts Project. This newly founded pop-up museum rests in the Design District, near the world renowned Dallas Contemporary art gallery. This new institution has brought many Dallas locals to Latinx inspired events and exhibitions. Such exhibitions include, “Mexican Modern Sculpture: a Study of the Artists” and in collaboration with Betsabeé Romero, “Betsabeé Romero: An Altar In Their Memory/Un Altar En Su Memoria”. The space moves to connect the Dallas community with Latino culture, and also connects the viewer with the artwork. This is done through the lack of glass coverings or tapes surrounding the artwork being shown, through bilingual staff that can effectively communicate to both English and Spanish speaking people, and through free “Family Days” that honor Latino values. Through the interconnectedness of the viewer and the artwork, the Latino Arts Project is aiming to bring local Dallas citizens closer to and educate them about the general Latinx community. 

Also doing this is the Dallas Museum of Art. The museum first started exhibiting Latin American artworks in 1933. The Jorge Baldor Curator of Latin American Art is a curatorial position that has just recently, as of September 2019, been taken on by Mark Castro. Baldor says, “Having a Latin American curator, along with the DMA’s commitment to acquisitions and space, and with private donations, will expand on that experience and help bind all communities through Latin American art.” This appointment of a Latin American arts curator coincides with the museum’s plan to engage and reflect on the Latinx community of Dallas. Through this three year long plan, the Dallas Museum of Art has incorporated bilingual resources within its programs, including wall texts, online articles, and staff members. The institution also plans to strengthen its Latin American art collection. Through this incorporation of Latin culture, the Dallas Museum of Art is embracing the general community and promoting inclusivity.

Though these institutions are not promoting local Latinx artists, these steps taken towards inclusivity of Latin culture can increase the demand for them. Both institutions are working to bring Latin culture to the fore-front of the arts conversation within the Dallas art scene. With the large Latinx population, making up 42% of all of the city’s population, it is extremely important that the Dallas community be educated and involved with the culture and its people. The Latino Arts Project and the Dallas Museum of Art are working towards the inclusion of the Latinx community within the art scene, and in turn, this will lead to the inclusion of more local Latinx artists.

One arts group has already taken on the task of not only including, but celebrating local Latinx artists. The Latinos In Architecture, or the LIA, works to unite Latin architects in Dallas and connect them to various local or national opportunities. They also reach out to the community and educate the younger Latinx generation of their potential in the design field. The group holds an annual exhibition, called ENLACES, showcasing students, interns, and working professionals in the architecture field who are of Latin descent. This is extremely important to the local Latin arts community, as not only did this exhibition seek to celebrate the design community, but it focuses on the Latinx design community. The Latinos in Architecture group in Dallas is a prime example of how important it is to educate and celebrate local Latinx creators.

Viola Delgado is a local Dallas curator, sculptor, painter, and teacher. She received an education from the Art League School in Virginia and Dallas Baptist University in Texas. Delgado has both curated and exhibited works throughout the entire state of Texas, with her most talked about being in the city of Dallas. For example, the Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport selected Delgado to design a mosaic that would be on display on the floor. This is extremely important in that the city is showcasing to visitors not only a local artist, but also a local Latina artist. Delgado does this in the shows she has curated as well, specifically, through the show “Diez Latinas: One Common Thread.” This show was on display at the Latino Cultural Arts Center from July to August of 2019. The idea behind this show came from a previous show Delgado had curated in 2016, titled “Cinco Latinas: One Common Thread.” The common thread being introduced in the titles of each show is the creative drive in each of the artists chosen. Although “Cinco Latinas: One Common Thread” did not showcase any Dallas locals, the follow up show, “Diez Latinas: One Common Thread” did. It is this empowerment that Delgado is providing to her local Latina creators that Dallas should look upon and admire. 

One of the local artists that was exhibited in Delgado’s show, “Diez Latinas: One Common Thread,” is Angela Faz. Faz is a Dallas native, having grown up in West Dallas in what is known as Ledbetter. Outside from being shown in Delgados exhibition, Faz deals with themes of social justice through traditional themes of printmaking. One of her most prevalent works is their cooperation in the city-wide project, “Decolonize Dallas.” As a part of her contribution, Faz created prints of animals native to Dallas. She has said that “these animals share a narrative with their human brethren in that they have...been driven out of their habitat.” From these prints, Faz made banners which were on display at the West Dallas Multipurpose Center. However, her work got taken down two days later, mostly to do with the fact that she refused to help push the institutional narrative of progress. Despite this, Angela Faz continues to create work that showcases the Latinx experience in Dallas. Because of this, Faz is an excellent example of the local population of Latinx creators in the Dallas area that should be supported by the art community.

For the future, the Dallas arts community needs to engage in the conversation Jorge Baldor is starting with his work in the Latino Arts Project and the Dallas Museum of Art. With almost half of the community being made up of people of Latin descent, it is imperative that the Dallas art scene not only embrace their culture, but also embrace their art, just as the LIA is doing with their group. It is important that there is space for local Latinx artists to speak and create art, as they also make up part of Dallas’ art community. In order to do this, the city of Dallas must work to continue pushing the education of Latin American culture, and also continue nurturing local artists. Without the general local art scene, Dallas would have a collapsing creative community and its art market would come to a halt. In this way, it is important for Dallas to embrace not only its local artists, but it's Latinx local artists, as their culture is part of the city’s contemporary cultural identity.

So while everything may be bigger in Texas, this issue of Dallas’ negligence of local Latinx creators is bigger. With the history of the city combined with the political climate, it is increasingly more difficult for Latinx creators to flourish in their community. There has been some pushback, however, through some art institutions and individual artists in Dallas. It is more important now than ever, that Dallas supports its local Latinx artists as they help to drive the city’s culture and art scene.