The Nasher Sculpture Center is pleased to reveal the plans for a newly commissioned social sculpture by artist Rick Lowe for the Vickery Meadow neighborhood, a three square-mile area that makes up one of the most culturally diverse sections of Dallas. The project, entitled Trans.lation, will kick off a series of Pop-up Markets to coincide with the Nasher’s 10th anniversary, city-wide exhibition Nasher XChange. The Trans.lation Pop-up Market, open to the public on October 19, November 23, December 21, January 18, and February 22, will enable the Vickery Meadow community to share their artistic talents and cultural traditions with each other and the greater Dallas community.
Houston-based artist Rick Lowe is internationally respected for one of the most successful community art projects in the world, Project Row Houses, located in Houston’s Third Ward neighborhood. For his Nasher XChange commission, Lowe is working with an eclectic group of artists, community organizers, designers, and residents to highlight and translate the cultural diversity of Vickery Meadow as an asset. Through a series of workshops and gatherings with residents, Lowe and the Trans.lation team are identifying residents’ creative strengths and connecting them with local artists for collaboration and mentorship to ultimately engender opportunity and entrepreneurship. Trans.lation will facilitate a new vision of what public space and interaction could look like in Vickery Meadow
Lowe has visited Dallas multiple times to hold community meetings with residents and property owners, who have shared an overwhelming desire to feel more connected to each other and to the city of Dallas, outside of Vickery Meadow. Lowe considers the research process by which he connects with and learns about a community to be an integral part of his art.
As many as 27 languages are spoken by almost 30,000 people in this small but diverse neighborhood. Refugees from around the world, including several Asian and African countries, are settled in the area by organizations such as the International Rescue Committee, Refugee Services of Texas and the resettlement services of the Catholic Charities of Dallas.
For Project Row Houses in Houston, Lowe and his team saved a series of shotgun houses from being demolished and transformed them into galleries, classrooms, studios for artist residencies, and community gathering spaces. Instead of allowing the history of an area to be erased, he created a place that nurtures a sense of togetherness and exchange.
In addition to Project Row Houses, Lowe has worked as a guest artist on a range of projects, including the Rem Koolhaas-designed Seattle Public Library; Small Business/Big Change in Anyang, South Korea, the Borough Project for the Spoleto Festival 2003 in Charleston, S.C.; and the Delray Beach Cultural Loop in Florida. His art has been exhibited at the Phoenix Art Museum; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Neuberger Museum in Purchase, N.Y.; the Gwangji Biennale in Korea; the Kumamoto State Museum in Japan; and Houston’s Contemporary Arts Museum and Museum of Fine Arts.
The Nasher has also commissioned Ruben Ochoa, Liz Larner, Ugo Rondinone, Alfredo Jaar, Vicki Meek, Charles Long, Good/Bad Art Collective, Lara Almarcegui, and Rachel Harrison to create works for Nasher XChange. Details about their works, including the locations of the installations, will be announced throughout the summer.
About the Nasher Sculpture Center:
Open since 2003 and located in the heart of the Dallas Arts District, the Nasher Sculpture Center is home to one of the finest collections of modern and contemporary sculptures in the world, the Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection, featuring more than 300 masterpieces by Calder, Giacometti, Matisse, Picasso, Rodin, and more. The longtime dream of the late Raymond and Patsy Nasher, the museum was designed by world-renowned architect Renzo Piano in collaboration with landscape architect Peter Walker.
Hailed by the "USA Today" as one of the great sculpture gardens where art enhances nature, the roofless museum seamlessly integrates the indoor galleries with the outdoor spaces creating a museum experience unlike any other in the world. On view in the light-filled galleries and amid the landscaped grounds are rotating works from the Collection, as well as blockbuster exhibitions and one-of-a-kind installations by the most celebrated artists of our times. In addition to the indoor and outdoor gallery spaces, the Center contains an auditorium, education and research facilities, a cafe, and a store.
The Nasher brings the best of contemporary culture to Dallas through special programs designed to engage visitors, including artist talks, lecture programs, contemporary music concerts, educational classes and exclusive member events.
The Nasher Sculpture Center is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm and until 11 pm for special events, and from 10 am to 5 pm on the first Saturday of each month. Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors, $5 for students, and free for members and children 12 and under, and includes access to special exhibitions. For more information, visit www.NasherSculptureCenter.org.
About Nasher XChange:
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the Nasher Sculpture Center will present Nasher XChange, a dynamic art exhibition consisting of 10 newly-commissioned public sculptures by contemporary artists at 10 sites throughout the city of Dallas from October 19, 2013 to February 16, 2014. Covering a diverse range of neighborhoods and approaches to sculpture, Nasher XChange represents the first citywide, museum-organized public art exhibition in the United States.
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