Aurora – Powered by Reliant, the expansive outdoor light-based art event, will return to the Dallas Arts District this fall on Friday, October 16. Aurora co-creators Shane Pennington and Joshua King, and the nonprofit AT&T Performing Arts Center today announced their new partnership to produce and present the bi-annual event, which in 2013 attracted 30,000 people.
“Aurora completely pushed the boundaries of what is possible in the Dallas Arts District,” said Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings. “It reshaped for the tens of thousands of people how art can be experienced, and demonstrated that the Dallas Arts District can be the perfect setting for events of this scope and scale.”
For one night, 19 city blocks in downtown Dallas will be transformed into an open-air urban playground of new media art: light, video, sound, and performance. Visitors will experience their everyday urban environment converted into an interactive site for some of the world’s most innovative contemporary art.
“This is about using contemporary art to turn our everyday impression about our city on its head,” said Aurora co-founder King. “The Arts District is a canvas, and we’re using light and sound to transform it for a night in a way you’ll never forget.”
Aurora will again be free to the public, but this year will include exclusive VIP experiences for purchase, donors and corporate sponsors, allowing them access to enhanced hospitality around the district. There will also be a ticketed, late-night afterparty and dance until 2 a.m. For more information, or to sign up for ongoing updates, visit www.dallasaurora.com.
This year’s theme, “All Together Now,” references the concept of synesthesia: a term describing the joining together of senses. The theme also hints at Aurora’s new partnership with nonprofit AT&T Performing Arts Center, and the coming together of the local and international community for the enjoyment of public art.
“Aurora is a feast for the senses that changes the way people see art, and the way they see downtown Dallas,” said Doug Curtis, president and CEO of the AT&T Performing Arts Center. “The Center’s mission is to provide a community gathering place, so we’re thrilled to create the platform and infrastructure for an even more exciting event for our North Texas community.”
Participating institutions and venues to date include the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas City Performance Hall, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Klyde Warren Park, Meyerson Symphony Center, Nasher Sculpture Center and St. Paul United Methodist Church.
Aurora in 2013 involved 90 art installations, created by more than 100 local and international artists. The works included a massive, intricately designed 3D projection mapping on the exterior of the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre; a kaleidoscope of color inside The Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe; One Arts Plaza bathed in a changing wash of color with mechanical dancing umbrellas below; and many more.
The Presenting Sponsor for Aurora – Powered by Reliant is retail electricity and home services providers Reliant and NRG Energy. The Dallas Foundation has also signed on as one of this year’s Cornerstone Sponsors.
“Aurora brings a one-of-a-kind arts experience to Dallas,” said Dallas Foundation President and CEO Mary Jalonick. “We are thrilled to support this installation of light, sound and interactive media through the Jean Baptiste (Tad) Adoue III Fund of The Dallas Foundation.” Other significant sponsors and donors are being added and will be announced in the near future.
Additionally, The Dallas Morning News is returning as the Founding Media Partner.
“When people come down to the Arts District and become a part of Aurora, it will redefine ‘visual arts’ in their minds,” said Jim Moroney, Publisher and CEO of The Dallas Morning News. “The experience is stunning and provides a spectacular cross-section of art, music and light. We believe that the arts in every form are an essential part of a thriving city’s culture. We are pleased to be the Founding Media Partner and excited about the partnership with Aurora and AT&T Performing Arts Center.”
This year’s edition will present a fresh lineup of contemporary artists and, for the first time, inclusion of four Guest Curators hailing from Dallas, New York and Berlin to join co-founders Pennington and King in the curatorial process. Each of the appointed curators has been assigned a designated section of the Arts District and will choose work from a proportional representation of local and international artists who will be selected independently and through an open call.
The six curators will organize five independent sections under the common All Together Now theme. Each curator brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in institution-level public art and international exhibitions, as well as working with a spectrum of emerging to established contemporary artists. In addition, the talented students from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts will again curate and exhibit their own section within the scope of the expansive public art exhibition.
The 2015 Guest Curators are:
- Aja Martin (Director of Zhulong Gallery, Dallas)
- Tim Goossens (Director of Envoy Enterprises, Curatorial Adviser at The
Clocktower Gallery, Adjunct Faculty at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, New
York City) - Carson Chan (Independent Curator, Writer and Editor-at-Large of 032c
magazine, Berlin) - Julia Kaganskiy (Director of New Inc. at the New Museum, New York
City)
“Partnering with the Center and having this incredibly talented group of Guest Curators join us this year allows our creative team to focus even more on the quality of the art being presented; which we know is already setting Aurora apart as a must-experience, full-sensory event,” said Aurora co-founder Pennington. Aurora is the brainchild of artist Shane Pennington, spearheaded with cofounder and artist Joshua King, and veteran Dallas arts supporter Veletta Forsythe Lill, who continues to participate as a chief consultant.
The inaugural Aurora exhibition took place in 2010 in Dallas’ historic Old City Park and moved to the Dallas Arts District the following year. It has expanded over the years through the initiative and support of the Dallas arts community. “It is remarkable to see the progress of this event,” said Lill. “The scale of Aurora today is testament to the unique quality of the artistic vision and Dallas’ willingness to embrace it.”
To get a feel for what’s ahead, watch the video below
