On Monday, the Black Academy of Arts and Letters will begin moving into its temporary home at The Women’s Museum in Fair Park as it waits for renovations to be completed at The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.
In July, TBAAL announced the proposed renovation plans to its home at Dallas’ convention center, which are expected to be completed in 2028. The renovations will include upgrading the 70-year-old building’s theatrical system, ADA accessibility and mechanical, electrical and plumbing infrastructure. The facilities will also be expanded via a reconfiguration of the space.
The academy will begin moving into the Women’s Museum on Sept. 29. Until now, the museum has been vacant. The museum opened its doors in 2000 and officially closed in 2011 due to a lack of funds.
Curtis King, TBAAL founder and president, said the move is expected to take several weeks and will be another chapter in the institution’s history.
“It’s kind of frustrating in one sense, and it’s exciting in the other sense and it is both simultaneously. So doing this, there are a lot of mixed emotions,” he said.
King said TBAAL ultimately decided on moving to the museum after working with city officials and touring several other spaces in North Texas like the Dallas Theater Center.
“It reminds me of a kind of a sanctuary. It’s almost like a temple or something. When you go in, you see this beautiful open space and it has the spiral staircase on one side and so the energy was right for that,” he said.
As TBAAL makes the transition, King said the academy will work on shifting its exhibitions materials and programming into the smaller space and new location.
“We have to rethink our programs, trying to move our patrons…to Fair Park and just having to make a lot of mental and emotional readjustments like understanding how the state fair works,” he said.
Originally designed by architect Arthur T. Bolten, the Women’s Museum was constructed in 1910 and was used for livestock auctions by day and musical theater performances at night. To prepare for TBAAL’s move, King said the building’s infrastructure has been updated.
King founded TBAAL in 1977 after being inspired by New York’s Black Academy of Arts and Letters when he was a graduate student at Texas Christian University.
For decades, TBAAL has promoted Black arts and culture. The academy hosts an annual Labor Day Weekend Riverfront Jazz Festival, offers shows throughout the year which have featured performers like Dave Chappelle and Erykah Badu, and provides a K-12 summer youth arts institute.
The academy plans to host an opening reception and exhibition to welcome visitors into the new space around Nov. 1.
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