Dallas Contemporary

Original beams and trusses installed in the 1950s.

Patricia Meadows founded Dallas Contemporary, originally known as the D’Art Visual Arts Center, in 1978. In its original form, the museum hosted annual exhibitions of artwork created by its members and offered rental exhibition space to emerging artists. The museum evolved over the next few years to include exhibitions by nonmember artists from various regions around Texas. Dallas Contemporary eventually embraced the entire spectrum of contemporary art, placing Texas artists in a worldwide context. Today, Dallas Contemporary follows the European model of the kunsthalle, or art hall, a welcoming exhibition site for art of the moment. As a non-collecting institution, the museum commissions the creation of new artwork by emerging artists from all walks of life.

Industrial sliding doors installed in the 1950s.

Dallas Contemporary is housed in a 37,000 square foot building in the Design District, Dallas, an emerging neighborhood 1.5 miles north of downtown. Built in the 1950s, the building was used for a range of industrial purposes before being redesigned to fit the needs of the museum in 2010. Architect Edward M. Baum was responsible for renovating the space, transforming the structure into one of the largest kunsthalles in the United States.

The building’s inaugural owner was Grinnell Fire Protection. The building was later purchased by United Metal and converted into a steel-manufacturing plant that supplied steel to many of DFW’s high-rise buildings, ballparks, and roller coasters. Several industrial features still occupy the building’s interiors, including the original beams, roof trusses, sliding doors, floors and drains, as well a loading dock, dock leveler, and industrial weighing scale.