Programs
Our mission is to promote, nurture, and support the arts in Fort Worth and part of that includes creating and facilitation programs for for artists, arts organizations, performers, and the community. Through these programs we continue ongoing commitment to support arts for all.
Arts Fort Worth is proud to partner with Artes de la Rosa and Near Southside Arts to bring back Art Aid! Together, these three organizations are offering opportunities for artists, creatives, and arts nonprofits to explore and grow their professional practice and sustain a living in the arts. Art Aid is a monthly series of demonstrations and seminars geared towards artists, art nonprofits, and other creative professionals, highlighting the diverse support services available in our community.
The Texas Artists Coalition is a membership-driven program whose mission is to support the career development of emerging and established artists. Arts Fort Worth does the research for you, finding open calls, events, networking opportunities, and sends you the information in a monthly newsletter! Becoming a member of the TAC is an excellent step toward your future as an artist.
Explore Fort Worth's public art across the city! There are two types of tours you can use to discover art. No download required for the web-based where you can explore the Cultural District's publicly accessible artwork from the collections of the museums, Botanic Gardens, and more! There are also PDFs to download of the Fort Worth Public Art collection. Just download or print a tour map and you are on your way!
Arts Fort Worth opens with new and current exhibitions on the first Friday of each month at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center. Seven galleries show diverse, exploratory, thought provoking, and exciting art from a variety of artists- emerging, mid-career, and established. On First Fridays, you can meet many of the artists who have work on display, along with occasional performances. The galleries are always free to visit us and discover yourself through art. Galleries are open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
With an emphasis on emerging practices, this program provides one artist with a non-residential studio space at Arts Fort Worth. The goal is to help practicing artists by providing a free studio space for a period of twelve months; a monthly stipend for materials; studio visits with established regional artists; culminating in a solo exhibition. The Arts Fort Worth Emerging Artist Residency is made possible through with the support of the Donny Wiley Memorial Fund at North Texas Community Foundation.
Arts Fort Worth is proud to present the Collective Residency Program for art-oriented organizations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Lasting one year, this program includes office space at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center, exhibition opportunities presented by the art collective in the Arts Center's galleries, workshops presented by the organization, and the use of a gallery space to hold a fundraising event.
The Original Works Series program creates opportunities for new and emerging playwrights to showcase their work. Scripts submitted from across the world are selected by a panel of theater professionals to receive a live reading. From those readings, one submission will become a fully-staged production. The final selected playwright receives a royalty and the opportunity to take part in the work’s development and premiere production.
The annual Heart of Gold Awards Luncheon celebrates those who have made a lasting impact on the arts in the city to celebrate their accomplishments. Every dollar raised by the Heart of Gold luncheon supports Arts Fort Worth in order to continue to meet the needs of our community by granting dollars, employing artists and designers through public art projects, and bringing our community together to grow through the arts through the Fort Worth Community Arts Center!
On August 20-21, 2021, Arts Fort Worth, then known as the Arts Council of Fort Worth, and AURORA partnered to present New Stories: New Futures in conjunction with Fort Worth Public Art’s major installation on Pioneer Tower. New Stories: New Futures encompassed two arts events, internationally recognized artists project onto the tower and ten North Texas artist shoed on the Will Rogers Memorial Center grounds.