The Dallas Office of Arts and Culture has launched an online database to help artists, community groups and cultural organizations find affordable rental spaces.

The program is called SpaceFinder and is an initiative to address the inaccessibility of creative spaces in Dallas needed to make and present art.

Space owners don’t always have connections within the art community or understand the opportunities creative events can bring. The new SpaceFinder website helps make those connections and promote local venues that are available.

In the city’s 2018 cultural plan, “space” was one of the top priorities for artists and organizations, and the pandemic has made finding an accessible space even more difficult.

“It will help activate our venues – with a new focus on outside options – as our community begins to recover,” said Jennifer Scripps, director of the Office of Arts and Culture.

The cultural plan also highlighted historic inequality and access to space in the Dallas cultural arts scene. The Office of Art and Culture’s hope is that the SpaceFinder website helps bridge that divide in the arts community.

“As a Latino performing arts group, being able to use the Latino Cultural Center plaza has really helped us continue to offer classes for our students,” said Alegre Ballet Folklórico’s founder and director, Pedro Perez. “SpaceFinder helps organizations like ours find non-traditional art spaces within our city, especially during these difficult times.”

More information is at SpaceFinderDallas.com.

Got a tip? Email Rebekah Morr at rmorr@kera.org. You can follow her on Twitter @bekah_morr.

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