For the past several years, the City of Dallas has spent one week in April celebrating the arts and art makers in the city. But on Wednesday, Mayor Mike Rawlings held a press conference to announce a change:

“Those of you that have been here before, you know that we announce Arts Week,” said Rawlings. “But we kind of outgrew Arts Week didn’t we? We had to make it bigger.”

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings talks to the press about the expansion of Dallas Arts Week and beginning of Dallas Arts Month. Photo: Hady Mawajdeh

Mayor Rawlings said there is so much artistic activity happening in the city that one week just wasn’t going to work anymore.

“We see all types of art being created and experienced in every corner of the city: theatre, music, dance, sculpture, literature, painting and more,” said Rawlings. “We realized we needed much more than a week to do it all justice.”

So this year, instead of one week, Dallas will be reveling in arts and culture for an entire month. And Rawlings is asking citizens to take advantage of the hundreds of events happening around the city during Dallas Arts Month.

“I need you to love an artist in April, okay?” Rawlings joked. “I need you to go to a play. I’m going to a play on Sunday afternoon.”

Rawlings also urged people to support businesses that support the arts. And the mayor says there are members of the local business community who could do more to support artists.

“One of the things I believe in that we need to do better is our corporations need to be sponsoring more arts organizations,” said Rawlings.

Dallas Arts Month kicks off on April 1st when the Nasher Sculpture Center welcomes the second recipient of the Nasher Prize for Sculpture, Pierre Huyghe of France (learn more about Huyghe). Then on April 7th and 8th, more than 20,000 visitors will come to see the best that Dallas art has to offer at the Dallas Art Fair at the Fashion Industry Gallery.  Check out the list below for more noteworthy events:

• TITAS Presents: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater March 31 – April 1 at the Winspear Opera House
• Creative Conversation: Art, Architecture and Placemaking, April 10, 6 – 8 p.m. at Dallas City Performance Hall
• Arts Advocacy Day, April 18, 10:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. at Latino Cultural Center
• Family Event hosted by the Office of Cultural Affairs, April 15, noon – 4 p.m. at the Ronald Kirk Bridge and Felix H. Lozada, Sr. Gateway Park
• Three free, outdoor performances of BANDALOOP , the vertical dance company which will perform off the side of a downtown office tower. Presented by Dallas Arts District, TITAS Presents and AT&T Performing Arts Center, April 22 in the Dallas Arts District
• DeColonize Dallas Opening Reception, April 11, 6 – 8 p.m. at Nasher Sculpture Center
• México 1900–1950: Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, José Clemente Orozco, and the Avant-Garde, March 12 – July 16 at Dallas Museum of Art