FAIR PARK EXPERIENCE
JULY 2022
"There's always this idea that people of color don't work together, especially black people. And that is so far from the truth. And that's not to say that everybody works together all the time, but what I see in this work is that people are working together and are collaborating in spite of a history that was not always very favorable to them"
Dr. Froswa Booker-Drew
In Spite of History is an immersive community driven storytelling experience, told from the perspective of those who live in Dallas and experienced Fair Park and the South Dallas community from the 1960s to today.
Six months of community interviews, research and collaboration weave stories into a community driven performance that will weave the audience from the Grand Place building, Nature Museum, Lagoon, Cotton Bowl, Tower Building to the front of the Hall of State.
Our character Izzy simply wants to go to the fair, her grandpa Julius questions the destruction of the Hall of Negro Life at Fair Park, and the family has an important conversation about their own place in history, present and the future.
Projection mapping on the Cotton Bowl Stadium, Tower Building, and the interior of the Nature Museum, turns these fair park buildings into a canvas for uplifting narratives.
The history of the land, community and buildings are given a voice and space for a discussion about racial healing that we hope everyone will take and continue that discussion.
The future is big enough (or has space enough) for all of us, as long as we acknowledge our history and don’t repeat our failures of the past. That all starts with a conversation and you, please join us for that conversation.
Community/Organizational Partners
AS OF 2.13.2022
Mill City Community Association
Alendra Lyons, President and CEO
Mission – To support a diverse, safe neighborhood with quality housing, infrastructure, and institution for all residents, and to preserve and protect the legacy and heritage of this Historic neighborhood.
Cornerstone Baptist Church
Pastor Chris Simmons
Mission - Cornerstone Baptist Church & Cornerstone Community Development Corporation exists to exemplify to our community the great commission as well as the command of Jesus to "love your neighbor".
Church Info: cornerstonedallas.org
Dolphin Heights Neighborhood Association, Inc
Anna Hill, President and CEO
Mission - Our purpose is to act as a community connection that will; revitalize our neighborhood, instill a strong sense of community pride and togetherness, seek a higher standard of safety, and promote leadership and education.
Fair Park First
Restoring, revitalizing and renewing Fair Park, a 277-acre National Historic Landmark, to attract people from across the region and entire country.
Community/Organizational Partners Continued:
Dallas Summer Musicals
Allison Brett, Director of Education & Community Partnerships
Mission - DSM presents and promotes excellence in live musical theater with year-round performances for diverse audiences of all ages, impacting the lives of children and families through community outreach and education and enriching the cultural landscape of Dallas/Fort Worth, North Texas and the Southwest Region.
Dallas Summer Musicals Equity statement –
Dallas Summer Musicals adopted a new Strategic Plan in 2017 that included a commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Access and in 2021 we became aware of an opportunity to further inform and deepen our commitment. We embarked on a journey, with the guidance of Dallas Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation* (DTRHT) who provided us with a framework to learn and internalize the truth of how racist systems and structures developed and how they continue to cause harm in communities and within our company for all people and disproportionately to those who identify as BIPOC. DSM will share these truths with our staff, board and other constituents and together use this knowledge to drive change of systems that uphold a hierarchy of human value, allow race to impact a person’s agency or position and limit opportunities for people to become part of the DSM family.
DSM developed initial priorities for change with an aim to institutionalize Racial Equity as part of DSM’s organizational culture, enable more equitable processes for our staff, board and patrons and set policy priorities, metrics, and accountability. These priorities became the building blocks to support modifying organization roles and power structures in vital business activities such as strategic planning and budgeting, redesigning recruiting to identify BIPOC candidates, altering hiring practices to create a more diverse staff, identifying, and dismantling dehumanizing systems and building a culture of belonging.
DSM understands that a journey to become an anti-racist organization requires a steady and ongoing commitment to change by discovering and hearing truth, understanding harm caused by racist systems and challenging or dismantling them. We recognize that this commitment is not simply a department of DSM or a project to be added on when convenient but rather a lens that we must learn to apply to everything we do. DSM’s mission to bring the best of Broadway to North Texas and to deliver the spirit of Broadway into all corners of our community, in classrooms and community centers throughout the region, can only be accomplished if DSM also transforms to become a fully inclusive, multicultural, anti-racist organization.
Community/Organizational Partners Continued:
Fair Park First
Alyssa Arnold, Project Manager
Mission - Restoring, revitalizing and renewing Fair Park, a 277-acre National Historic Landmark to attract people from across the region and entire country.
723
Community Space Run by Artstillery Members.
In partnership with Lovers Lane United Methodist Church. 723 severs as a meeting and rehearsal space for Artstillery.
723 Fort Worth Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75208
Melissa Prycer
Participating Scholar
After serving as the Executive Director of Dallas Heritage Village for seven years, Melissa Prycer launched a consulting practice in June 2021. Her consulting work focuses on strategic planning, fundraising, and interpretation. As a scholar, she has focused on women’s history and African American history throughout her career. She has published articles and spoken on local history, women’s history, and museums throughout the country. She holds a MA in public history from North Carolina State University. Her first history job was at Fair Park, in the basement of the Dallas Historical Society.
Reservations
This Production Will Be FREE
Sponorsed by Artstillery
"In Spite of History Part 1"
Process
We are building relationships in the community through interviews. Various members of the Artstillery Core team are conducting these interviews, which are being recorded and will inform the writing of our live script. This script will be formed into an immersive experience, consisting of performance, live music, soundscaping, historical armatures, guided audience participation.
Past projects have taught us taught us about the power of this combination of elements to tell a powerful, complicated story.
We are also using existing scholarship, archival sources and recent investigative reports to inform the narrative. By working with our resident historian Melissa Prycer, we are gaining grounding of historical context of racial and social justice history in Dallas.
Finally, our scripts are living documents. If new information or material comes to light, future performances could include new narratives. In previous experiences, we incorporated changes within 24 hours. It is not necessarily the same performance every time. The experience is constantly evolving, and the collection of this history will be ongoing, even after the performances end.
