La Reunion, TX

I've decided to continue my blog stateside, where there is no shortage of interesting cultural happenings to write about. First stop: Texas.

Today I had the opportunity to take a tour of an emerging artist residency in Dallas. La Reunion, TX (LRTX) was founded three years ago with the support of an active community of artists and architects in the Dallas area who wanted "to create an arts residency that inspires, sustains, and renews artists and community through education and outreach."

La Reunion (located in present-day Oak Cliff) has a fascinating back story: it was founded as a utopian socialist community in the mid-19th century by Victor Considerant who traveled to Texas with a following of artisans, philosophers, musicians, and lots of good ideas. Unfortunately, ideas and art weren't enough to get the settlers through a drought and the colony was disbanded. Many of the Considerant's enlightened compatriots filtered into Dallas and infused this growing city with their ideals and talent.

On this surprisingly cool August day, I met with LRTX's founding director, Sarah Jane Semrad, for a tour of the site. In addition to some incredible tree sculptures (like this sweater-donning tree above), I got to see a beautiful coral snake, hand-sized yellow and black butterflies, and exuberant birds all making their ways through the dappled afternoon light. The 35-acre site has a huge amount of potential to support the creative process and engage the Dallas community. Already kids from the Student Conservation Association have worked on various restoration and clean up programs on the site. LRTX also engages local artists in diverse social change initiatives in the Dallas area. One such program is Art Chicas Unidas which pairs high school-aged girls from under-served communities with professional female artists, selected by jury, to work on a site-specific artwork.

Defunct train tressle on the LRTX site

As one of Dallas's first artist residencies, I was excited to see such innovative programming in action and its attention to the preservation of this gorgeous greenspace so close to the city center. It's not an easy moment to be launching an artist residency, but this is exactly the sort of community-minded artspace we need more of.