In October 2013, the whole city of Dallas became a mega-gallery for an art exhibit of Big D proportions.
It was called the Nasher XChange, an initiative by the Nasher Sculpture Center to bring art to the masses.
“We wanted to take art out of the private home and even out of the museum and bring it to where people live and people work,” explained Jeremy Strick, the center’s director.
In some cases now, the pieces will remain in places where people live and work.
An artsy pier at Fish Trap Lake is one of the installations that will become a lasting fixture. “That will be rebuilt and made into a permanent feature of the lake,” Strick said.
It wasn’t originally intended that way.
The citywide exhibition, comprised of ten works, was meant to stay on exhibit only through February 2014. But plans changed.
To understand why, you need look no further than the Nasher XChange display called “Fountainhead” that was placed at NorthPark Center. The video screen showing a tower of cascading money invited people to donate to one of three charities.
More than 2,000 shoppers gave more than $35,000.
The folks at the Nasher Sculpture Center knew they were on to something. Strick said they decided the idea of public art displays shouldn’t end with this exhibition.