The Deep Ellum Community Center will host the opening reception Wednesday for its second-ever temporary exhibition, “Tunnel Visions 3.0: A Tribute to 30+ Years of Mural Arts in Deep Ellum,” an immersive history exhibit which the center said will bring long-gone Good-Latimer tunnel murals back to life.
The Deep Ellum Community Center is located at 2528 Elm Street, Suite A.
Photo via Deep Ellum Foundation
The center said visitors to the exhibit at the community center will be “transported through time” as they physically walk through a replica tunnel showcasing photos of the murals that once appeared on the walls of the former gateway to Deep Ellum from the Dallas Arts District.
Guests will see short films and hear from some of the more than 50 artists who took part in the 1993, 1994, and 1999 tunnel paint days, the center said.
“It was totally collaborative,” Tunnel Visions curator and Kettle Art Gallery owner Frank Campagna said of the exhibit.
New artwork from some of the original mural artists including Campagna, Cabe Booth, and Dan Colcer will be shown in the center’s upper gallery. Photos and printing were provided by Matt Harvey of 75 Central Photography, Sean Fitzgerald Photography, and Steven Reeves of MakeShift Photography.
Films were provided by Mark Birnbaum, Campagna, and Veronica and Austin Young.
Visitors invited to add their own artwork
Visitors will also be able to make their own mark on the tunnel structure itself. With art supplies provided, guests will be free to create. The center said the only limitation will be the same rules as applied in the original tunnel: “No hate, violence, or porn.”
The Deep Ellum Cultural District is home to over 150 murals today and is known for its mural projects, the center said. The neighborhood street art trend began with the early murals painted inside the Good-Latimer tunnel, which leads motorists into Deep Ellum from points north.
More than 30 years later, the memory of “Tunnel Visions” lives on and its impact upon the Deep Ellum community and Dallas culture will be celebrated throughout Dallas Arts Month, the center said.
This exhibit was funded, in part, by a gift from the Summerlee Foundation.
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Saturday's event is one of many marking this year's 150th anniversary of Dallas' historic Deep Ellum neighborhood. Saturday's event will begin just down the street from the center beneath an overpass, where attendees will experience the Center’s outdoor installation, “Invisible Deep Ellum,” followed by a live music performance at the new center by the Light Crust Doughboys.
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