The Arts Community Alliance—founded in 1967 to establish North Texas’ cultural community as one of the strongest in the nation—just strengthened it further by announcing $670,000 in Catalyst Grant funding for the year. The new funding brings its total investment in the arts to over $1 million in 2023-2024.

TACA said its Catalyst grants are distributed without restrictions and designed to support “high-performing arts organizations that are strengthening Dallas’ vibrant arts identity.” In its 2023-2024 fiscal year, TACA has also provided financial support for the arts community through its New Works Fund, Pop-Up Grant program, Arts Accelerator Program, and other arts partner investments for its other events and programs, the nonprofit added.

“Since the re-opening of many arts organizations following the pandemic, we’ve seen an upsurge in the need for unrestricted funding for the arts in our community,” Maura Sheffler, Donna Wilhelm Family President & Executive Director, said in a statement. “We’re happy to meet that need thanks to our generous donors. This year, we’re thrilled to announce 2024 Catalyst Grant support for 50 organizations representing music, theater, dance, visual arts, and literature, each contributing to our city’s vibrancy as an important center for arts and culture.”

Arts Mission Oak Cliff [Photo: Boy Howdy Co. via TACA]

Here are the 2024 TACA Catalyst grantees:

Agora Artists

Arts Mission Oak Cliff

Avant Chamber Ballet

Bishop Arts Theatre Center

Bombshell Dance Project*

Bruce Wood Dance

Cara Mía Theatre

The Cedars Union

Chamber Music International*

Dallas Black Dance Theatre

Dallas Chamber Symphony

Dallas Children’s Theater [Photo: Lawrence Jenkins via TACA]

Dallas Children’s Theater

Dallas Contemporary

Dallas Museum of Art

The Dallas Opera

Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Dallas Theater Center

Dallas Winds

Deep Vellum

Echo Theatre

Emerge Coalition

Fine Arts Chamber Players

Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra

Junior Players

Kitchen Dog Theater Company

kNOwBOX Dance

Lumedia Musicworks

Nasher Sculpture Center

New Texas Symphony Orchestra*

Orpheus Chamber Singers

OutLoud Dallas*

Pegasus Contemporary Ballet

Pegasus Media Project

Prism Movement Theater

Sammons Center for the Arts

Second Thought Theatre

Shakespeare Dallas

Soul Rep Theatre Company

Sweet Pass Sculpture Park

Teatro Dallas

Texas Ballet Theater

Texas Winds Musical Outreach

Theatre Three

TITAS/Dance Unbound

Turtle Creek Chorale

Undermain Theatre

Uptown Players

Verdigris Ensemble

WaterTower Theatre

The Writer’s Garret

*New or not recently funded TACA Catalyst grant recipient

Keeping local arts nonprofits ‘in the mind and heart of our community’

Rosaura Cruz, executive director of 2024 grantee Junior Players—a nonprofit founded in 1955 that transforms kids’ lives through the arts—said that TACA “helps keep local arts nonprofits in the mind and heart of our community.”

“TACA’s new initiatives like District Socials foster collaboration and partnerships, empower unexpected conversations, and ignite creative new ways for the Dallas arts scene to engage with our vibrant neighborhoods,” Cruz added in a statement. “While all nonprofits understand the importance of financial support, especially ongoing financial support, special thanks must be given to TACA for their emphasis on continuing their Catalyst grants, which provide unrestricted funding to nonprofit arts organizations to use as we see fit. Their support coupled with their trust in arts organizations allows us the financial and creative freedom to bring innovative new programs to Dallas, ensuring that our arts landscape continues to grow and flourish.”

Emily Bernet, executive director of first-time Catalyst grant recipient Bombshell Dance Project, said “the magic of the Catalyst Grant is that it will allow us to use funds however they are needed as we bring new projects to life this year. This crucial support comes alongside TACA’s Arts Accelerator program, Pop Up Grants, and events that have connected us to other Dallas organizations, helping Bombshell enter an exciting phase of growth that will increase our impact in the Dallas community.”

Since the Catalyst Grants were rebranded in 2021, TACA has awarded nearly $2 million in funding as a complement to its ongoing Pop-Up Grant program and the TACA New Works Fund focusing on new artistic works by BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and/or female artists, the nonprofit noted.

For more information about TACA including how you can support it, go here.

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