Creativity Continues

The Dallas-Fort Worth arts groups offering virtual access to opera, museums, and more

Fort Worth Opera, Frida Kahlo and Bravest Girl in World

Fort Worth Opera presents Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World.

Photo by Timothy Walker Jr.

Everything's canceled, but that doesn't mean you're limited in what you can enjoy from home right now. Dallas-Fort Worth arts groups are streaming concerts, opera, dance, and even museum tours for free during the coronavirus quarantine, and we're adding more as they come in.

Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival
Fort Worth's popular spring arts festival, originally scheduled for April 16-19, has been postponed until September. But organizers are still promoting the festival's artists, entertainers, vendors during a "Virtual Main St." event, April 13-19. The virtual festival will take place within a Facebook event on Main St.'s Facebook page, as well as on its Twitter and Instagram profiles. Throughout the week, the virtual event will feature 200 of this year’s artists, sharing exclusive artwork images, interactive art tutorials, behind-the-scenes studio tours, Facebook Live takeovers from entertainers, favorite restaurant recipes, and more.

The Cliburn
The esteemed classical piano music organization has announced three new online initiatives: Cliburn Watch Party, to relive some of the best moments of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; Cliburn Kids, music fun for little ones; and Cliburn Amateur Spotlight, performance videos submitted by the 72 amateur pianists who were accepted as competitors or festival participants. Weekly schedules will be announced each Sunday.

Stage West
The third play of the theater's 41st season, The Children by Lucy Kirkwood, will be streaming through Vimeo On-Demand from April 9-22. There are a limited number of seats available for $40, and season ticket holders and previously-purchased single ticket holders will receive a unique promo code via email on April 9 at 12am to enter at check-out.

Fort Worth Opera
The company will host free YouTube premieres and Facebook watch parties of the operas Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World on April 16 and 18, and Feel the Tango on April 23 and 25.

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
It has launched a virtual performance platform, the Music Lab, that will let the community enjoy their love of music, share music from multiple sources, access educational tools, and experience unique digital programs.

Lone Star Film Festival
Watch 30 days of short films for free on executive director Chad Mathews' vlog.

Dallas Theater Center
A video was taken of the final dress rehearsal for American Mariachi, a new work by José Cruz Gonzalez about a young woman who forms the first all-female mariachi band in the 1970s, despite disapproving relatives and going against social norms. Patrons are encouraged to pay-what-you-can — starting at $15 — to receive a link and a password to access the recording within 24 hours. Purchasers will have up to two weeks to watch the video. Dallas Theater Center is allowed to sell the video up to the original close date of April 5, 2020; after that, it will be deleted. The number of videos for sale is the same as the number of seats available throughout the run, so patrons are encouraged to buy their "tickets" soon.

Erykah Badu
The singer is performing her Quarantine Concert Series: Live From My Bedroom on Instagram, with each concert only costing a dollar to watch.

Ochre House Theatre
The pioneers of the suavant guarde are streaming their most recent production, Mrs. Haggardly, for free on their YouTube channel from April 3-24.

Perot Museum of Nature and Science
Following the closing of the Origins: Fossils from the Cradle of Humankind exhibition, you can now virtually explore real fossils that belonged to two very ancient relatives: Homo naledi (a.k.a. Neo) and Australopithecus sediba (a.k.a. Karabo). Plus follow the extraordinary journey of the scientists actively working on and researching these two new fascinating species. The 360-degree tour is available here.

Avant Chamber Ballet
360-degree world premiere video of 19th Amendment recorded on February 15, 2020, at Moody Performance Hall, spotlighting choreographer Katie Puder and composer Quinn Mason.

American Baroque Opera Company
The full-length production of La Serva Padrona by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi.

Dallas Museum of Art
Browse more than 25,000 works of art from all cultures and time periods. The museum's new contemporary art exhibition “For a Dreamer of Houses” is making its public debut as a virtual experience. It includes large-scale, immersive installations, new acquisitions, works by artists with Texas ties, and treasures from the Museum’s permanent collection — all exploring themes of home.

Meadows Museum
The museum on the SMU campus is offering digital content posted on its social media channels, including docent-led tours, explorations of the collection, and activities for families. "Color Our Collection" offers coloring book pages to download and color at home, and "Crafternoon" videos are art activities that teach a technique inspired by works at the museum.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Follow #keepthemusicgoing on Facebook to listen to DSO musicians as they play along with each other from the comfort of their own homes.

Four Day Weekend
On March 21 at 8 pm, the critically aimed comedy troupe will feature five performers in a social distance-friendly performance that will be streamed live on Facebook. All donations made here will benefit the troupe's service industry neighbors on Lowest Greenville and Sundance Square.

Lumedia Musicworks
In tandem with its live programming, Lumedia also produces music videos and short films that are presented both online and at select shows.

Thin Line Fest and Dallas VideoFest
The Denton-based multidisciplinary festival will be streaming its selection of documentaries online March 25-29, while Dallas VideoFest will host its Alternative Fiction festival April 3-5. Featuring a curated collection of over 50 documentary features and shorts, Thin Line Fest's film division will stream all screenings and Q&A sessions online. Attendees will be able to login at www.thinline.us and then choose which "theater" to stream live. The fest will still hold its Photography & Film Award Ceremony, which will be live-streamed on March 29.

Quarantined Cabaret
The Dallas-Fort Worth theater community has formed this public Facebook group, where actors, singers, and dancers can post videos of themselves performing (either previously filmed or created during the quarantine).

Union Coffee Shop Concerts
Denise Lee and Michael Bachman, owner of Cedar Springs coffee shop Union, are setting up a series of concerts to be livestreamed on StageIt.com. You set up an account, follow @DeniseLeeOnstage, and pay a small fee to watch ($10 is suggested). You can also can tip the performers.

Eastfield College
Watch the 2020 Faculty Dance Concert featuring work from program coordinator Danielle Georgiou and current faculty members Robert Alvarez, Kiera Amison, Melissa Sanderson, YeaJean Choi, and Christie Bondade. Performers include company members from the Danielle Georgiou Dance Group, Muscle Memory Dance Theatre, independent dancers from Dallas-Fort Worth and Seattle, and students from the Universidad de las Américas Puebla in Mexico.

The Classics Theatre Project
Originally planned as a livestreamed complete production of Molière's classic comedy The Imaginary Invalid, actor Van Quattro is now doing a one-man rendition on YouTube for anyone who buys a ticket. Show times are April 1-19; see website for start times.

Sammons Center for the Arts
Watch clips of the Sammons Jazz and Cabaret concerts on the center's YouTube channel.

QuaranTV
DJ Blake Ward is teaming up with the team at the Deep Ellum bar Double Wide to record concerts from local bands at the empty venue and release them as episodes. You will be able to tip through the performers' Venmo accounts. Concerts will likely begin filming on March 19; keep an eye out here for more information and lineup.

Plano Symphony Orchestra
The orchestra will broadcast several previously performed concerts starting March 28 at 8 pm and will continue every Saturday evening at 8 pm for the next five Saturdays. Patrons can tune in for free by visiting the Plano Symphony Orchestra website.

EarthX2020
The Earthx2020 conferences and film festival will be presented virtually from April 23-25 and into May. The 50th Earth Day Celebration will be livestreamed on April 22. The virtual experience will be layered with the EarthxFilm Festival programming, which will then be presented at the physical film festival in the fall, along with the EarthxGlobalGala.

Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum
The education team has been developing digital content for families, students, and teachers that's available free of charge on the website. In addition, several upcoming speakers will be livestreamed and a virtual book club is being developed.

Irving Symphony Orchestra
Watch past performances on YouTube from your home, with the lineup changing each weekend.

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If you have a virtual concert or artwork that can be enjoyed from home during this time, email lindseyw@culturemap.com and we'll add you to the ever-growing list.

museums concerts video theater dance music health symphony opera

Ancient Sculpture News

Fort Worth museum one of only 3 in U.S. to get rare sculpture exhibit

Lorenzo di Masi/Torlonia Collection

The Torlonia Nile

A major exhibition of ancient Roman masterworks is coming to the U.S. for the first time to be viewed at only three museums — including the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth.

Called Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection, it's an assemblage of works stewarded by the Torlonia Family beginning in the early-19th century, and will be installed at the Kimbell from September 14, 2025 – January 25, 2026.

As part of the Foundation’s mission to showcase these historical works to the public, the exhibition will premiere at the Art Institute of Chicago on March 15 through June 29, before traveling to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. Its third stop will be at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, from March 14 - July 19, 2026.

The Torlonia Collection was established during the course of the 19th century by the Franco-Italian banker Prince Giovanni Torlonia and his son Alessandro, then handed down over generations, eventually growing into the largest private collection of ancient Roman sculptures.

Today, the Torlonia Foundation represents the culmination of the Family’s continued passion for art. Created at the behest of Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1925–2017), the Foundation’s mission is to preserve and promote the Torlonia Collection and Villa Albani Torlonia.

In 1876, Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1800-1886) created a museum to house and exhibit the Family’s holdings, which was open to small groups until its closure at the onset of World War II. The sculptures remained unseen by the public from that time until the Foundation’s first exhibition at the Musei Capitolini in Rome in 2020. That was followed by a stint at the Louvre, the first presentation of the collection outside of Rome, where it has drawn more than 600,000 visitors to date, an unprecedented feat.

The exhibit
The curators of Myth & Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection are Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine A. Raff of the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition is co-organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Torlonia Foundation, in collaboration with the Kimbell Art Museum, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and The Museum Box. All of the sculptures in the exhibition have been restored by the Foundation with the support of Bvlgari.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue co-published by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Torlonia Foundation, edited by Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine A. Raff, with essays by Silvia Beltrametti and Salvatore Settis.

The North American presentation will feature 58 highlights from the Torlonia Collection, including 24 newly restored works that have not been on view in nearly a century. The sculptures date from approximately the 5th century BCE to the early 4th century CE, with the majority of the works dating to the High Imperial period (1st–2nd centuries CE). Highlights include examples of the most emblematic genres of ancient marble sculpture, acquired by the Torlonia Family from the most prominent collections of Rome’s patrician families, as well as from excavations made on the Family’s own estates throughout Italy.

“The Foundation is excited to be sharing the Torlonia Collection with audiences in North America for the first time. This exceptional group of ancient sculptures is a testament to the enduring cultural legacy of ancient Rome, as well as the vision and passion of multiple generations of the Torlonia Family,” said Alessandro Poma Murialdo, President of the Torlonia Foundation.

The presentation is organized thematically in six sections, featuring sculptures found on the Torlonia Family’s properties in Rome and the surrounding suburbs and their estate in Porto, Portugal, as well as a number of exceptional sarcophagi (stone coffins), among the largest sculpted works in marble to survive from ancient Rome.

The tour reinforces the work of the Foundation to advance the appreciation and understanding of this unparalleled collection and the rich cultural heritage it represents. The Foundation’s mission is carried out through a continuous joint effort between the public and private sectors, including with the cooperation of the Italian Ministry of Culture. The Foundation is supported by a longstanding collaboration with Bvlgari as the principal sponsor of the restoration project since its inception in Rome and throughout the global tour, and Chiomenti, who has lent invaluable support to the Foundation’s core activities.

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Creativity Continues

The Dallas-Fort Worth arts groups offering virtual access to opera, museums, and more

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