Hot spot for the arts

Fort Worth's Near Southside earns prestigious new designation as cultural district

Cue the applause because Fort Worth now has two cultural districts. The Texas Commission on the Arts approved the designation of the city's Near Southside Arts (overseen by Near Southside, Inc.) as one of five official new cultural districts around the state, announced September 3.

Also joining the list are the Deep Ellum Cultural District in Dallas, Red River Cultural District in Austin, and two districts in Houston: the Fifth Ward Cultural Arts District and the Third Ward Cultural District (The Tre). Texas now has 48 designated cultural districts.

“We are pleased to highlight the wonderful work these districts are already doing to attract visitors to their communities, and to enhance the quality of life in our great state,” says Gary Gibbs, executive director of Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA), in a release.

Cultural districts are defined by TCA as special zones that "harness the power of cultural resources to stimulate economic development and community revitalization," the release says. They are focal points for generating business, attracting tourists, stimulating cultural development, and fostering civic pride, TCA explains.

What does this mean for the Near Southside district? Chiefly, that it creates new funding opportunities. Near Southside Arts and other nonprofits inside the district will be able to apply for TCA grants, and the district itself will be recognized by the state as a destination for arts investments.

“We’re proud that the Near Southside is gaining recognition as a hub for creativity and growth,” says Mike Brennan, Near Southside, Inc. president. “This community is filled with dreamers, artists, and risk-takers that deserve to be recognized, and we are so honored to see our thriving district receive this support and validation.”

The nearly 1,400-acre Near Southside includes the city's medical and design districts, and is a hot spot for local businesses, chef-driven restaurants, popular theaters, live music venues, art schools, and recording studios. Arts-centric events there — including ArtsGoggle, Open Streets, Friday on the Green, and Park(ing) Day — attract more than 100,000 attendees from around North Texas each year, the district says.

Only Texas Commission on the Arts can officially designate cultural districts on behalf of the state, and neighborhoods must go through a rigorous application and approval process.

“Each approved cultural district provided extensive information on their qualifications, and was considered through a highly rigorous review process," Gibbs says. "We congratulate them on this achievement."

TCA applauded Fort Worth's district for its history-meets-future ethos, saying:

"Near Southside Arts has a long history of fostering and celebrating the creative assets of their 1,400 acre district. The Near Southside was established as a turn-of-the-century street car district founded by a rich community of makers and craftsmen. Today, the district holds tightly to those roots with the largest contiguous collection of Craftsman homes in the nation (Historic Fairmount) and boasts more than 200 locally-owned and operated artisan businesses. Now in its 18th year, ArtsGoggle is the district’s signature free-to-the-public event, and features the largest one-day showcase of local makers in the North Texas region with more than 1,000 artists and 100 bands participating. Work is ongoing to establish additional affordable housing and workspaces for artists, expand anchor arts organizations, and build upon the commercial spaces for emerging creative companies."

Megan Henderson, director of events and communications for Near Southside, Inc., says the prestigious designation underscores the district's commitment to prioritizing cultural investment throughout its revitalization.

“We’re proud to see our creative community and unique Near Southside culture flourish for the past 25 years and now, with the support of TCA, we know Near Southside Arts will be an important catalyst as we begin our next chapter of growth,” she says.

To celebrate, Near Southside Arts has dubbed October "ARTober" and is setting up various events and virtual initiatives throughout the month. These include murals and public art unveilings, virtual concerts, digital artist residencies, and a partnership with Minneapolis-based nonprofit Artspace to study a proposed “Creative Incubator” development project that would bring yet another creative hub in the district, a news release teases. Intriguing!

Visit the Near Southside website for more details.

Waffles and the Puppet by Jay Wilkinson and Brandon Pederson, displayed in the Near Southside.

Near Southside Arts Waffles the Puppet by Jay Wilkinson and Brandon Pederson

Photo courtesy of Near Southside, Inc

Waffles and the Puppet by Jay Wilkinson and Brandon Pederson, displayed in the Near Southside.

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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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