New Year, New Skills Creative Series
January – May, 2023 | Dates vary | South Dallas Cultural Center
Letβs honor Juanita J. Craft’s legacy by learning skills to enlighten our future. Created in 2022, this series is inspired by her motivation to create change through creative means and make the community better one person at a time. Join us on this journey from January – May to learn, grow, and come together with new skills for the new year.
New Year, New Skills workshops are free with registration.
First Steps with Avant Chamber Ballet
Wednesdays from March 22 – May 10 | Fridays from March 24 – May 12 | 4:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. | South Dallas Cultural Center
South Dallas Cultural Center and Avant Chamber Ballet presents First Steps, a free 10-week series of dance classes on Wednesday and Friday evenings. The classes introduce rhythm and expression through movement and is taught by ACB professional dancer Katie Puder.
Wednesday classes will be for ages 4 – 7. Friday classes will be for ages 8 – 10. All First Steps programs are free with registration.
The Smart Project: Saturday Creative Workshops
Saturdays: March 4 – April 22 | 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | South Dallas Cultural Center
The Smart Project, established in 2019, is a free Dallas-based youth creative art program (nonprofit). This program offers 8-12 grade students from underserved backgrounds creative lesson plans focusing on photography, digital media, and the visual arts as well as providing creative community teaching opportunities.
MLK Book Club: Assata
Saturdays: February 25, March 11, March 25, April 8, & April 22 | 1:00 p.m. β 3:00 p.m. | Martin Luther King Jr. Branch Library
In partnership with the Juanita Craft House 2618 Project and the Martin Luther King Jr. Branch Library, the MLK Book Club is a space to share, connect and learn through a selected book. For this series, we will be reading Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur.
About the book: On May 2, 1973, Black Panther Assata Shakur (aka JoAnne Chesimard) lay in a hospital, close to death, handcuffed to her bed, while local, state, and federal police attempted to question her about the shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike that had claimed the life of a white state trooper. Long a target of J. Edgar Hoover’s campaign to defame, infiltrate, and criminalize Black nationalist organizations and their leaders, Shakur was incarcerated for four years prior to her conviction on flimsy evidence in 1977 as an accomplice to murder.
This book club is free with registration with limited seating. We are offering free copies to the first 20 people who register for this event.
Expressive Art Workshops and Juanita Craft Residency Workshop with Jessica Bell
Expressive Art Workshop March 25 – May 27 | Juanita Craft Workshop March 25 – April 29 | South Dallas Cultural Center
The Expressive Art Workshops is the 8th annual free art workshop programing offered by artist Jessica Bell. To give back to the community, Bell annually offers free art programing to residence of the City of Dallas funded through the Office of Arts and Culture.
The Juanita Craft Residency Workshop focuses on community, artist Jessica Bell will be hosting open studio events at the South Dallas Cultural Center. Come work side by side with a local artist and create your own piece of art.
Both workshops are for ages 18 years and up. Participants can sign up for one or all classes. Click the button below for all dates and times.
GirlTrek: Walking in Juanita Craft’s Footsteps
Saturdays: March 18, April 15, May 20, and June 17 | Walks starts at 9:00 a.m. | Leonhardt Lagoon At Fair Park
Letβs celebrate the achievements of Juanita J. Craft and the NAACP Youth Council by walking in her footsteps on the State Fair grounds! Juanita Jewel Shanks Craft was a woman who would not accept injustice or inequality. Believing that equality and justice were for everyone, she fought for them all her life. By the time she ran for Dallas City Council as a woman of 73, her efforts had already helped change the world.
GirlTrek is a life-saving sisterhood. It is a campaign to heal intergenerational trauma, fight systemic racism and transform Black lives. As women organize walking teams, they also mobilize community members to support advocacy efforts and lead a Civil Rights-inspired health movement.
This event is open to all ages. Registered participants will receive a free t-shirt and handbook.
Beckles Dancing Company
Wednesdays & Fridays | 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | South Dallas Cultural Center
Beckles Dancing Company classes offer a dance experience that allows folks of all ages to enjoy movement, stay fit, and express. Join BCD on Wednesdays for Simple Ballet Barre or Fridays for their Keep It Moving workshop. Classes are by zoom or in person with masks & social distancing. Classes are free for ages 11 and older.
Dallas Malandros – Capoeira Angola Sao Bento Grande
Thursdays from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. | Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | South Dallas Cultural Center
Take a class with the Dallas chapter of OS Malandros de Mestre Touro. Os Malandros de Mestre Touro is based in San Diego, CA and was founded by Mestre Preto Velho as a means to empower his community through the art of Capoeira. More than just a means of self-defense, it is a method of cultural connection. The group has been holding classes in the Dallas metroplex since 1997 and is open to everyone interested in growing in the art of Capoeira.
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