In honor of Juanita Craft, Mia Green of The Couture Beauty and Sewing Academy will host a 3-week workshop teaching individuals the art of learning how to sew. Participants will learn how to use the sewing machine, and create various seams and finishes. Participants will also learn about fabric types and will finish the workshop creating two beginner-friendly projects to keep. The Learn the Art of Sewing Workshop is designed to instruct the absolute beginner, but all skill levels are welcome to participate.

When: Saturdays | April 15, 22, and 29

Time: 12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Location: South Dallas Cultural Center

Registered participants must be 16 years and up and be able to attend all three workshops.

Stitch to Runway: A Journey to the Fashion Industry

Can you have a career as a seamstress or tailor? How do you get started?

Join Mia Green for an informal conversation on how to craft a career into the fashion industry.  This workshop will draw on Green’s personal and profession experiences as a seamstress, give advice and guidance for people starting their careers or side-hustle and weaving through some of industry challenges.

When: Thursday, April 27

Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Location: South Dallas Cultural Center

The program is free and open to all ages. Participants do not have to attend workshops to attend this talk.

Mia Green

Mia Green is The Couture Beauty Connoisseur. She has worked in the beauty and fashion industry for over 30 years. As the former Director of Education for a local quilt shop in Dallas, TX, her love for teaching beauty and fashion has grown.

 

Today, she is the owner of The Couture Beauty and Sewing Academy which is an online school dedicated to teaching women and children the art of makeup application and garment construction allowing them to create a signature style through which they can showcase their favorite features via beauty and fashion.

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When: Friday, April 21

Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Location: South Dallas Cultural Center

The workshop is free and open to all ages.

Sammetria Goodson

Write Author Sammetria is an Attorney who focuses her practice on Art Law and Intellectual Property. Sammetria works with a wide range of art industry clients including artists, art agencies,  organizations, galleries, dealers, independent curators, consultants and collectors. She also works with multi-hyphenate creatives in Fashion, Entertainment, Design, and the Nonprofit sector.

Sammetria holds a BBA in Marketing and a BA in Art History from The University of Texas at Austin. She’s also a proud graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia. 

 

Sammetria has a passion for navigating emerging artists through the art world and helping established artists protect their creative legacies. She currently teaches an anti-starving artist course at UT Austin, College of Fine Arts. Sammetria was recently awarded an Arts Education Award from the Dallas Business Council for the Arts for her community arts education work. She will be speaking on the intersection of Digital Art and Public Art at a national conference of art commissioners in March 2023. An article co-authored by Sammetria discussing Art and Private Investment will be published the second quarter of 2023.

John Spriggins

A native of Dallas, TX, John Spriggins has dedicated much of his life and career to the visual arts. John is currently the General Manager of the South Dallas Cultural Center. As general manager John initiated the rehabilitation of the Juanita J Craft Civil Rights House and created an Artist in Residence program also named for Mrs. Craft’s. John was also instrumental in achieving the Fair Park Cultural District designation received by the City of Dallas in 2021.

Prior to arriving at SDCC, John served as the Gallery Director for Richland College. He has been a professor of Arts and Humanities for Dallas and Tarrant County Community College for a combined 12 years. Since 2012 John held the position of Interim Curator for the African American Museum, Dallas and continues to work with the museum on special projects. He has served as a voting member of the Public Arts Committee and Cultural Affairs Commissioner for the city of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, where he served as a community liaison on public art projects. John’s passion for education is equally matched by his zeal for the arts. He has worked with numerous organizations to bring arts awareness to the city of Dallas.

Learn more about SDCC’s New Year, New Skills creative program

Music

JESS GARLAND is a Dallas-based singer-songwriter, recording and performing artist. She is a multi-instrumentalist who combines harp and guitar loops to evoke her unique brand of celestial avant-garde pop with ethereal jazz tones. Jess is also the President and Founding Director of Swan Strings and has recently been appointed Executive Director at Girls Rock Dallas.

BANDAN KORO AFRICAN DRUM & DANCE studies and shares experiences associated with African culture and history through the medium of dance, music, and specialized presentations for African and African Diaspora related music, dance, and culture.

Movement

BECKLES DANCING COMPANY provides a platform where performers and audiences of all ages are inspired to celebrate the techniques, creative powers and fusion of dance movement.

Spoken Word

THE ART INSPIRED HEALING COLLECTIVE is a community-based organization that is committed to promoting compassion, mindfulness, meditation, and healing for the people of Dallas. They view healing and self-care as a revolutionary act, one, which can help all individuals lead a more productive and healthy life. The spoken word segment was led by King Shakur and Jonathan ‘GNO’ White.

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Camika C. Spencer

Camika Spencer M.A, M.F.A, is an Oak Cliff native of Dallas, Texas. She is the author of three best-selling novels, an award-winning playwright, noted educator, former rock band background singer, and she recently completed a teaching year in Al Giza, Egypt where she taught English as a second language.

 

She is a company member of Soul Rep Theatre, a 2019 Lee Daniels Creative Select, and curator of the podcast, One Year in Egypt, which is currently in development as a one-woman show in conjunction with Bishop Arts Theatre. Camika also crotchets, knits, paints, and refurbishing antique furniture. Interior design and global trading are where she finds herself most settled using her artistic gifts.

 

Her revival of Black Legend Heirlooms as an art installation begins with Camika being able to discuss, teach, and curate shows in African-American neighborhoods throughout the United States and the globe, where she hopes to begin in her home of Dallas, Texas

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Date: Saturdays – Jan. 21, Jan. 28, and Feb. 4

Time: 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Location: South Dallas Cultural Center

All three classes are free with registration, but walk-ins are welcome after registration closes. Participants must be 16 years of age and older.

Michael D’Andre Childs

Michael D’Andre Childs is an accomplished Producer, Director, Music Director, Choreographer, Actor and Entrepreneur. After receiving his degree in Musical Theater, he has developed a professional reputation working with students across the United States.

 

Recently Michael produced, and directed the world premiere of Into the Jungle- a Live fashion, and performance event with Dallas Future Fashion Designers. He has also served as Music Director for Broadway Dallas (formerly known as Dallas Summer Musicals). He is currently Directing a production of the Wedding Singer Musical at Upright Theatre Co. where he was previously nominated for Best Director for The Last 5 Years. Previous productions include: Shrek the Musical at KD Conservatory, Seussical at Artisan Center Theater, Elf Jr. at Shine Performing Arts, and Blues in the Night at Jubilee Theatre among others. Michael is very proud of his work as a teaching artist with the Dallas Community Arts Program where he can help the next generation connect with their gifts.

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DCP invited us to hang out with fellow photographers of all skill levels to trade tips, tricks, and tales as we photographed our way around the center’s grounds located in South Dallas. This two hour walk was led Marcus Cole, an educator at the Trinity River Audubon Center. DCP instructors Peter Poulides and Whitney Daude was there to answer questions, offer suggestions, and give feedback on photos. After the photo walk, the instructors hosted an an online photo review, providing supportive group feedback and insight from the final images that the participants captured.

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In its fourth year as an independent film festival, the mission of the NBFF is to curate dance films that explore an innovative approach to collaboration, mixed media, and interdisciplinary filmmaking. These films were selected based on their ability to challenge the possibilities of what dance can look like in video form. The NBFF values experimental, multicultural, multi-genre, and technological dance films. The NB team believes experiencing art – and more specifically, experiencing art via dance and film – creates opportunities for understanding other perspectives. In addition to film screenings, attendees were able to participate in a vast array of workshops, artist Q&A’s, youth programming, and more.

NBFF is an organization dedicated to creating a more equitable and inclusive dance field for all by fostering trans-geographical networking, highlighting diverse and underrepresented voices (e.g. black, indigenous, people of color, and women), creating opportunities for artists, and engaging audiences both on and offline via their programming.

Learn more about NBFF through their social channels and website: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | www.knowboxdance.com

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The 2-day, annual festival included master classes, youth dance showcases, a roundtable discussion, and evening performances by different dance organization in the Dallas area. The goal of the festival is to encourage collaborations between local artists and companies while supporting each other’s growth in the dance community.

The name of the festival, formerly called South Dallas Dance Festival, has been changed to honor Mary Lois Hudson Sweatt, (1939-2016), whose school is celebrating its 50 Anniversary this year. She recognized the importance of this festival and made the original motion to have it as a part of our BDC bylaws.

The 2022 Sweatt Dallas Dance Festival is produced by Beckles Dancing Company in partnership with the South Dallas Cultural Center and City of Dallas Office of Arts & Culture.

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