In support of African American artists and businesses, the event will feature vendors offering holiday gifts, performances by local musicians and school groups, a children’s craft area, plus the recent opening of two acclaimed exhibitions presented in conjunction with Deep Ellum’s 150th anniversary
DALLAS (Nov. 21, 2023) – Celebrating Black artists, businesses and local music, the annual “Christmas Music Under the Dome and Christmas Marketplace” will take place Saturday, Dec. 9, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at the African American Museum, Dallas. The Museum is located at 3536 Grand Ave., Dallas, 75210, in historic Fair Park.
Free and open to the public, the holiday extravaganza will offer visitors a variety of unique “shop local” gifts – including handcrafted jewelry, accessories and more – plus a children’s craft area and performances by North Texas musicians and school groups. Visitors will also have an opportunity to view two acclaimed exhibitions that recently debuted in conjunction with Deep Ellum’s 150th anniversary.
One vendor, who specializes in African-made jewelry, will donate 100% of their proceeds to the African American Museum, Dallas. Other vendors will sell handbags, wallets and accessories; jewelry; paper crafts; exploding gift boxes; skin care and more. The Museum’s store – which contains a curated collection of books, gifts, posters, jewelry, art, children’s items, attire and more – will also be open.
Additionally, local choral and band groups from Dallas ISD will perform throughout the day, including the Lincoln High School and Humanities/Communications Magnet Media Ensemble, Billy Earl Dade Middle School Ensemble and the Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School Hand Bell Choir.
At the newly open children’s center, kids can create two crafts that will be donated to older adults in retirement and assisted living facilities.
The event also provides an opportunity to view two exhibitions that illuminate Central Track, which connected to Deep Ellum and was once a thriving African American community whose roots date back to the Civil War. Central Track was demolished in the 1940s to make way for North Central Expressway and the I-345 overpass.
Central Track: Crossroads of Deep Ellum focuses primarily on the 1920s and 1930s and features newspaper clippings, archival photographs, posters, and recordings of blues, jazz and popular music of the period. Seeing a World Blind Lemon Never Saw presents a photographic series made by Alan Govenar from 2021-2023, exploring rural East Texas and little-known places in Dallas, locations Blind Lemon visited or alluded to in his songs.
Visitors are also encouraged to visit the Museum’s permanent exhibition, Facing The Rising Sun: Freedman’s Cemetery, which was initiated by Govenar and Documentary Arts and curated by Collins in 1996. The exhibition contains photographs, found objects and historical documents that provide further insight into the area now known as Uptown. Interactive video kiosks allow visitors to see and hear from the people who knew Freedman’s Town first-hand.
Season sponsors of the African American Museum, Dallas, are Atmos, Eugene McDermott Foundation, Fair Park First and Spectra Venue Management, Friendship West Baptist Church, Oncor, State Fair of Texas,and the City of Dallas’ Office of Arts and Culture.
HOURS. The African American Museum, Dallas is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free self-parking is available in nearby lots.
About the African American Museum, Dallas
The African American Museum, Dallas was founded in 1974 as a part of Bishop College. The Museum has operated independently since 1979. For more than 40 years, the African American Museum has stood as a cultural beacon in Dallas and the Southwestern United States. Located in Dallas’ historic Fair Park, the African American Museum is the only museum in the Southwestern United States devoted to the collection, preservation and display of African American artistic, cultural and historical materials that relate to the African American experience. The African American Museum incorporates a wide variety of visual art forms and historical documents that portray the African American experience in the United States, Southwest, and Dallas. The Museum has a small, but rich collection of African art, African American fine art and one of the largest African American folk-art collections in the United States. Learn more
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
