Moody Performance Hall New Signage To Be Illuminated In Dallas Arts District

The new sign on Moody Performance Hall, formerly Dallas City Performance Hall, in the downtown Dallas Arts District, will be illuminated Monday, February 26.

The sign is designed to look like neon lights, but uses LED for easier maintenance and less energy use. Each letter is 43 inches high and the total length of the sign is 72 feet.

The sign was designed by 2 x 4 who also designed the signage for the Winspear Opera House, Wyly Theatre and Nasher Sculpture Center. McCarthy Construction, who built Moody Performance Hall, is also the general contractor of the sign. Good Fulton Farrell is the architect of record. The sign was manufactured by ASI, with electrical work by JMEG.

The Dallas City Council voted in May to officially change the name of Dallas City Performance Hall to Moody Performance Hall in recognition of a generous $22 million gift to the arts in Dallas from The Moody Foundation. It is one of the largest gifts the Galveston-based foundation has made in the city of Dallas.

The gift includes the creation of a $10 million endowment, the Moody Fund for the Arts. MFA will provide annual grants to small and emerging arts groups with budgets of $1 million or less and are supported by the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs. The gift also includes $12 million to the nonprofit AT&T Performing Arts Center to support the Center's capital campaign.

The former Dallas City Performance Hall opened in September 2012. It was the most recent performance venue to be built in the Dallas Arts District and was created to ensure performance space was available in the district for emerging and midsize performing arts groups. The 750-seat venue with its strong acoustics and intimate feel is used for dance, music, film, lectures, theater and more. The spacious lobby can be used for performances or receptions. It also includes a small art exhibition space and a fused glass public art display in the lobby created by Dallas-artist Octavio Medellin. The City's Office of Cultural Affairs operates, programs and maintains the venue.

The AT&T Performing Arts Center is a nonprofit foundation that operates and programs a 10-acre campus comprised of three premier performance venues and a park in downtown Dallas. Opening in October 2009, the Center has helped complete the 30-year vision of the Dallas Arts District.

Audiences enjoy the best and most recent from Broadway and off-Broadway; the finest dance companies from across the globe co-presented with TITAS Presents; top concerts and performers with Center Presents; and cutting-edge speakers from the #hearhere series. Thousands of students explore and more deeply experience the arts through the Center's education program, Open Stages. Working with local service agencies, the Center provides free tickets to underserved individuals and families through Community Partners. These programs are made possible by the ongoing support of donors and members.

The Center's five resident companies are among the city's leading arts institutions: Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, The Dallas Opera, Dallas Theater Center and Texas Ballet Theater.

Designed by internationally acclaimed architects, the Center's performance spaces are some of the finest venues in the world:

• Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, designed by Foster + Partners of London, is a stunning 2,200-seat venue wrapped in red glass with outstanding acoustic performance halls.
• Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre is a 575-seat theatre with one of the most versatile stages in the world and a distinctive aluminum exterior. It was designed by REX/OMA, Joshua Prince-Ramus (partner in charge) and Rem Koolhaas.
• Annette Strauss Square, designed by Foster + Partners, is an open-air entertainment venue with lawn and patio seating for 2,000 surrounded by the downtown skyline.
• Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park is an urban park with native plants and grasses, landscaped lawns, performance spaces, a reflecting pool. Sammons Park was designed by Michel Desvigne and includes the Information Center designed by Foster + Partners.

The Center's mission is to provide a public gathering place that strengthens community and fosters creativity through the presentation of performing arts. For more information about the AT&T Performing Arts Center and to purchase tickets, become a member, or make a donation, visit www.attpac.org.

The Moody Foundation is a charitable organization that makes grants in Texas, with an emphasis on education, social services, children's needs, medical programs, the arts and community development. The Moody Foundation was created in 1942 by Mr. and Mrs. W.L. Moody Jr. to benefit in perpetuity present and future generations of Texans.

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