Artstillery is a multidisciplinary arts and social justice organization that uplifts underrepresented voices by working alongside with community members to shape their narratives into original immersive productions.
Celebrating 10 Years of Artstillery
Ten years ago, an idea began to take shape, not in a boardroom or through a strategic plan, but through a belief born from deep self-reflection as an artist. I realized there wasn’t a space where stories like mine, and those from communities of the global majority, were truly listened to or welcomed into performance spaces as equal partners.
Instead, there were walls, walls that required you to know the right people to enter a room, to share your story, and to see that story uplifted and represented in a highly curated multidisciplinary way, in a public way. To create change, to place a persuasive idea into the minds of the listeners to show up better, to be more inclusive, to start from a place of curiosity and love for “the other”.
Over the years, we have had the honor of co-producing powerful works that uplift the stories of our communities. Productions such as Flamenco y Frida filled the room with movement, history, and cultural pride, playing to sold-out houses. Lux: A Solo Show centered on Latinx voices, created space for intimate storytelling and reflection.
Today, as we celebrate ten years of Artstillery, we are celebrating something much bigger than an organization. And we are celebrating a new chapter.
Dirty Turk
A woven tapestry of narratives shared by over 30 family members, exploring lived experiences of immigration, migration, and displacement as refugees.
Family Dollar
Family Dollar tells the story of West Main Street in collaboration with Lone Star Baptist Church, the Nasher Sculpture Center, the Donna Wilhelm Foundation, and the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture. Developed on church-owned land in the heart of a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood, Artstillery salvaged and reconstructed three shotgun houses from two deteriorating homes nearby—the last remaining before scheduled demolition.
Generations of Adam
Generations of Adam was an immersive experience created and perfomed in 2019 by Artstillery around church trauma. Our writers on each project sit and process the human experience for months. We weave together pieces of narrative, research, the technical, the visual, movement and sound.
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS AND PARTNERS
Reviews
The idea of the ArtCultivation program grew out a desire to give back to the community, especially the arts community, which includes some of the groups hit hardest by the pandemic.
The Generations of Adam isn't a typical theatrical experience. My reaction to the piece took me by surprise, and a week later I'm still reflective about my experience and my own place in its themes.
Their stories address gentrification, poverty, immigration, trauma and other social injustices. Each night’s performance is different, and there are no seasons.