UT Dallas Arts Institution CentralTrak Celebrates 10 Years with Gifts

Two major gifts to CentralTrak: The UT Dallas Artists Residency were announced during the institution’s 10-year anniversary celebration April 11.

Dallas philanthropists Ruthie and Jay Pack have given CentralTrak a $50,000 gift matched by the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History.

“With the impetus of our planned MA in art history and our interest in curatorial studies, the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History is partnering with the Packs to provide a new cash infusion to CentralTrak’s budget,” said Dr. Richard Brettell, founding director of the O’Donnell Institute and the Margaret M. McDermott Distinguished Chair of Art and Aesthetic Studies.

Bolstered by the generous gifts, CentralTrak is poised to raise its profile on the UT Dallas campus, he said.

The O'Donnell Institute has a well-established partnership with the Wilcox Space in Dallas’ Exposition Park, and Brettell said the institute also plans to collaborate with other nearby project and art spaces, the Reading Room and Alden Pinnell’s Power Station .

During the celebration, Dallas Mayor Michael Rawlings honored both Brettell and CentralTrak with a proclamation for their contributions to the artistic spirit of the city. The program is the only long-term artist residency in North Texas, with similar institutions in Houston, San Antonio and Marfa, Texas.

“The most unique quality of CentralTrak is that we are hosting and facilitating the creative practice of living artists,” CentralTrak director Heyd Fontenot said. “This is such an important mission. We aren't supporting the arts in some vague sense; we are supporting the actual creation of art. Art literally comes out of our doors. It is a workshop, a laboratory and a creative space like no other in North Texas. It’s vital to artists, and it makes Dallas and UTD true champions of the arts.”

During a brief speech, Brettell recognized the efforts of previous directors of the program who were present during the commemoration, including founding director Dr. Charissa Terranova, an associate professor of aesthetic studies at UT Dallas, Reading Room Director Karen Weiner and philanthropist Kate Sheerin.

Positioned between Dallas’ Deep Ellum and Fair Park neighborhoods, CentralTrak provides a space for eight artists — four visiting artists and four UT Dallas graduate students — to live and work. The program also encourages visiting artists to engage with the public through lectures, workshops, performances and exhibitions.

CentralTrak’s antecedent came under the management of UT Dallas and became the UT Dallas-South Side Artist Residency in 2003.

It re-emerged as CentralTrak at its current location on Exposition Avenue after a two-year hiatus after developer David Gibson remodeled the old Fair Park Post Office building into a gallery and studio space. Gibson is the largest donor in the history of the residency.

CentralTrak has sponsored more than 100 artists — from Mexico, Ethiopia, France, England, Argentina, Australia, China and South Korea, among other countries — since it opened its doors in 2008. 

“CentralTrak advances three interconnected aspects of UT Dallas,” said Dr. Dennis M. Kratz, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities and the Ignacy and Celina Rockover Professor of Humanities. “It enhances our commitment to the creative arts, it strengthens our presence in the city of Dallas, and it supports our aspiration to be a global educational force by bringing artists from around the world to campus. I see a bright and provocative future at UT Dallas for the arts, for CentralTrak and for the School of Arts and Humanities.”