Registration is open for June - July classes.

Community

A community of artists. A nonprofit mission. Sixty years in Dallas.

The Creative Arts Center of Dallas is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit cultural organization serving Dallas and North Texas since 1966. Our charitable mission is to make the visual arts accessible to everyone — not just those who can afford an elite institution. We pursue that mission through community workshops, public exhibitions, scholarships, and outreach programs that bring the arts to youth, working artists, retirees, and underserved communities across our region.CAC is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and is sustained by program fees, charitable contributions, grants, and the support of more than 1,500 community members each year.

What We Do

CAC operates a community art campus where the visual arts are practiced, taught, and shared.

Community Workshops. We offer year-round workshops for adults and teens in ceramics, painting, drawing, jewelry and small metals, glass, fiber arts, mosaic, photography, printmaking, woodworking, sculpture, and stone carving. Workshops are open to all skill levels — from first-time learners to working artists — and led by professional teaching artists from the regional creative community. Class fees support both the workshops themselves and the charitable programs described below.

Camp MetalHead. A summer program in jewelry, welding, and metalwork for underserved teens ages 13–17, providing both creative instruction and relevant job-skills training. Supported in part through the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture's Cultural Organization Program.. See available programs

Run with the P.A.C.K. Our teen mural painting program, offered at no cost to participants.

Art as a Second Language. Free, artist-led community art projects offered each spring and fall at Klyde Warren Park.

Equitable Artist Residency (EAR). A residency program centering BIPOC artists, allowing two to three artists each year to take over our gallery, develop and exhibit a show of their choosing, and provide education for CAC students. Apply for a residency

Scholarships. Available year-round so that financial need is never a barrier to participation in our workshops. Apply for a scholarship or make a donation to our scholarship program

Public Exhibitions and Community Events. We present exhibitions of local and regional artists, host community gatherings, and partner with Dallas-area schools and organizations to extend the reach of the arts.