Oak Cliff Cultural Center

Oak Cliff Cultural Center

The Oak Cliff Cultural Center (OC3) is a cultural center in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. The building contains an art gallery, dance studio, and a multi-purpose studio for events and exhibits. They present eight to ten exhibitions yearly with accompanying programs for all exhibitions. The community surrounding the center has used for many events to showcase Oak Cliff's character and culture.

Location

The Oak Cliff Cultural Center was originally located in the Southland Ice Company Ice House, in 1915. Later in the 1990s to 2000s they renovated the building to become The Ice House Cultural Center (IHCC). This cultural center primarily focused on Latinx art and culture. In 2015, developers were considering buying the culture center building for more areas to build more apartments. The building itself was also a rented space which had limited the abilities and opportunities that could be done at that location. The City of Dallas operated the cultural center for 10 years and decided to close it down the fall of 2009. With $1.5 million in bond money from the 2003 electron, the city of Dallas decided to renovate and build a new cultural center.

The newly renovated building, once known as an old store front, became known as the Oak Cliff Cultural Center (OC3). Located at 223 Jefferson Blvd, Dallas, TX 75208. The center's grand opening was on August 12, 2010. The building itself was renovated to fit the needs of the new cultural center that was put on by the Cultural Affairs Office of Dallas, TX. Their main point for the center was to bring the community together for a more enriching cultural experience.

The Oak Cliff Cultural Center is just a division of the four multi-cultural centers around Dallas such as the Bath House Cultural Center, Latino Cultural Center, South Dallas Cultural Center. These organizations are dedicated to highlighting different cultures in the districts of Dallas, Texas, with the purpose of preserving and educating the public on the culture of different communities under the City of Dallas Office of Arts & Culture. So far, they have created many exhibitions highlighting artists from many backgrounds including art, music, dance and film.

History

In 1887, Thomas L. Marsalis, a New York developer, bought land that was a part of Hord's Ridge. He renamed the area Oak Cliff and had plans of making it into a vacation resort. He developed a lot of projects, but in 1893 there was an economic depression that had bankrupt Marsalis, and drove him back to New York. Today he is still considered the father of Oak Cliff. The area later became subdivized to the Middle and Working Classes. In 1903, Oak Cliff was annexed to the City of Dallas. In 1906, Charles A. Mangold had developed a park. The park is known today as Lake Cliff Park.

During the 1930s, the Great Depression economically devastated the neighborhood of Oak Cliff. Many were left without jobs and African Americans comprised half of that population. Churches closed and businesses went bankrupt. The Methodist Hospital, now known as Methodist Dallas Medical Center, almost shut it doors but private donations prevented it from doing so, and other efforts to keep the neighborhood alive. Lake Cliff Park offered free outdoor silent movies and they had lots to offer for the children such as a large swimming pool, play grounds, and amusements.

Demographic change

During the mid to late 1960s, Latinos only accounted for two percent of the population in Oak Cliff, the majority of whom were born in the United States. Dallas during this time was growing and the city constructed the Dallas North Tollway right through Little Mexico, a town in Dallas where Latinx primarily resided. This forced people to move and most went to Oak Cliff. The Civil rights movement was on the rage, challenging segregation, redlining, amongst more. For Oak Cliff, it was still primarily a white community. It wasn't until the Civil Rights Movement that Oak Cliff became more diverse. A Lot of the white residents did not appreciate people of color moving in to the area and were left with two decisions, to stay and learn to live in a more diverse area or leave. This led to the "white flight", or the exodus of white residents from an area when people of color move in. Which led to a demographic change in Oak Cliff. This left room for people of color to move in and create more jobs and opportunities for the families. The people who mostly populated Oak Cliff were African Americans, Native Americans, and Mexican-Americans.

Starting in the 1980s, 26,000 Latinx residents took up residency in Oak Cliff and started restructuring broken down homes and rented them out to their families. There was an influx of people who were Puerto Rican, Honduran, Salvadoran and Cuban moving into the Oak Cliff area. This gave more opportunity and jobs for the Oak Cliff Community, but due to gentrification rent and housing started to increase.

Exhibitions

Artists

The OC3 has done many exhibitions for artists such as Sedrick Huckaby, Jose Canepa, and Kelsey Anne Heimerman. Their focus for one exhibition in 2018 that the organization did was “Humankind” and the subject matter of Inclusivity of all races and all genders.

Their most recent exhibition is of the artist Ray Albarez, called "GHOST CHROMATIC ALCHEMIST". The exhibition was curated by Hatziel Flores and hosted by the Oak Cliff Cultural Center. During the pandemic and everything became online this allotted time for Albarez to create art. He saw that murals were getting canceled and he started to by large canvases and get to work.

Workshops and programs

They have workshops and programs that can range from learning how to dance to cell phone photography. They also have film screenings, like the screening they have done “Jorge Perez Solano’s Espiral”.

Podcasts

This organization also has a podcast where they can educate and can talk about the local artists, they put on exhibition in their multi–purpose studio. They have interviewed many artists including that are Musicians like DJ EZ Eddie D, Dancers and Dance groups like Ladies in Rhythm. They have even interviewed artists of paintings such as artists Mylan Nguyen, Taro Waggoner, and Brent Ozaeta. The artists are asked questions about their work, influences, experiences, and even their opinions and positions of the City of Dallas, Texas.

References

• "Oak Cliff Cultural Center". Dallas News. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
• "Oak Cliff Cultural Center - Performing Arts Venues - Dallas". D Magazine Directories. Retrieved 2023-09-15.