The Dallas Contemporary Gala arrives this Saturday, September 20, transforming 161 Glass Street into an evening of art and momentum for the museum’s mission. Doors open in the early evening for the ticketed event with the program led by Artistic Chairs Shayna Fontana Horowitz and Robyn Siegel and Auction Chairs Peter Augustus Owen and Robyn Siegel. Executive Director Lucia Simek welcomes guests to a night presented by Headington Companies. Proceeds sustain Dallas Contemporary’s work as a non-collecting kunsthalle: free exhibitions, performances, and public programs that advance “the art of this moment.”
The Host Committee includes Raheela Ahsan, Roheen Ahsan, Christine Beauchamp, Brian Bolke + Faisal Halum, Cat Ward Carothers, Charlie Caulkins, Grace Cook, Bela + Chase Cooley, Kelly Cornell, Nadia Dabbakeh + Jason Friedman, Katie Decker, Megan Delgado, Meg Florence, Joyce Goss, Caroline Harrison + J. Gavin Loehr, Yiyi Huang + Will Arbery, Erika Huddleston, Sarah Hustava, Clayton Irby, Marsland Johnson, Erin Keith, Jenny Kirtland, Lydia + Nick McCutchen, Tricia Miller, Carly + Micah Nance, Jessica Nowitzki, Anais Nussbaumer, Noel Pittman, Cindy + Armond Schwartz, Jessica Shepherd, Amanda Shufeldt, Mimi Slater, Ashley Varel, Annette Whitney + Jeff Rasansky, Megan + Brady Wood, and Erika Everett Yeaman. Supporters are led by Presenting sponsors Headington Companies and Ann + John McReynolds; Major: Concepto; Gold: Christine Beauchamp, Belmond, Eugene McDermott Foundation, Marguerite Hoffman, KHAITE, Missoni, Jill + Rod Sager, Jacquelin Sewell + William Atkinson, and The Future Perfect; Silver: Balmain, Christie’s, Dallas Art Fair Foundation, Dior, Catalina Gonzalez + Santiago Jorba, Linda + Jon Halbert, and RG|MX; Silver Co-Sponsors: Anne Bruder, Francis Ryburn, Tammy Cotton Hartnett, Leisa Street, Muffin Lemak, and Karla McKinley; Dynamic Duo: Donna + Reed Cagle, Francis Harrison, Christina + Sal Jafar, Rick Lear, Kasey + Todd Lemkin, and Shelby Wagner + Niven Morgan; Additional support from Booker T., Champagne Madame Zero, Château Le Sol, and LALO; Valet Sponsor: Origin Bank.
The benefit auction, powered by Indy Auctions, is central to the museum’s annual support and unfolds in two parts. Silent bidding is now open and will run through Sunday, 21 September, at 7:00 p.m., with select lots offered live in the room on Gala Night.
Several highlights speak to the breadth of the offering. Ali Dipp’s Selvedge (American Landscape No. 2 A.B. Durand), 2025, reconstructs a 19th-century American vista in stitched thread on denim, a textile that reframes the genre through the materials of the present; the lot is offered courtesy of Franklin Parrasch Gallery and the artist.
Chris Wolston’s Parrot Vessel, 2021, animates the junction of sculpture and domestic object: sand-cast aluminum interlaced with Colombian mimbre (wicker), courtesy of the artist and The Future Perfect.
Robert Janitz contributes Untitled (2024), oil, wax, and flour on linen, whose broad flour-whipped strokes drift over gradient grounds to open slippages of light and shadow; the work is offered courtesy of the artist and SAENGER GALERIA.
Yves Scherer’s Imagine (Kate Caterpillar B&W), 2024, layers an archival print with lenticular lens and acrylic components on Dibond, framed in oak, courtesy of Galería Mascota.
After dinner and the live auction, the celebration continues inside the museum with a hi-fi afterparty hosted by Shyboy, the soon-to-open Listening Bar concept. From 10:00 p.m. to midnight, GE-OLOGY, Brooklyn DJ, collector, and producer for artists including Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Jill Scott, De La Soul, and Yukimi Nagano (Little Dragon), takes the decks while Shyboy serves signature highballs, craft cocktails, and soft-serve. Tickets are $75 for members and $150 for non-members; attire is cocktail. All afterparty ticket sales directly sustain Dallas Contemporary’s mission.
For planning: the gala takes place at Dallas Contemporary, 161 Glass Street, in the Design District; doors open in the evening, with the afterparty running 10:00 p.m.–12:00 a.m. on site. Register to bid online and preview the catalogue in advance; the silent auction remains open through 7:00 pm on 21 September, with proceeds directly benefiting the museum.