Dallas’ Site 131 gallery is closing

One of Dallas’ most innovative contemporary venues is closing in December 2024.

Opened in 2015 by Dallas’ longtime art influencer Joan Davidow and her son Seth, Site 131 was conceived from the beginning as an artsy, non-collecting gallery.

For the next decade, the Site showcased boundary-pushing works by artists including Manuel Burgener. Alicia EggertAnd Jeremiah Onifade and local collectors Carter/Wynne, Curtis E. Ransom and Howard Rachofsky.

A lifelong art enthusiast, Davidow has worked as an on-air commentator for PBS and as a director at the Arlington Museum of Art and Dallas Contemporary. In 2015, inspired by his real estate investor son gambling in a brick and mortar space of their own It’s at 131 Payne Street in the Design District.

“The 131 thing was Seth’s idea,” Davidow explains. “Site 131 was a complete invention to showcase art from there and beyond; There was nothing like it outside of museums. “We eventually exhibited over 1,000 artists, but shipping art became too costly at that time and we could not continue doing so.”

When is Seth Davidow? died last year This was a significant blow due to complications of Lou Gehrig’s disease. Still, Joan Davidow felt it was crucial to keep the space open until the 10th year to honor her legacy.

“It wasn’t (the gallery’s provision) in Seth’s will. “The people who have managed his estate since his death said they would rent it to me for another year, but only one more year,” explains Joan Davidow. “It was meaningful to me, so I wanted it to be ten years.

“This was Seth’s idea (to create Site 131) and it was such a cool thing to do together that I can’t repeat it.”

Davidow chose to close the site “Reply All” It features billboard-sized paintings by interdisciplinary artist SV Randall. As the show continues, he considers his next move; that might mean organizing art tours for curious culturalists or writing a grant for a new school solving chronic pain management at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Davidow says: “I am open to change after 45 years of working in a highly directive program that challenged me to invent things in culture and to do it with someone I loved. But there is always room for invention; there is always room for new ideas, awareness and matching of audience potential.” “Who knows what will happen next? It’s completely open.”

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