Greater Denton Arts Council

05/30/2026

✨ Closing Reception alert! Nuran Tever .tever on June 5, 2026 from 7 - 9 PM at Embassy Suites Hotel Denton . ✨

Join the Greater Denton Arts Council for the closing reception celebrating the work of artist Nuran Tever, currently on display in the Embassy Suites Hotel lobby gallery space.

Through layered abstraction, symbolism, and memory, Tever’s work explores immigration, identity, grief, and belonging. Drawing from personal experiences as a Turkish immigrant artist, her paintings reflect the emotional landscapes of displacement and acceptance while weaving together fragments of memory, architecture, flora, and cultural symbolism.

“In my works I explore the immigrant identity and feelings of the diaspora… Today, I would define my art to be abstract portrayals of the feelings and memories of an immigrant, sometimes even self-portraits of growth and acceptance.”

🎉 Closing Reception: Friday, June 5, 2026 | 7–9 PM
🥂 Light refreshments provided
🎨 Meet the artist & purchase original artwork
✨ Come-and-go atmosphere | Free & open to the public

Experience this thoughtful and deeply personal exhibition before it closes on June 20, 2026.

05/27/2026

Opening reception is tomorrow, Thursday from 6 - 8 PM! 💫

Vote for the "People's Choice Award" inside Gough gallery from 6 - 7 PM only, then stay for the awards ceremony presented by Artists Enclave of Denton County and their juror Amy Lewis Holfand from 7 - 7:30 PM. Meet the artists, enjoy live music, and light refreshments. 🎼 🎉

Free and open to the public!

🌍 Now on View: Many Worlds, One Home 🌍
May 23 – July 18, 2026
Patterson-Appleton Arts Center | Greater Denton Arts Council

The Greater Denton Arts Council is pleased to present Many Worlds, One Home, a juried exhibition developed by the Artists Enclave of Denton County. Featuring 33 works by 29 artists, the exhibition brings together a wide range of media—including oil, watercolor, printmaking, photography, textiles, sculpture, calligraphy, and mixed media—to reflect the diverse perspectives and lived experiences that shape Denton County and its neighboring communities. 🗻

Juried by Amy Lewis Hofland, Senior Director of the Crow Museum of Asian Art, the exhibition highlights artists whose work thoughtfully engages themes of identity, place, and connection. ✨

“Like distinct flowers sharing one vibrant garden, the many worlds we inhabit—physical, cultural, social, and spiritual—form a shared home. The works on display explore themes ranging from shifting identities and the expressive power of color and costumes to environment and memory, trauma and resilience, cultural heritage and the notion of belonging, and the tension between permanence and change. Through personal narratives and collective reflections, Many Worlds, One Home honors unity in diversity and the beauty that emerges when individual stories converge.”
— Amy Lewis Hofland & Artists Enclave of Denton County Exhibition Committee

🎉 Opening Reception: May 28, 2026 | 6–8 PM

Join us at GDAC to celebrate this vibrant and community-centered exhibition, hear from the juror and attend the awards presentation.

Inside Gough gallery: from 6 – 7 PM only, cast your ballot for the “People’s Choice Award” for your favorite work in the show.

Awards Presentation: from 7 – 7:30 PM, awards presented by juror and curator Amy Lewis Hofland and the Artists Enclave Exhibition Committee. 🎉

05/23/2026

✨ Call for Entries: Materials: Hard + Soft 2027 (40th Anniversary) ✨
On view February 26 – May 8, 2027
Meadows Gallery | Greater Denton Arts Council

The Greater Denton Arts Council proudly announces the 40th annual International Materials: Hard + Soft Contemporary Craft & Digital Art Competition and Exhibition—a milestone year for one of the premier craft exhibitions in the country.

Founded in 1987 by artist Georgia Leach Gough, Materials: Hard + Soft has long celebrated the evolving field of contemporary craft and the artists who push the boundaries of their media. The exhibition highlights innovative work across ceramic, wood, fiber, metal, glass, paper, and mixed media—and, since 2025, has expanded to include digital and conceptual art.

Artists are invited to submit work that thoughtfully explores the relationship between concept and material—bringing new ideas, forms, and perspectives into dialogue.

🌍 Open to local, national, and international artists
🎨 All craft media, plus digital & conceptual work accepted
🖼 Submit 1–3 artworks per artist

🗓 Submissions Open: May 23, 2026
🗓 Deadline: October 10, 2026 (11:59 PM CT)
🔗 Apply via CaFÉ and Link in our Bio: https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=17346

💵 Entry Fee: $35 (covers up to 3 submissions; additional entries free)
🎟 GDAC Members receive a $5 discount (details in monthly newsletter)

🏆 Awards:
• 2 × $1,000 Juror’s Choice Awards
• 4 × $450 Awards: Best Quality Craftsmanship, Best in New Media, Most Innovative Use of Materials, & The Storyteller

📌 Work must be completed within the past three years and not previously exhibited at the Patterson-Appleton Arts Center.

Jurors for the 2027 exhibition will be announced soon.

Join us in celebrating 40 years of innovation, craftsmanship, and creative exploration.

05/23/2026

🌍 Now on View: Many Worlds, One Home 🌍
May 23 – July 18, 2026
Patterson-Appleton Arts Center | Greater Denton Arts Council

The Greater Denton Arts Council is pleased to present Many Worlds, One Home, a juried exhibition developed by the Artists Enclave of Denton County. Featuring 33 works by 29 artists, the exhibition brings together a wide range of media—including oil, watercolor, printmaking, photography, textiles, sculpture, calligraphy, and mixed media—to reflect the diverse perspectives and lived experiences that shape Denton County and its neighboring communities. 🗻

Juried by Amy Lewis Hofland, Senior Director of the Crow Museum of Asian Art, the exhibition highlights artists whose work thoughtfully engages themes of identity, place, and connection. ✨

“Like distinct flowers sharing one vibrant garden, the many worlds we inhabit—physical, cultural, social, and spiritual—form a shared home. The works on display explore themes ranging from shifting identities and the expressive power of color and costumes to environment and memory, trauma and resilience, cultural heritage and the notion of belonging, and the tension between permanence and change. Through personal narratives and collective reflections, Many Worlds, One Home honors unity in diversity and the beauty that emerges when individual stories converge.”
— Amy Lewis Hofland & Artists Enclave of Denton County Exhibition Committee

🎉 Opening Reception: May 28, 2026 | 6–8 PM

Join us at GDAC to celebrate this vibrant and community-centered exhibition, hear from the juror and attend the awards presentation.

Inside Gough gallery: from 6 – 7 PM only, cast your ballot for the “People’s Choice Award” for your favorite work in the show.

Awards Presentation: from 7 – 7:30 PM, awards presented by juror and curator Amy Lewis Hofland and the Artists Enclave Exhibition Committee. 🎉

05/22/2026

📸 Now on View: The Taste of Old Mexico by Pablo Alonso Cruz 📸
May 20 – November 14, 2026
📍 Stoke CoWorking Denton

The Greater Denton Arts Council is pleased to present The Taste of Old Mexico, a solo exhibition by Pablo Alonso Cruz .a_cruz, featuring cyanotypes and emulsion lift photographs. Through material experimentation and photographic processes rooted in history and memory, Cruz reflects on cultural identity, nostalgia, and the complexities of representation within Mexican-American experience.

“The phrase ‘A Taste of Old Mexico’ is often linked to the consumption and commercialization of Mexican culture. It evokes clichéd imagery that is painted, printed, and distributed worldwide. These stereotypes provide a simplistic representation of a richly diverse community. Ironically, this tourist phrase can stir nostalgia for the very culture it oversimplifies and categorizes. This shared memory is complex, caught between reductive caricatures, authentic ingredients, and the diverse tastes of both the Mexican-American community and the American appetite for the exotic.

In this portfolio, I explore the inherent nature of categorization, which has historically been tied to cyanotype, and combine it with the nostalgic quality of Polaroid photography to reflect on culture and the ingredients of memory. Through this work, I aim to convey a shared Mexican-American experience—one that has shaped the palates and imaginations of a homeland profoundly affected by historical conflicts.”

Be sure to visit and experience this thoughtful and layered body of work and spend time in Stoke's three conference rooms for your next meeting!

05/19/2026

Please join us for Open Studios at Back Door Residency for SpeedBump lil d! 🎉

Back Door Residency was founded in January 2026 by Paper Chair Studios and is located at Greater Denton Arts Council. The residency provides emerging artists in North Texas with time and space to create their work.

Applications will open in late 2026, and four artists will each complete a three month residency in 2027. Paper Chair’s board will help establish the program as the first year’s residents in 2026. ✨

Delaney Smith-Vaughn, co-founder of Paper Chair, is the second resident at Back Door. Delaney is an artist and community builder based in Denton, TX. She uses fiber processes such as paper making, weaving, and dyeing to create sculptures and interactive books. Outside of her day job as a career coach for art and design students, she teaches workshops at community centers and institutions such as Penland School of Craft and The University of Pennsylvania. Locally, she leads Sew Gold, a skill-share monthly meetup for creatives. She co-founded Speedbump lil d with Anna Galluzzi in 2022 as a way to give a platform for local artists and advocate for their support.

The door to Back Door Residency is on the side of the Patterson-Appleton Arts Center facing Hickory Street. At this time, Back Door Residency is not wheelchair accessible due to the age of the building. We are working to make the space ADA accessible in the future. 💫

05/18/2026

Happening tonight at Texas Oncology Denton! From 5:30 - 7:30 PM please join us for the opening reception for Calhoun Middle School's art show at Texas Oncology Denton. Denton ISD Fine Arts

🎨 Now on View: Calhoun Middle School Student Exhibition 🎨
📍 Texas Oncology Denton
On view May 11 – October 24, 2026

The Greater Denton Arts Council is proud to present a new student exhibition featuring artwork by Denton ISD’s Calhoun Middle School. This vibrant collection of 24 works is installed throughout the lobby and main hallways of the treatment center—spaces shared daily by patients, families, and healthcare staff.

From expressive self-portraits to imaginative scenes inspired by nature, sci-fi, and animation, these works reflect the creativity, curiosity, and unique perspectives of young artists. Their presence brings moments of color, joy, and reflection into an environment that can often feel physically and emotionally demanding.

Student artwork holds a special kind of power in this setting—offering comfort, inspiration, and a reminder of the resilience and imagination that connect us all.

🎉 Opening Reception: May 18, 2026 at Texas Oncology Denton
Free and open to the public!
oncology.denton Texas Oncology .oncology

05/13/2026

GDAC’s Summer Art Camps are just around the corner, and we’re gathering supplies to stock up for a summer full of creativity and fun!

Want to help? You can support our camps by purchasing items directly from our Amazon Wishlist! Every donation helps provide supplies for our art, music, and dance camps. 🎨

View our wishlist here: https://a.co/01JEGf4f

Thank you for supporting GDAC! 💛

05/12/2026

🎨 Now on View: Calhoun Middle School Student Exhibition 🎨
📍 Texas Oncology Denton
On view May 11 – October 24, 2026

The Greater Denton Arts Council is proud to present a new student exhibition featuring artwork by Denton ISD’s Calhoun Middle School. This vibrant collection of 24 works is installed throughout the lobby and main hallways of the treatment center—spaces shared daily by patients, families, and healthcare staff.

From expressive self-portraits to imaginative scenes inspired by nature, sci-fi, and animation, these works reflect the creativity, curiosity, and unique perspectives of young artists. Their presence brings moments of color, joy, and reflection into an environment that can often feel physically and emotionally demanding.

Student artwork holds a special kind of power in this setting—offering comfort, inspiration, and a reminder of the resilience and imagination that connect us all.

🎉 Opening Reception: May 18, 2026 at Texas Oncology Denton
Free and open to the public!
oncology.denton Texas Oncology .oncology