Craig Hall (00:00):
Dallas is a very, uh, philanthropic city, and a lot of people realize the importance of the arts and realize the importance of having a great internationally acclaimed arts district. And that’s really what we have here. People come to Dallas, to the arts district, they expect high quality. Our goal is to deliver whenever possible. I like to put art in a space and in a, a place intentionally set up for the public, so I’m very excited about that. It’s a property that we purchased two decades ago and are finally being able to start to really enjoy sharing it in the way that we always have envisioned.
Patricia B. Meadows (00:50):
Craig is a collector of art from all over the world, but here in Dallas, he has allowed us to spotlight Texas artists, which thrills me because that’s my great love and specialty. Craig collects with his heart and the artists feel that.
Craig Hall (01:06):
I got into collecting art when I was a teenager. Uh, my mother was an artist and an art teacher. Art for me speaks to individuals in different ways, and it makes people think and it makes people smile. It it, it helps arouse creativity.
Patricia B. Meadows (01:24):
I have always loved Texas art. Not just because I’m from Texas, but because I think that there is some really incredible art being produced here. Eliseo is a fabulous carving sculpture artist. He worked on the wall for about a year. It’s kind of a montage of Texas, uh, themes. William Cannings and he is from Lubbock and he did the cube. That’s sort of on one point. Everybody knows Debbie Ballard. They know Sonja King because she’s so well known in the mosaic world. James Surls big steelwork. He has some symbols that he uses. The diamond, the flowers, it’s all part of what I call their identification. The artist’s signature. Jesus Moroles’s piece are a very emotional piece for me. He died the day after he finished the work, and we are all still grieving over that. I have great reverence for that piece, for everything that he meant to all of us. He was a great figure in the Texas, actually in the international world of art. I am so proud of all of these artworks and the artists who produced them. I am thrilled that they are in the arts district.
Craig Hall (02:54):
I have the greatest, uh, admiration and respect for, for artists and what they do really does make a difference in the lives of everybody. It touches us and it’s a great thing.
Patricia B. Meadows (03:06):
The beauty of this sculpture walk, this plaza is that it’s open and available to the public. It’s a green space. Craig did not have to do that. He could have just filled up this block with revenue producing real estate, and he has given this as a gift really to the city of Dallas and to the citizens and to other people from other places who will come and look at it.
Craig Hall (03:37):
It gives me a great sense of pride, and it will be over many years, a source of a lot of enjoyment and a lot of interest to people of many different ages. It’s going to make people feel good. It’s going to give people joy. That’s what it’s here for.