The Dallas Morning News to present weekend of art and entertainment

Key stakeholders have collaborated to bring contemporary art, culture, music and entertainment to Dallas. The Dallas Morning News and its comprehensive entertainment engine, GuideLive, will feature three premier events: IndexFest, the Lamar Street Festival and Dallas' new signature event, AURORA 2013.

AURORA 2013, presented by The Dallas Morning News, kicks off the weekend, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m., as The Dallas Arts District will come alive with 90 installations of contemporary art spread throughout 19 city blocks. Buildings will serve as backdrops for projections and light, sound, performances and technology will be put to use to transform the area. The evening will showcase some of the most innovative and creative new media artists from North Texas, alongside national and international talent. Visitors are given free access to explore, discover and participate in this celebration of contemporary art.

"AURORA is a unique experience for North Texas, incorporating all of the landmarks and spaces of the Arts District," said Catherine Cuellar, executive director for the Dallas Arts District. "This groundbreaking collaboration with The Dallas Morning News will make AURORA one of the most inclusive and significant events since the completion of the Arts District. The exposure provided by The Morning News, DallasNews.com and GuideLive gives AURORA an unprecedented opportunity to reach a diverse audience. This type of community collaboration is key to attracting artists and performers of high caliber."

"AURORA is a game changer for The Dallas Morning News and GuideLive as they allow us to bring an unprecedented new media art experience to Dallas," said Jason Dyer, chief marketing officer for The Dallas Morning News. "Each of these events will help us simultaneously further our commitment to contributing to our community positively while establishing what will become an annual event for years to come."

AURORA artistic director and creator Shane Pennington, as well as co-founders Joshua King and Veletta Forsythe Lill, were inspired by events known as "Nuit Blanche" that take place annually in cites from Paris to Amsterdam, Montreal to Toronto. With AURORA in Dallas, buildings will become projection screens; streets and courtyards will morph into art installations; steel, glass and concrete will transform The Dallas Arts District's 19-square blocks into an uncommon art experience.

"Internationally known artists like 3_Search, whose work will be featured at this year's AURORA, bring their work to Dallas because of a trusted partner like The Dallas Morning News," said King. "The quality of artists that we have lined up for AURORA 2013 will have a big impact on visitors who come to see the amazing art. Dallas is a city that is fascinated by lights and architecture. The concept for this year's free event, made possible by The Dallas Morning News, is 'The Light of Convergence.'" 

"With this collaboration, The Dallas Morning News builds on their role as a community leader," said Noelle LeVeaux, chief marketing officer at Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau. "With The Morning News making this weekend possible, and leveraging the great resources of GuideLive, AURORA 2013 will bring visitors and new artists to our city, contributing to the city's economic and cultural growth. This will be a significant art event like the city has never seen before."

"Showcasing innovative new media art, including light, sound, video and performance, AURORA 2013 will support Dallas' position as one of the fastest growing arts capitals," says Pennington. "The contribution of The Dallas Morning News and the reach of the news site, dallasnews.com, will help us realize our goal – to light peoples' spirit and imagination, enlivening pride in our culturally rich city." 

Dallas will also benefit from two other events geared for diverse audiences that same weekend with IndexFest and the Lamar Street Festival, which will provide visitors and tourists reasons to stay the entire weekend.

 "The weekend of activities, beginning with AURORA and continuing with IndexFest and the Lamar Street Festival, occurs during October, a traditionally slow month for tourism," said LeVeaux. "These events will give visitors reasons to stay extra days to enjoy our city."

"GuideLive is perfectly aligned to partner with premier events like IndexFest and the Lamar Street Festival," said Dyer. "Our audience looks to GuideLive for all things to go-see-do, and this weekend will be rich with arts, music and culture."

IndexFest, the music fest, presented by Spune in partnership with GuideLive, features more than 60 bands on nine stages. Highlights include Girl Talk, Andrew Bird, DeVotchKa, Sarah Jaffe, El-P & Killer Mike, Warpaint and the Cannabinoids. IndexFest will take place in Deep Ellum, Dallas, Oct. 18-19. 

The Lamar Street Festival will take place Oct. 19 in the Cedars South Side neighborhood. The inaugural Lamar Street Festival, which is being presented by GuideLive, brings together art, film, food and music. The headliner for the day's music line-up is local soul queen Erykah Badu. Attractions include works by more than 40 artists, a short-film competition for amateurs, and activities for kids.