Arts, Culture & Community • Deep Ellum Foundation
Investing in the people
who make Deep Ellum.
Deep Ellum’s creative identity is built by its artists, musicians, and makers. The Deep Ellum Foundation works directly with these creative communities to develop projects, create opportunities, and bring their work into the neighborhood’s public spaces.
Through grants, private funding, and community partnerships, we help support the arts ecosystem that makes Deep Ellum distinctive. We connect resources with local talent, collaborate with property owners and cultural partners, and bring projects from concept to public experience.
Our strategic plan in action • Activated & Promoted Experience
Supporting creativity takes ongoing work.
From temporary galleries and artist-designed banners to murals, cultural trails, and neighborhood celebrations, our work gives people more ways to encounter art—and more opportunities to discover the people behind it.
Bring resources to creative work.
We pursue grants and private support that help make arts and cultural initiatives possible.
Work directly with local talent.
We collaborate with artists, musicians, photographers, and makers to develop projects grounded in the people and stories of our community.
Create space for expression.
We work with property owners and partners to bring creative activity into storefronts, streets, and shared public spaces.
Connect creators with audiences.
Through public installations, neighborhood experiences, and promotion, we help people discover local creative work and the businesses and venues around it.
From ideas to public experiences
Our initiatives & collaborations
01 / OUR WORK
Pop Up Galleries
Creating space for artists.
The Deep Ellum Foundation works with local property owners to connect artists with temporarily available spaces. These partnerships turn vacant storefronts into places for exhibitions and creative exchange, giving artists a platform to share their work and inviting people to experience the neighborhood in new ways.
Explore Pop Up Galleries02 / OUR WORK
International Culture Showcase
Bringing local creativity to a global celebration.
Developed by the Deep Ellum Foundation in partnership with Visit Dallas, this neighborhood banner initiative brings artistic interpretations of 48 participating countries into Deep Ellum’s streets. The project connects creative expression with cultural exchange through a shared public exhibition.
Explore International Culture Showcase03 / OUR WORK
Deep Ellum Art Walk
Helping people discover the artists behind the neighborhood.
Our self-guided Art Walk connects murals, artist stories, and places worth a closer look. By bringing these works together in an accessible neighborhood experience, we help visitors engage with public art and discover the creativity woven throughout Deep Ellum.
Explore Deep Ellum Art Walk04 / OUR WORK
Blues Alley
Honoring musical history through public art.
Blues Alley brings visual artists and musical storytelling together through murals honoring the people who shaped the blues. This DEF-led initiative creates a place to encounter that history while recognizing the artists interpreting it today.
Explore Blues Alley05 / OUR WORK
Musical Art Garden
Revitalizing Art Park through art and music.
Through the Musical Art Garden, DEF revitalized Art Park as a place where visual art and musical identity come together. Artists’ interpretations of musicians bring new creative life to this shared public space, celebrating musical talent while giving local visual artists a prominent place to share their work.
Explore Musical Art Garden06 / OUR WORK
Dallas Cultural Trail
Building connections across cultural districts.
DEF is a development partner in the Dallas Cultural Trail, working with fellow cultural district organizations, the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, and Visit Dallas. Together, the partners are developing connections among art, history, architecture, and cultural destinations, with Deep Ellum contributing its distinctive stories and creative community.
Explore Dallas Cultural Trail07 / OUR WORK
Live Music Lens
Putting musicians and photographers in view.
Curated by the Deep Ellum Foundation, Live Music Lens brings photographs of Dallas musicians to neighborhood streetlight banners. The series celebrates live performance while recognizing the local photographers who capture and preserve those moments.
Explore Live Music Lens08 / OUR WORK
New Growth
Making room for new creative expression.
Through the New Growth streetlight banner series, DEF brings artists’ interpretations of growth, renewal, and community into the neighborhood. The project gives individual creative voices a shared public platform and invites people to experience original artwork as part of everyday life in Deep Ellum.
Explore New GrowthBringing the neighborhood together
Community events & activations
DEF-led celebrations create opportunities for neighbors, visitors, creative communities, and local businesses to come together. Each brings Deep Ellum’s personality into the shared experience of the neighborhood.
Deep Ellum Block Party
A neighborhood celebration rooted in Deep Ellum’s music, creativity, and community. DEF brings people together around the local talent, venues, and businesses that make the district a place to discover and return to.
Tree Lighting
Our Tree Lighting brings neighbors and visitors together to welcome the holiday season. It creates a shared moment of celebration and a reason to gather in Deep Ellum.
Winter WTFLand
Holiday spirit, Deep Ellum style. This DEF-led initiative invites neighborhood businesses to decorate with personality—and invites the public to vote for their favorite business décor.
Returning for its second year • Holiday season 2026
Winter WTFLand: Make it festive. Make it Deep Ellum.
We’re preparing for a second year of unexpected, imaginative holiday decorations across the neighborhood. Winter WTFLand gives businesses a way to show off their creativity and gives visitors a reason to explore, discover their favorites, and cast a vote.
Watch for participating businesses and voting details as the holiday season approaches.
Invest in Deep Ellum’s creative future
Help make the next project possible.
A strong arts ecosystem needs sustained support. Grants, private contributions, and community partnerships help DEF continue working with local artists, musicians, and makers to bring creative projects to life.
Your support helps create opportunities for the people whose work shapes Deep Ellum—and keeps art and culture part of the neighborhood’s everyday experience.