Alvarez-Mathies, who joined Dallas Contemporary five years ago as deputy director before being promoted to executive director in 2022, has built her local reputation by adding a frisson of glamour to the institution’s proceedings along with multicultural programming. Under her aegis, the museum’s annual fall gala became an even more successful fundraiser ($1.7 million was raised last fall alone). In contrast, nights at the museum drew a fresh crowd of stylish millennials and Gen Zers to drink, dance, get micro-tattoos and gaze at the work on view.
Alvarez-Mathies’ departure leaves a space open at the Contemporary for a new vision, and who better to step in than noted curator, writer, programmer and artist Lucia Simek?
A familiar figure on the artistic scene beloved both for her former role at the Nasher Sculpture Center and for pop-up projects such as The Fuel Commission (a portable “gallery” of sorts shown on the fuel cap of her 2017 Volvo and curated with her husband, Scottish curator/writer Gavin Morrison), Simek is a common sight at exhibitions at all levels — from elegant museum openings to edgy pop-ups such as the LaMonte’s Belly at the former Belmont Hotel.
She joined the Contemporary in the fall of 2022 as director of external affairs, and was promoted to deputy director last summer, adding in programming such as DC Performance (we’ll never forget that Christeene show!) and DC Empty, which gives space to regional artists.
New Boss, Same Quality Art
Having forged partnerships with local favorites Sweet Pass Sculpture Park, the Verdigris Ensemble and the Bombshell Dance Project, Simek has the kind of expansive viewpoint that should give the museum even deeper ties to the community while supporting the mission of producing the best possible exhibitions, performances and public programs for free."There has been so much good energy at Dallas Contemporary — through programs, exhibitions and fundraisers — and I am honored and excited to continue to grow this vibrant museum alongside the absolutely remarkable DC team,” says Simek of her appointment,
With the inaugural staff exhibition scheduled to open July 11, the one-night-only Dallas Creation Lab curated by the Bombshell Dance Project on July 27 and a show from Paris, Texas, artist Chivas Clem slated for the fall, the latest iteration of DC should offer the same sleight-of-hand mix of community-friendly programming, blue-chip exhibitions and cutting-edge events that have allowed this institution to keep its spot in the forefront of contemporary artists’ practice in our ever-changing city.
