To show Tyler’s appreciation for the arts,the City of Tyler has created an advisory committeecalled the Downtown Tyler Arts Coalition.Since last fall, Tyler has been in the processof forming this organization. The DTACcurrently consists of several artists, art collectorsand art faculty from Tyler Junior Collegeand the University of Texas at Tyler.The DTAC will consist of four subsets ofactivities: covering visual art, theatre, musicand dance. The membership will be open tothe public and each subset will pull togetherpossible events for the city.”DTAC will be comprised of people livingin Tyler and its surrounding areas, peoplewho will actually create new ideas and do thework in order to bring the arts to Tyler,” DebbieCannatella, an artist who has displayedwork from New Orleans to Chicago, said.She is one of the main representativesfor the visual arts subset. She was selected byBeverly Abell, Tyler Main Street Program director,and started with the original concept ofDTAC.”I have found these guys to be extremelyprofessional and experienced,” Abell said. “Thisidea has been a real joy among artists.”The organization is currently focusing onthe Visual Arts subset and an opening of aMain Street Gallery.The city wants a high-end gallery and intendsto keep the bar raised on the quality andintegrity of the work.The city is hoping to open the gallerythis June. DTAC Visual Art subset also willbe organizing First Friday art walks to highlightlocal artists through window displaysin the businesses located around the square.They hope this will help their plan to revitalizedowntown Tyler.”Downtown is the calling card of a community.It speaks more of (the) condition ofyour community,” Abell said.The coalition hopes for community involvementin the upcoming projects.”Anyone is allowed and more than welcometo join in.” Abell said. “From what thecommunity knows about it, they are really excited.”As an example of their involvement, Festivalon the Square continues to move towardbeing a large musical event with concerts, aswell as Tyler’s Blues Festival.DTAC hopes musicians will be interestedin venues during the First Friday art walks, aswell as choral opportunities for the downtownarea.DTAC already has helped the East TexasSymphony Orchestra relocate to the square,and they look forward to organizing art eventsto coincide with special openings of the Symphony.”Theater is strong and vibrant in Tyler,and we hope the theatre subset will organizeevents to bring theatrical opportunities todowntown Tyler,” Cannatella said. “Open airtheatrical performances for the public are oneof our dreams in order to expose Tyler to moretheater and bring them into the auditoriumhalls.”The dance subset will create venues toshowcase Tyler’s dancers. From belly dancersto ballet dancers and liturgical dance. Alldancers will have an opportunity to share theirform of movement with the rest of Tyler andexpand its dance interest.For more information go to the Tyler cityWeb site http://www.tylertexas.com.
