The year is coming to an end, which means it’s time to look back on our top stories of 2023.
From lowrider culture to the opening of Meow Wolf in Grapevine, the Arts Access team has been covering arts and culture at the intersection of access and equity.
We looked at pageviews, social media engagement and which stories most exemplified our mission to determine our best stories for the year.
A North Texas mom embraces the messiness of life and now has 2.1 million TikTok followers
This profile on Alissa Nguyen, also known as Gaming Foodie on social media, was viewed by over 40,000 readers. It reached a wide audience on multiple platforms with a digital story, radio story, discussion on the Dallas Morning News’ Eat Drink DFW podcast and an Instagram collaboration with Gaming Foodie herself. The story breaks down who Gaming Foodie is and where phrases like “blackity-peppy” come from.
Flora Lofts promised cheap housing for Dallas artists. What went wrong?
Affordable housing has been a hot topic of discussion since home prices have skyrocketed. But long before that the city has talked about building affordable housing for artists. Flora Lofts promised to be that. This feature documents the breakdown of an affordable housing initiative for artists and what that means for artists who are still trying to make it in Dallas. Part of Arts Access’ role is focusing on when arts initiatives fall short, not just when things go right – this story does exactly that. It’s part of our series exploring how North Texas’ arts economy is doing.
A first look inside Meow Wolf’s immersive exhibit opening July 14 at Grapevine Mills
One of the biggest North Texas arts headlines of the year was Meow Wolf’s opening in Grapevine. The immersive art company has inspired a huge fanbase nationwide with its whimsical, otherworldly experiences that resonate with children, teenagers and adults. For one of our most viewed stories of the year, Arts Access got an exclusive look into ‘The Real Unreal’ and shared that with our readers.
These Latina sisters are continuing their uncle’s legacy with the Dallas Lowriders
Mariah and Mercedes Mata grew up watching their uncle and dad drive lowriders. But seeing women drivers was rare. Now, the two sisters are carrying on that legacy. This feature’s powerful narrative and visuals help readers understand the rich culture and community of the Dallas Lowriders club. It also highlights the growing influence of female lowriders in the male-dominated landscape. Our lowrider coverage continued later in the year, when we profiled on Instagram an Oak Cliff man who built a miniature lowrider track in his backyard. That reel got the highest number of views of all our posts on Instagram this year.
‘I could lose everything’: Dallas drag performers say Texas bills could impact their jobs
In response to the ongoing dialogue about Texas bills targeting drag, this story examines the issue at the intersection of politics and art. It explores how legislation can impact the livelihoods of drag performers as artists and adds a perspective to the policy-heavy conversation.
3 Texas comedians on accents, stereotypes and consequences
Hector Sifuentes, Paul Varghese and Yola Lu are masters at weaving their personal identities into their comedy. But as social norms continue to evolve we talked to the three comedians about what’s OK to joke about. At Arts Access, we’re all about telling stories differently. That’s why we hosted this comedy roundtable with three Texas comedians on Instagram live. Each of them spoke on a variety of different topics from generational divides in comedy to accents to stereotyping.
Arts Access is an arts journalism collaboration powered by The Dallas Morning News and KERA.
This community-funded journalism initiative is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, The University Texas at Dallas, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef and The Meadows Foundation. The News and KERA retain full editorial control of Arts Access’ journalism.
