History

The City of Irving and its residents are extremely proud of the arts, entertainment and cultural activities that are offered at the multi-million dollar city-owned Irving Arts Center. In August 1980, the Irving City Council established the City of Irving Arts Board, which was charged with the responsibility of encouraging and supporting community arts activities. The work of the nine-person board is funded through a portion of the local hotel room occupancy tax.

In April of 1986, the Arts Board opened the first phase of the Irving Arts Center. The facility was completed in 1990. The Irving Arts Center has more than 91,500 square feet of performing and visual arts space, including a 707-seat concert hall (Carpenter Performance Hall), and a 253-seat theater (Dupree Theater). The center houses four gallery spaces that offer rotating exhibitions. The Main Gallery is a 3,800-square-foot art gallery space with 200 linear feet of wall space. The facilities are utilized seven days a week and are available for rental for everything from community meetings and full-scale symphonies to weddings and receptions.

The Arts Board operates a grants program of assistance to local organizations, offering arts activities to the citizens of Irving. Programs that receive funding include symphonic presentations, theatrical productions, art exhibits, programs for children, special guest artists and special programming.

Other activities of the Irving Arts Center include professionally curated art exhibitions, special events and consultations with local art organizations pertaining to such areas as grant writing, event management and marketing strategies.

Currently, the Irving Arts Board is home to the following organizations: Academy of Bangla Arts and Culture, Entertainment Series of Irving, Irving Art Association, Irving Ballet Company, Irving Black Arts Council, Irving Chorale, Irving Symphonic Band, ICT MainStage, Irving Heritage Society, Irving Symphony Orchestra, Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra, the LCSO Lone Star Youth Orchestra, the LCSO Lone Star Wind Ensemble, Lyric Stage and the New Philharmonic Orchestra of Irving. These organizations present events on a seasonal basis, as well as periodic special events.

Irving continues to report marketed increases in overall cultural development. With the support of the Irving City Council and the Irving Arts Board, a wide range of cultural and artistic opportunities are readily available. Citizens have the opportunity to attend an arts event virtually every weekend of the year.