Today we’d like to introduce you to Anastasia Munoz.
This is the story of two dreams combining into one. Anastasia is a native dallasite and professional theatre artist and teacher. She had a dream of creating a place where artists and educators could all share one multipurpose space to create, grow, experiment, and engage more with the community and patrons. Todd and Lola Lott dreamed of investing in artists’ lofts or studios to create affordable living/work opportunities for creative people. Arts Mission Oak Cliff is the product of those dreams. Housed in a restored church from 1929 in historic Winnetka Heights Oak Cliff, this breathtaking space is an inspiration to all who walk through its doors.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There have been a few bumps along the way. As they say, “if it were easy, everyone would be doing it”. When we purchased the building, it was listed as a commercial property and in fact we won the bid because the seller loved our business plan so much to build an arts center for the community. However, come to find out the property was not zoned correctly so we spent the next year back and forth from City Hall, hosting town hall meetings, going door to door visiting our neighbors to plead our case to change the zoning to make our dreams come true. It was a challenging battle without the love and patience for the project that Todd, Lola, and our legal team had we might have lost the dream entirely. We persevered and were granted an overlay that allowed us to keep moving forward. In addition to that, there are the inevitable issues that come with restoring a massive historic structure, but again we had a brilliant passionate team working on the church that those problems were always effortlessly handled. These small battles made us stronger as team, though. You must go through the rough waters to appreciate the calm seas.
Arts Mission Oak Cliff – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Arts Mission Oak Cliff is now an artist co-working and education center. We offer creative classes to students of all ages- Theatre, Dance, Fiber Arts, Yoga, Writing, Comedy, VoiceOver, Cooking, and more. We host events, parties, performances, art openings, staged readings, and dances. We offer memberships to artists looking to work in a collaborative and creative environment. “It is the exact kind of place I dreamed of as a little girl- with rooms filled with artists creating, exploring, and learning, “says co-founder Anastasia Munoz. We are hoping to create an artist ecosystem here, where artists can come create and risk on their own projects and engage the community around them by teaching workshops, hosting events, or giving lectures. The community members in turn become patrons of that artist or performance company because they have a more personal connection to them. The community member is inspired and awakens a part of creativity within themselves that spreads to their families and neighbors. The young students we work with grow with us, then go out into the world at large to learn and risk then come back and teach their community new lessons- to keep Dallas ever vibrant, culturally and creatively.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success would be to have a full roster of artists utilizing our space each year. We would be able to have a full time staff to facilitate those artists and their needs. Our model would be a touchstone and inspiration to other artist entrepreneurs. We would elevate the arts and culture in DFW by encouraging emerging arts of all ages to create and inspire others. We open multiple locations like Arts Missionaries spreading our love and vision all over the country.
Pricing:
- Artist Memberships $100-$500
- Classes $10-$50
- Events $5-$100
Contact Info:
- Address: 410 S Windomere Ave
Dallas, TX 75208 - Website: www.artsmissionoc.com
- Phone: 469.729.9309
- Email: contact@artsmissionoc.com
- Instagram: @artsmission
- Facebook: @artsmissionoakcliff
- Twitter: @artsmissionoc
Image Credit:
Photo of Anastasia by Tony Wann
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
