WELCOME TO
THE CREATIVE ARTS CENTER OF DALLAS
Dallas’ home for Community-Based Visual Arts Education
MISSION
Our Mission:
The Creative Arts Center of Dallas nurtures a community where citizen artists discover, develop and express their artistic vision.
Our Vision:
To be a core asset to the community through access to authentic arts experiences delivered by engaged teachers providing lifelong learning opportunities for artists to gather and create.
Our Values:
CREATIVITY exists within all of us. Creating art can build COMMUNITY for all of us. COLLABORATION expands creative opportunities.
HISTORY
CAC opened in 1966 as the Octavio Medellin School of Sculpture in “El Sibil”, in the former studio of famed Southwest painter Frank Reaugh located in Oak Cliff. El Sibil had been purchased by one of Reaugh’s student’s, Estha Josey, to start a public art center led by Octavio Medellin, an important Mexican-American artist whose work can be found in major collections in North Texas and throughout the U.S.
After Medellin’s retirement CAC moved to Kramer Elementary, a deactivated elementary school, where it shared space with the Craft Guild of Dallas until 1989 when DISD reclaimed the school. In 1990 CAC purchased our current home, the old Bayles Elementary, a historic school in East Dallas, built as a WPA project during the Great Depression.
Learn more about our Founder, Octavio Medellín!
Cultivating Creativity for OVER 50 Years
We have been providing visual arts classes to students of all skill levels and experience for over 50 years. CAC has become a top adult art education destinations within the North Texas area serving a range of students from teenagers to senior citizens and beginning to emerging artists.
Last year 1,500 students took more than 500 classes and workshops at CAC in ceramics, clay sculpture, drawing, fiber, fused glass, jewelry, metal sculpture, mixed media, mosaic, painting, printmaking and stone sculpture.
The majority of our teaching artists hold a Bachelor or Master of Fine Arts and have exhibited widely.
A Thriving Arts Community
Located on a two-acre campus four miles east of downtown Dallas, CAC is a safe-haven for artists to exchange ideas, share techniques and explore new creative avenues. We also provide outreach to underserved and children and teens: Camp MetalHead combines job skills training and arts instruction for at-risk teens in metal and jewelry; Run with the P.A.C.K. is our new teen mural painting program; unseenamerica teaches children and teens photography skills to document their own lives and exhibit their photographs in a wide-reaching community exhibition. ArtAbility is an accessibility program that provides free creative studio opportunities for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Art as a Second Language offers drop-in, family-friendly programming for people of all ages at various community locations. Memories & Mosaic is our new creative aging program for low income seniors.
The Creative Arts Center of Dallas (CAC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.
FAQ
Got questions? Check out our FAQ page for answers!
INCLUSION, DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & ACCESS STATEMENT
Art is for everyone...and so are we.
Art is a uniquely human experience; a universal language that empowers people. Art gives voice to individuals and groups, it expresses hopes and fears, and continues to be one of the most powerful tools of expression for humankind. Whether it is social movements, environmental awareness, political commentary, collective world-views, intimate personal experiences or the significance of a single moment - art has made communication without limits possible.
Dallas is one of the most racially diverse cities in our country, making its challenges worthy of special attention and deliberate action. We at the Creative Arts Center of Dallas are committed to forwarding accessibility, diversity and inclusion in every area of our organization, including recruitment of staff, board, students and volunteers. We also pledge to ensure that the communities we serve thorough our outreach programming are enthusiastically accessible, diverse and inclusive.
We welcome you to join us in actively working to build the Creative Arts Center of Dallas (CAC) as an open artistic environment for people of all races and ethnicities, socio-economic classes, ages, genders and gender expressions, sexual orientations, ability statuses, nationalities, and all other areas of identity. The CAC firmly believes that art is for all.
CONTACT US
TELEPHONE | (214) 320-1275
EMAIL | info@creativeartscenter.org
ADDRESS
2360 Laughlin Drive
Dallas, TX 75228
OFFICE HOURS
Monday - Friday | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
BUILDING HOURS
CAC facilities open during Classes/Workshops and Live Model Lab
CAMPUS MAP
CLICK HERE TO MEET OUR TEACHING ARTISTS
If you are interested in teaching or interning at the CAC, please visit our Employment page.
POLICIES
UPDATED JUNE 2022
CLASS SCHEDULES
Register early. Classes & workshops will be canceled if they do not meet the minimum enrollment three (3) business days before the start date of a class or workshop. CAC Classes & Workshops usually require 3 students per Class/Workshop to move forward. CAC reserves the right to cancel, combine, or reschedule any Class or Workshop. Instructors may alter the Class or Workshop schedule during a session to accommodate holidays; they will discuss any changes with each class.
REGISTRATION & POLICIES
Please read all registration, refund, & withdrawal policies BEFORE you register. To ensure enrollment, please register as soon as possible as class space is limited. Once a Class/Workshop’s capacity is reached, no students will be added.
PAYMENT
• All Class & Workshop tuitions must be paid in full upon registration.
• Class & Workshop tuitions will NOT be pro-rated under any circumstance (late enrollment included).
REFUNDS
If you wish to withdraw from a Class or Workshop:
• Full refunds are available with written notice 14 days before the start of class or workshop.
• Notifications MUST be given in writing. Verbal notification or failure to attend class(es) or workshop(s) will NOT be regarded as an office notice of withdrawal. Please email requests to info@creativeartscenter.org.
• Membership and Lab fees are non-refundable.
CANCELLATIONS, ABSENCES, & RESCHEDULING
• If CAC must cancel a Class or Workshop in its entirety OR amend an entire Class or Workshop’s scheduled date/time/location, you are eligible for a full refund of tuition and fees.
• CAC does NOT provide make-up class meetings to students for illness, unexpected travel, or reasons outside the responsibility of the Creative Arts Center or its Teaching Artists.
• If a class meeting is canceled by your Teaching Artist or a class meeting falls during a holiday, your Teaching Artist will discuss make-up meeting opportunities so that every student can attend.
GIFT CERTIFICATES* & CREDIT
• Gift Certificates may be used at any time, at your discretion and their use is the responsibility of the Gift Certificate holder. Once funds are converted to a CAC Gift Certificate, they cannot be refunded to a personal card. Gift Certificates hold no cash value.
• CAC does NOT hold funds or “credit” under any circumstances. CAC does NOT store payment information.
MEMBERSHIPS
• Membership Discounts not applied to initial purchase through CAC’s website may be refunded ONLY if a student contacts CAC Office within the same business day of purchase or the following day if the purchase occurs during closed hours.
• Membership Discounts are NOT retroactive or refundable.
• CAC Members are responsible for the renewal of lapsed Memberships.
• Please see our Membership Page for full details and further explanation of Membership policies.
AGE
• CAC allows for students ages of 18 - 120 years of age. 15 - 17 year-olds can be accepted with parental permissions in writing. Any student under the age of 15 years will NOT be allowed under ANY circumstance.
PHOTO RELEASE
• The CAC may use photographs taken from Classes or Workshops with/without a student(s)’ name for lawful purposes. Examples of use: publicity, illustration, advertising, web content, etc.
IN-KIND DONATIONS
• The CAC Office MUST approve all in-kind donations as space is limited. Please email info@creativeartscenter.org with images & a list of items for approval.
***CAC IS AN EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION: THE USE OF CAC STUDIOS, EQUIPMENT, & MATERIALS FOR COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION WORK IS NOT ALLOWED. CAC DOES NOT PROVIDE PRODUCTION, TOOLS, OR STUDIO SPACE TO ANY PERSONS NOT CURRENTLY ENROLLED OR PROJECTS OUTSIDE OF THOSE ASSIGNED IN A CLASS/WORKSHOP. ***
***CAC RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ENROLLMENT OR DISMISS ANY STUDENT FOR BEHAVIOR THAT IS DISRUPTIVE, UNACCEPTABLE TO THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT, OR IN OPPOSITION TO CAC’S I.D.E.A. STATEMENT.***
INCLEMENT WEATHER
In case of inclement weather, CAC closes when DISD closes in most cases. We also report such information to local TV stations. For classes held outdoors – welding and stone carving – we usually reschedule classes if the temperature is below 40 degrees. You will be notified by your instructor or staff if your class must be rescheduled.