AURORA Presents
MONIRA AL QADIRI
Nov 4 - Dec 6, 2026
Explore Monira Al Qadiri's exhibition
at Dallas Contemporary, as part of the AURORA Biennial 2026.
AURORA BIENNIAL
PROGRAM & EVENTS
NOV. 4 – NOV. 21, 2026
AURORA Biennial 2026: States of Becoming extends across Dallas through a citywide program of exhibitions, performances, conversations, workshops, tours and gatherings leading up to the Biennial exhibition on November 21. Explore the full program below.
AURORA Presents
Partner Event
THROUGHOUT THE BIENNIAL
EXHIBITIONS & EXPERIENCES
Partner Event
JAMES TURRELL: COME TO GOOD
Keith House
4814 Edwards Ranch Rd, Fort Worth 76109
4814 Edwards Ranch Rd, Fort Worth 76109
Immerse yourself in James Turrell's Come to Good
during special sunrise and sunset
viewings throughout the Biennial.
WED
NOV 4
NOV 4
Aurora Presents
artist talk | States of Becoming: A Changing City
7-8 PM
Dallas Contemporary
161 Glass St, Dallas 75207
AURORA Biennial Talk, moderated by Tairone Bastien with Alicia Eggert, Tramaine Townsend, and Juan Castillo. Our first panel of the AURORA Biennial Talk Series will examine the transformations underway in Downtown Dallas and across the city, considering the role of contemporary art within civic life.
REGISTER
161 Glass St, Dallas 75207
AURORA Biennial Talk, moderated by Tairone Bastien with Alicia Eggert, Tramaine Townsend, and Juan Castillo. Our first panel of the AURORA Biennial Talk Series will examine the transformations underway in Downtown Dallas and across the city, considering the role of contemporary art within civic life.
REGISTER
Aurora Presents
Exhibition opening | Monira Al Qadiri
8-9 PM
Dallas Contemporary
161 Glass St, Dallas 75207
To kick off the 7th AURORA Biennial, States of Becoming, join AURORA and Dallas Contemporary for a special celebration of the opening of two works by Berlin-based Kuwaiti artist Monira Al Qadiri.
REGISTER
161 Glass St, Dallas 75207
To kick off the 7th AURORA Biennial, States of Becoming, join AURORA and Dallas Contemporary for a special celebration of the opening of two works by Berlin-based Kuwaiti artist Monira Al Qadiri.
REGISTER
THU
NOV 5
NOV 5
AURORA Presents
The People Behind the Purpose: AURORA Co-Founders and Team Studio Visit
7–9 PM
Rule 6 Studios
2527 King St, Dallas 75215
This intimate studio visit offers an opportunity to spend time with the AURORA co-founders Shane Pennington, Joshua King, and Veletta Forsythe Lill along with the team bringing States of Becoming to life.
REGISTER
2527 King St, Dallas 75215
This intimate studio visit offers an opportunity to spend time with the AURORA co-founders Shane Pennington, Joshua King, and Veletta Forsythe Lill along with the team bringing States of Becoming to life.
REGISTER
FRI
NOV 6
NOV 6
Partner Event
Thoma Foundation First Friday Open Hours
1–3 PM
Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation
1925 Cedar Springs Rd, Suite 205, Dallas 75201
Thoma Foundation’s First Friday Open Hours are for self-guided exploration.
REGISTER
1925 Cedar Springs Rd, Suite 205, Dallas 75201
Thoma Foundation’s First Friday Open Hours are for self-guided exploration.
REGISTER
Partner Event
Overgrowth: Pegasus contemporary ballet
8 PM
Dallas Contemporary
161 Glass St, Dallas 75207
161 Glass St, Dallas 75207
Inspired by internationally acclaimed artist Iván Argote’s solo exhibition at the Dallas Contemporary, Overgrowth is a new site-specific performance with choreography by Elliott Ludovic and a new electronic score by Sam Brukhman.
REGISTER
REGISTER
SAT
NOV 7
NOV 7
AURORA Presents
The World We Want to Create
1–3 PM
Make Art with Purpose & Halperin Park
626 S R.L. Thornton Fwy, I-35E, Dallas 75203
626 S R.L. Thornton Fwy, I-35E, Dallas 75203
In The World We Want to Create, Make Art with Purpose (MAP) collaborates with students from CityLab and IDEA High Schools to create a public art presentation, using speculative futures to imagine the world they want to live in.
REGISTER
REGISTER
Partner Event
Overgrowth: Pegasus contemporary ballet
2 PM / 7 PM / 9 PM
Dallas Contemporary
161 Glass St, Dallas 75207
161 Glass St, Dallas 75207
Inspired by internationally acclaimed artist Iván Argote’s solo exhibition at the Dallas Contemporary, Overgrowth is a new site-specific performance with choreography by Elliott Ludovic and a new electronic score by Sam Brukhman.
TICKETS
TICKETS
WED
NOV 11
NOV 11
AURORA Presents
artist talk | The Artist and the Machine
7–8 PM
Nasher Sculpture Center
2001 Flora St., Dallas 75201
2001 Flora St., Dallas 75201
AURORA Biennial Talk with Nick Bontrager, Diana Rojas, and Glenn Hunter. The rise of artificial intelligence and its growing influence on contemporary artistic practice are the central concerns of this discussion.
REGISTER
REGISTER
THU
NOV 12
NOV 12
Partner Event
Blake Hestir, Ph.D.: The Ecology of Self and Resilience
4:30–6:30 PM
Keith House
4814 Edwards Ranch Rd, Fort Worth 76109
4814 Edwards Ranch Rd, Fort Worth 76109
A philosophical inquiry by Blake Hestir, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, into how emotional resilience and flourishing may be cultivated through expanding worldviews, mindsets, and values combined with nature-centered mindfulness, somatic practices, and community building.
TICKETS
TICKETS
AURORA Presents
101: 3D Mapping WORKSHOP with Lightware Labs
6–8 PM
The Cedars Union, The Boedecker
1219 S Ervay St, Dallas 75215
A hands-on workshop exploring 3D mapping and projection-based creative practice as tools for transforming physical space.
REGISTER
1219 S Ervay St, Dallas 75215
A hands-on workshop exploring 3D mapping and projection-based creative practice as tools for transforming physical space.
REGISTER
FRI
NOV 13
NOV 13
AURORA Presents
SoundING GRATITUDE
7:30-8:30 PM
Thanks-Giving Square
1627 Pacific Ave, Dallas 75201
Thanks-Giving Square and AURORA present a sound experience with artist Jess Garland.
REGISTER
1627 Pacific Ave, Dallas 75201
Thanks-Giving Square and AURORA present a sound experience with artist Jess Garland.
REGISTER
SAT
NOV 14
NOV 14
Partner Event
Exhibition Highlights Tour with Curator Thomas Feulmer
1–2 PM
The Warehouse
14105 Inwood Rd, Dallas 75244
Join AURORA for a guided tour of The Warehouse with Curator Thomas Feulmer, who will lead guests through two current exhibitions: In Our Image: The Fragile Body in Contemporary Art, curated by Simone Krug, and WAREHOUSE:01 Yukinori Yanagi, curated by Mika Yoshitake.
REGISTER
14105 Inwood Rd, Dallas 75244
Join AURORA for a guided tour of The Warehouse with Curator Thomas Feulmer, who will lead guests through two current exhibitions: In Our Image: The Fragile Body in Contemporary Art, curated by Simone Krug, and WAREHOUSE:01 Yukinori Yanagi, curated by Mika Yoshitake.
REGISTER
Partner Event
Dos NaNes (Najeeb Sabour & Nestor Mercado-Garcia)
4:30–6:30 PM
Keith House
4814 Edwards Ranch Rd, Fort Worth 76109
An unforgettable evening with celebrated performer and composer Najeeb Sabour in a unique live performance collaboration with Columbian percussionist Nestor Mercado-Garcia, set within the transformative atmosphere of a James Turrell’s Come To Good at Keith House.
TICKETS
4814 Edwards Ranch Rd, Fort Worth 76109
An unforgettable evening with celebrated performer and composer Najeeb Sabour in a unique live performance collaboration with Columbian percussionist Nestor Mercado-Garcia, set within the transformative atmosphere of a James Turrell’s Come To Good at Keith House.
TICKETS
Partner Event
Nostalgia Airways: The Hangar
6–10 PM
Dallas Executive Airport
5303 Challenger Dr, Dallas 75237
An art and music experience inside a private hangar transformed into an unexpected cultural space.
TICKETS
5303 Challenger Dr, Dallas 75237
An art and music experience inside a private hangar transformed into an unexpected cultural space.
TICKETS
THU
NOV 19
NOV 19
AURORA PRESENTS
ARTIST TALK | CONTEMPORARY MYTHS: THE STORIES THAT BUILD, UNITE, AND DIVIDE
6 PM
Dallas Contemporary
161 Glass St, Dallas 75207
AURORA Biennial Talk Series with Eva Papamargariti and Julia Kaganskiy.
REGISTER
AURORA PRESENTS
PERFORMANCE | EVA PAPAMARGARITI: DISAPPEAR HERE
7 PM
Dallas Contemporary
161 Glass St, Dallas 75207
Disappear Here is an audiovisual installation with performative elements exploring emerging forms of storytelling, mythmaking, and digital lore within the landscape of the attention economy and doomscrolling.
REGISTER
PARTNER EVENT
TEXAS THEATRE ART BAR IN CELEBRATION OF AURORA BIENNIAL 2026
9 PM
Texas Theatre
231 Jefferson Blvd, Dallas 75208
This evening brings together the artists of the AURORA Biennial 2026: States of Becoming and the Dallas creative community in celebration of the people, ideas, and practices shaping this year's Biennial.
REGISTER
FRI
NOV 20
NOV 20
AURORA Presents
PERFORMANCE | Eva Papamargariti: Disappear Here
7 PM
Dallas Contemporary
161 Glass St, Dallas 75207
Disappear Here is an audiovisual installation with performative elements exploring emerging forms of storytelling, mythmaking, and digital lore within the landscape of the attention economy and doomscrolling.
REGISTER
161 Glass St, Dallas 75207
Disappear Here is an audiovisual installation with performative elements exploring emerging forms of storytelling, mythmaking, and digital lore within the landscape of the attention economy and doomscrolling.
REGISTER
SAT
NOV 21
NOV 21
Partner Event
Keith House Sunrise: James Turrell's Come to Good
6 AM
Keith House
4814 Edwards Ranch Rd, Fort Worth 76109
Experience dawn inside James Turrell's Skyspace installation, Come to Good. During the sunrise viewing, visitors sit in contemplation as a retractable roof reveals the open sky.
TICKETS
4814 Edwards Ranch Rd, Fort Worth 76109
Experience dawn inside James Turrell's Skyspace installation, Come to Good. During the sunrise viewing, visitors sit in contemplation as a retractable roof reveals the open sky.
TICKETS
Partner Event
Cedars Open Studios
11 AM–6 PM
Various Locations Across The Cedars Neighborhood
As part of AURORA’s 2026 Biennial programming, the annual Cedars Open Studios Tour invites you into one of Dallas’s historic creative neighborhoods to experience the artists, galleries, businesses, and cultural spaces that shape its identity.
REGISTER
As part of AURORA’s 2026 Biennial programming, the annual Cedars Open Studios Tour invites you into one of Dallas’s historic creative neighborhoods to experience the artists, galleries, businesses, and cultural spaces that shape its identity.
REGISTER
AURORA Presents
PORTAL: Your Entry Point to AURORA Biennial 2026
11 AM–6 PM
The Cedars Union, The Boedecker
1219 S Ervay St, Dallas 75215
Before you step into the AURORA Biennial 2026 Exhibition, begin at PORTAL.For one day only, the Cedars Union Boedecker Building becomes a place to gather, orient, and prepare for what lies ahead.
REGISTER
1219 S Ervay St, Dallas 75215
Before you step into the AURORA Biennial 2026 Exhibition, begin at PORTAL.For one day only, the Cedars Union Boedecker Building becomes a place to gather, orient, and prepare for what lies ahead.
REGISTER
AURORA Presents
PERFORMANCE Eva Papamargariti: Disappear Here
2 PM
Dallas Contemporary
161 Glass St, Dallas 75207
Disappear Here is an audiovisual installation with performative elements exploring emerging forms of storytelling, mythmaking, and digital lore within the landscape of the attention economy and doomscrolling.
REGISTER
161 Glass St, Dallas 75207
Disappear Here is an audiovisual installation with performative elements exploring emerging forms of storytelling, mythmaking, and digital lore within the landscape of the attention economy and doomscrolling.
REGISTER
Partner Event
Dallas Creatives Hangouts
6–8 PM
Bucket and Rope
600 S Harwood St, Dallas 75201
Before heading to the AURORA Biennial 2026 Exhibition, join us for Dallas’s most welcoming happy hour for creatives of every discipline—art, design, music, film, dance, and beyond!
REGISTER
600 S Harwood St, Dallas 75201
Before heading to the AURORA Biennial 2026 Exhibition, join us for Dallas’s most welcoming happy hour for creatives of every discipline—art, design, music, film, dance, and beyond!
REGISTER
AURORA Presents
AURORA Biennial 2026 Exhibition
7 PM–1 AM
Dallas City Hall
1500 Marilla St, Dallas 75201
1500 Marilla St, Dallas 75201
Taking place across Dallas City Hall, the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, and the AT&T Discovery District, this expansion marks the next chapter in the Biennial's evolution as a signature cultural event, bringing contemporary art into public spaces where transformative experiences are accessible to everyone.
REGISTER
REGISTER