Program areas at Dallas Center for Photography
Our specially curated mix of in-person and virtual photography education classes, workshops, and one-on-one tutoring sessions are offered year-round in the Dallas community and beyond. Technical photography classes help enhance basic to advanced skills, such as understanding exposure, focus, and metering. Creative photography classes help instill intentional composition skills that lead to more balanced and compelling photos. In 2022, we had 462 unique students participate in over 55 classes and workshops. For private tutoring, our instructors provided 144 hours to 47 individuals seeking more personalized instruction to learn more about photography.
DCP launched its "Roots of Photography:" outreach program in 2022. These field trips to DCP help North Texas' under-resourced middle and high school youth to better understand and critically analyze photography and its history, while experiencing a walk-in camera obscura, darkroom demos, and a guided tour of the current exhibition in DCP's Community Gallery. In our pilot year, we served 80 students with this program. Our 2000 square foot DCP gallery is the only nonprofit exhibition space dedicated to showcasing photography in the region. The gallery is free and open to the public. Exhibitions highlight the work of our various community partners and groups, along with single-artist shows and juried competitions that display the diversity of talent in our region. DCP exhibited 7 gallery shows in 2022 with an opening reception for each show. Over 480 visitors came to the gallery in 2022. DCP also hosted 6 artist talks by local and national photographers attended by a total of 71 people. In 2022, DCP offered photography workshops and activities free of charge to our community partners, like Klyde Warren Park and Booker T. Washington High School. Approximately 150 attendees participated in these community programs.
DCP was founded on the belief that people with an interest in photography need a place to call home. Becoming a member of DCP supports our programs, connects members to the local photographic community, and offers benefits like discounts on DCP classes, the opportunity to be listed in the DCP member directory with a link to their personal website, access to exclusive members-only events, and the opportunity to exhibit work in our gallery in the member-only competition and exhibition. Other benefits include free tickets to all DCP events, discounts on products from our corporate partners, private portfolio reviews, and a one-on-one tutoring session. In 2022, we had an engaged community of 188 members by the end of the year.