15 minute read
Community
THE ART OF SHOPPING REQUIRES A MINDFUL MANAGER
Anna Kern tackles museum-like job at legendary NorthPark Center
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TOP FROM LEFT: 20 Elements by Joel Shapiro and DRAG (BANKER) by Sterling Ruby. MIDDLE: snakes and apples by Sioban Hapaska, a mural covering a vacation store space, and the
48-foot tall Ad Astra by Mark Di Suvero. BOTTOM: Number 193T, 191T and 194T by Leonardo Drew. (PHOTOS: NORISHKA PACHOT)
By Norishka Pachot
People Newspapers
With its museum-like layout and sophisticated sculptures, murals, and paintings by known artists, NorthPark Center staffs a position many other malls wouldn’t need: a manager of arts programming.
“I do all the work that entails doing the artwork,” said Anna Kern, who’s held that job for nearly three of her four years at NorthPark.
With more than 50 major sculptures and seven to eight art exhibitions a year, Kern must make sure valuable artwork gets handled and put up carefully. Assembling a new piece can take 30 minutes to eight hours to even multiple days.
“Anything that we put up, we have to be very mindful, and we have to make sure it has an appeal to the general public and that they can get something out of it,” she said.
Though now the sole member of NorthPark’s art department, Kern works closely with the marketing team to see that visitors can enjoy the magnificent art, architecture, and landscaping.
Think of NorthPark as a museum where you can also shop.
The mall supports local and recent art as well as such established artists as Andy Warhol, Barry Flanagan, and Joel Shapiro, who are all among those with permanent installations at the center.
“The aesthetic is so crucial to our reputation,” Kern said. “NorthPark is always spotless.”
She cherishes NorthPark’s pop-up programs featuring local and regional artists, often as extensions to murals and usually used at empty stores, instead of leaving a blank spot.
“All our institutions should support local art,” Kern said. “At NorthPark, I want to make sure that we support that. We want people to feel invited and feel welcome. We want to give back to our community.”
the Art Rock program for children. Both switched online due to COVID-19.
“My favorite part at the end of the day is that we’re a shopping center, so we get people from all walks of life,” she said. “They’re exposed to these collections, local artists, and even if it’s just subconsciously in the background, this will impact them in a small way.”
PERSONAL FAVORITES
With so much art on display at NorthPark Center, even a manager of arts programming might have difficulty picking a favorite. But, Anna Kern highlighted these: Ad Astra by Mark di Suvero; snakes and apples by Siobhan Hapaska; DRAG (BANKER) by Sterling Ruby; Number 193T, 191T, and 194T by Leonardo Drew.
April Hope: Fertile Ground
We are set for the most beautiful spring ever in Dallas.
April Fools!
The arctic blast’s effects linger everywhere apparent: yellowed pittosporum bushes, browned out ground cover, dead or drooping fatsia, plus LEN BOURLAND sad trees and hedges.
More glumness – our landscaping reflects the last year and the state of our country. How is it salvageable?
For me, a quick excursion to a familiar Florida beach pre-spring break – my first airplane ride and trip since 2019 – broke my funk. After the BP oil spill and a couple of hurricanes, this beach was thought to be unrecoverable. But, last month, I enjoyed the pristine white sand devoid of all but a handful of people and the diamond dappled clear blue ocean. I felt soothed and happy – long overdue feelings.
In 1982, when selling a home in Mississippi to move back to Texas, the interest rates were over 16%. It was a buyer’s market, and sellers had to get creative to get their homes sold. A great uncle in banking solemnly intoned that interest rates would never be in single digits again. Ahem.
We’ve lost so much in the last year: for children, education and play; income for many; freedom of movement (and, many would say, speech), plus peace. Is this irrevocable?
An antidote for grief, anger, upset for me has always been digging in the dirt and planting. So as I survey my bedraggled yard, I begin cleaning out, pruning, mulching, soil preparation, planting, fertilizing, and watching.
It’s an apt metaphor for our nation. There is not necessarily parity in a garden. Shade plants won’t tolerate the sun and vice versa. It takes trial and error for a garden to grow, some failures, common sense, and a little luck. In stubborn areas of my yard, I’m not immune to filling in with artificial foliage. I need help.
My spirit is willing but lately, not my back — another metaphor for rebuilding our bruised nation.
And so I am starting the process with the digging out and pruning. I’m smiling at the flats of plants and flowers that will go into the ground. I’m humming that wonderful Arlo Guthrie song made famous by Peter, Paul, and Mary. “Inch by inch, row by row, I’m gonna make this garden grow, gonna do it with a rake and a hoe, and a piece of fertile ground.”
SELLING PREMIER URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS
Meet the experts in Park Cities & Preston Hollow.
FOR SALE
3601 Springbrook Street 3 Bed | 3.2 Bath | 4,555 SqFt Listed At $1,749,000 9110 Rockbrook Drive 5 Bed | 6.2 Bath | 7,596 SqFt Listed At $3,650,000
FOR SALE
FOR SALE
FOR SALE/LEASE
3505 Turtle Creek Blvd #18C 4 Bed | 4.2 Bath | 6,638 SqFt Listed At $5,490,000 For Lease: $30,000/mo
FOR SALE
FOR SALE
Not intended as solicitation of properties currently listed with another broker. Information contained herein is believed to be correct but not guaranteed. O ering made subject to errors, omissions, change of price, prior sale or withdrawal without notice.
Edwin Flores
DALLAS ISD - DISTRICT 1
Omar Narvaez
CITY COUNCIL - DISTRICT 7
Monica Alonzo
CITY COUNCIL - DISTRICT 7
Tony Carillo
CITY COUNCIL - DISTRICT 7
Candy Evans
CITY COUNCIL - DISTRICT 11
Wendi Macon
CITY COUNCIL - DISTRICT 7
Jaynie Schultz
CITY COUNCIL - DISTRICT 11
Earl Thomas
CITY COUNCIL - DISTRICT 7
Hosanna Yemiru
CITY COUNCIL - DISTRICT 11
Barry Wernick
CITY COUNCIL - DISTRICT 11
Ryan M. Moore
CITY COUNCIL - DISTRICT 13
Leland Burke
CITY COUNCIL - DISTRICT 13
Gay Donnell Willis
CITY COUNCIL - DISTRICT 13
Da’On Boulanger-Chatman
CITY COUNCIL - DISTRICT 13
(COURTESY PHOTOS)
Editor’s note: City Council District 13 candidate Mac Smith’s headshot was not available at press time.
Friday, May 14, 2021
VIRTUAL Noon – 1:00 p.m.
North Texas Cares Funders Collaborative, Honoree Father Gregory Boyle, Featured guest speaker Jenny Reynolds and Lindsay Stengle, Luncheon co-chairs Dallas CASA Children’s Council, Luncheon host
For tickets or to learn more: dallascasa.org or 469.547.9445
By Bethany Erickson
People Newspapers
In what could be the last pandemic-era election, voters will have plenty of options on May ballots.
More than 50 people are running for 14 Dallas city council seats - and of the three seats open in the Preston Hollow and Preston Hollow-adjacent area, 14 candidates are running.
One race is already called: Dallas ISD trustee District 1, where incumbent Edwin Flores didn’t draw a challenger.
But for the three city council districts that fall in the Preston Hollow People coverage area, only one incumbent will be on the ballot. Omar Narvaez, District 6 councilmember, will face some new and some familiar faces. Monica R. Alonzo served three terms from 2011 to 2015 and ran again in 2017 and 2019 but lost in runoff elections to Narvaez. Tony Carillo also ran against Narvaez in 2017 and 2019. First-timers Wendi Macon and Earl D. Thomas round out the ballot.
In District 11, Lee Kleinman is ineligible to run after serving four consecutive two-year terms, as is District 13’s Jennifer Staubach Gates.
Real estate news site owner Candy Evans, who ran against Kleinman in 2017, has thrown her hat in the ring for District 11, as have first-timers Jaynie Schultz, Hosanna Yemiru, and Barry Wernick.
In District 13, Leland Burke, who once ran for the seat in 2013, will run against Da’On Boulanger-Chatman, Ryan M. Moore, Mac Smith, and Gay Donnell Willis, all first-timers.
GET INVOLVED
Have burning questions for a specific race that you’d like to see considered for the People Newspapers’ questionnaire? Email bethany. erickson@peoplenewspapers.com by April 5. Candidate responses will appear at PeopleNewspapers.com the week of April 12.
SCHEDULE Early voting – April 19 to 27 Election Day – May 1 Runoff elections, if needed – June 5
Texas Needs Planned Resilience For The Next Unlikely Event
Winter Storm 2021, West End, Downtown Dallas. (PHOTO: IMANI CHET LYTLE)
From the coronavirus pandemic to the winter storm that knocked out essential infrastructure across the state, the “unprecedented” events of this past year have caught us unprepared.
There is an important lesson here – many of the events we consider unlikely are still very possible. Probability says they TOM LUCE will happen at some point, and the resulting impacts will be significant enough that we have to be ready for them.
This year’s Texas Voter Poll found that what voters demand from our officials are solutions. That means taking the time to listen to and work with experts to make sure that we understand exactly what happened – including what worked and what didn’t – so that we can build in the resiliency that will allow us to reduce damage and quickly recover from future disasters.
Ten years ago, Texans suffered through a winter storm that knocked out power for millions of people. Twenty-two years before that, another extreme winter storm brought Texas’ electric grid to its knees. I don’t mention these to point fingers, but to demonstrate two important issues: First, we have to anticipate facing similar threats in the future; and second, we have Texas data to help craft policies that will mitigate the harm of the next storm.
We can’t prevent every catastrophe. And we can’t build a system with 100 percent resiliency. But we can’t ignore reality, either. Research shows that Texas is going to face more extreme weather events by 2036. By skimping on new infrastructure or deferring maintenance, we are merely putting off the inevitable – and raising the price tag, both in terms of economic and human costs.
As the old saying goes, “pay now, or pay later.” By assessing our systems and infrastructure, we can identify weak points that must be strengthened and ensure that critical systems have built-in redundancies that will pick up the slack when a failure occurs along the line. By making those assessments and investments ahead of time, we can keep costs down.
This year’s winter storm affected every county in the state and could end up costing Texans tens of billions of dollars, making it the most expensive weather event in Texas history. We can help ensure against future losses by building and maintaining a resilient, reliable, and cost-competitive energy infrastructure.
But whether it’s water, electricity, broadband, education, health, or government performance, Texas has an opportunity to apply the same goals of planned resilience broadly across state policy so that, when the next disaster strikes, we’ll be ready.
Tom Luce, a longtime Texas civic leader and Preston Hollow resident, is the founder and chairman of Texas 2036.
Letter to the Editor
Seeing leadership
I just got home from Trader Joe’s — a grocery store in Preston Hollow I’m so lucky to have within walking distance of where I live. I am very grateful to have heat, power, and running water.
The trek back home got me thinking of how LEADERSHIP during a crisis is actually everywhere we’re not first taught to look.
It’s in the employees at the grocery stores working overtime as you read this post. It’s in the men and women shoveling and salting sidewalks and driveways so you don’t slip and fall. It’s in the community organizers raising money for Texans in need. It’s in the teachers, administrators, school board trustees, city council members, and countless others who are tapping into their problem-solving skills to get the word out about resources and advice — yet again.
It’s in our friends and family providing warmth — literally and figuratively speaking. Although the leadership we want may not be in our U.S. Senator or other elected officials — I believe the “leadership” we need was never really there in the first place. “We, the people,” will continue coming together through crisis — holding every failed leader accountable along the way.
TOP, FROM LEFT: Medical City Dallas Rehab services ran a hotel for staff during the February winter storm, and hospital staff donated blood to replenish supplies. (PHOTOS: MEDICAL CITY HEALTHCARE) BOTTOM: Bri Tollie (second from left) and other SMU students volunteered at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. (PHOTO: ALLISON MARTIN) The Highland Park High School boys soccer team collected blankets for nonprofit SoupMobile. (PHOTO: COURTESY HPISD)
Cold Weather, Warm Neighbors
Residents mobilize to help each other during historic Texas blizzard
By Rachel Snyder
People Newspapers
While many Texans were without necessities like power and water during the winter storm in February, North Texans came together to help each other through it.
Information posted in a group chat for SMU human rights students prompted several to volunteer at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, which housed 700 people during the storm.
“It was amazing to see that you got people out there that actually really care for helping the community, especially during times like this,” Bri Tollie said.
The SMU political science junior with a minor in human rights spent 10 hours at the convention center one day but said she and other volunteers usually just came to help during meals when the most help was needed.
The students packaged and distributed food and helped out with clothing donations.
“Nonprofits definitely do a lot for the community behind the scenes, and they don’t do it to try and get recognition or praise,” Tollie said. “They do it just out of the kindness of their heart, and all the volunteers that did come, it was just them taking the time out of their day during the time to do the same.”
Elsewhere, Geoffrey Small, an SMU alumnus, and his wife, Nicole, took in one of his daughters and seven of her sorority sisters after their sorority house on the SMU campus lost power.
“They were trying to figure out what to do and talking about how much snow there was, ice conditions, whether or not she could come home or get home...with some of her friends,” Small said. “The question of coming home grew as they had no access to food.”
He said they decided to come to the Smalls’ home in Southlake after finding out they would also lose water at the so- work... went on walks in the neighborhood rority house. in the snow.”
Small said one of his daughter’s friends Highland Park ISD shared that the had an all-wheel-drive vehicle, and his el- Highland Park High School boys soccer dest daughter’s boyfriend offered to pick up team collected blankets for SoupMobile, half the girls and bring them to their home. which serves those in need in Dallas.
“So that started Hundreds of the adventure,” he said. “Then we actu- It was amazing to see Medical City Healthcare colleagues spent ally ended up pick- that you got people nights inside the hosing up another one of the girls later in out there that actually pitals or nearby hotels during the week the week because really care for helping of the storm, Medical she was in the Virginia Snider dorm the community, City Healthcare said in a press release. that had a pipe especially during Non-clinical colburst.” All told, 11 peotimes like this. leagues shuttled co-workers, changed ple were staying in Bri Tollie linens, and delivered the house at one food to patients and point during the storm. staff, among many duties.
“The girls really made the most of just Staff also donated blood at an in-hospibeing here and all together,” Nicole said. tal blood drive to help replenish communi“They had lots of laughs and did home- ty blood supplies.
