DALLAS, TX.- In a nod to the city’s burgeoning cultural arts scene and in a first for the city of Dallas, the inaugural Dallas Art Fair will make its debut Friday, February 6 through Sunday, February 8, 2009. A preview Gala will be held on Thursday evening, February 5, benefiting Booker T. Washington School for the Performing Arts and Visual Arts. From midmorning to early evening over the three days of the fair, visitors may visit and purchase art from experienced, knowledgeable art dealers and experts.

Celebrating modern and contemporary art, the first annual Dallas Art Fair will showcase paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints and photographs from post war artists represented by 30 prominent national art dealers from 12 U.S. cities. Artists scheduled to be exhibited include Chuck Close, Joan Mitchell, Sol LeWitt, Damien Hirst, John Chamberlin and Rufino Tamayo.

Located at the Fashion Industry Gallery (FIG), within walking distance of world class cultural institutions of the Dallas Arts District including the Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, Meyerson Symphony Center, Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre and the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, this premiere event will draw established and aspiring art collectors and enthusiasts from throughout the Southwest.

"The Dallas Art Fair was created specifically with our local Dallas and Texas audiences in mind,” said Chris Byrne, Dallas Art Fair co-founder and a noted art dealer. “Many of the invited exhibitors have contributed to our institutions and have longtime relationships with collectors in the area. Along with the continued growth of the Dallas Arts District, the Dallas Art Fair will further reinforce the city as an international arts destination.”

Prominent art dealers from Austin, Baltimore, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Santa Fe, and St. Louis will exhibit. National dealers confirmed for the Dallas Art Fair include, among many others, Demisch Danant, Leslie Feely Fine Art, Mary-Anne Martin/Fine Art, Pace Prints, all of New York; John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco; Peter Fetterman Gallery, Los Angeles; and James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe. A number of the featured exhibitors are also members of the prestigious Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) including Anthony Meier Fine Arts in San Francisco, the Thomas Segal Gallery in Baltimore, Meredith Long & Company in Houston, and others. Prominent Dallas and Fort Worth dealers include Dunn and Brown Contemporary, Dallas; Valley House Gallery, Dallas; and William Campbell Contemporary, Fort Worth. For a complete list of participating galleries visit www.dallasartfair.com.

"The Dallas Art Fair will be a defining event in the present and future of the local arts scene," said John Sughrue, Dallas Art Fair co-founder, Brook Partners CEO and a partner in Museum Tower, a Dallas Arts District luxury high rise condominium development. "Dallas is becoming an internationallyrenowned arts destination, and this event is another significant step in making that a reality. Never before have so many prominent dealers gathered in Dallas, and never before have the public had an opportunity to view and purchase modern and contemporary art right in their own city. It will be a landmark weekend."

The Dallas Art Fair will also debut an art-centric Symposium Series, with a scheduled presentation by noted art experts on Saturday and Sunday. On Thursday evening prior to the official Friday morning opening, the preview Gala will give art patrons an exclusive opportunity to view and purchase art before the event opens to the public.