The city of Fort Worth is growing and changing so quickly, it can be hard to keep up. But this week, a Fort Worth art gallery unveils a new exhibit that's all about capturing the moment.
The main gallery is devoted to work from an established local artist but Fort Works Art also devotes a section of every show to a new artist. Both snap photos of everyday life on the streets, and their combined visions show the changing face of Fort Worth.
To Dontrius Williams, it's really pretty simple.
"Photos, I take photos," he said.
He captures small moments on the streets of Fort Worth.
"For me, it's telling the story of where you live," Williams said.
This is his first solo show, along side a more experienced hand.
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"I have been an artist since I was 14 years old," said Cordelia Bailey, now 68.
Bailey has been searching longer for the same goal.
"It's capturing people," Bailey said, and she's had decades to watch that change in North Texas.
"Fort Worth didn't have this dynamism even a decade ago, or maybe even five years ago," said Bailey.
The Fort Works Art gallery itself shows progress. It's a new venue offering space for emerging artists who aren't quite ready for the Kimbell Art Museum but who have a voice today.
"That's why I take photos, because I really appreciate what's happening right now," said Williams. "So with the protests and the new presidency going on, just everything that's happening. This is what we need to capture."
The changing face of Fort Worth, and the everyday people working through what's changed.
"I see that there is a lot of friction between peoples," said Bailey. "It's not just racial, but it's across the board. It's immigrant versus non-immigrant, male versus female, transgender – there are a lot of biases – but the fact that we're talking about it shows that we are working toward answers."
Those answers could always be one frame away.
The exhibit opens on Tuesday and runs four weeks. It's free of charge and so is an opening party set for this Saturday night at the gallery.
