Canvassing.

Another Week, Another Stacked Slate of Gallery Openings and Another Questionable Move By The City.

Welcome to Canvassing, our weekly look at the conversations that surround the Dallas art world. Pull up a chair. Stay with us for a while. The view's pretty nice from here.

One of the reasons that Dallas feels very culturally exciting at the moments is because we can have 14 openings on one Saturday and then 11 more openings the next Saturday.

That 14-gallery splurge from last Saturday certainly lived up to its own hype, too. Highlights from last weekend included Michelle Rawlings at The Goss Michael Foundation, Ludwig Schwarz at Conduit Gallery and Gary Sweeney at Red Arrow Contemporary. If you missed them, that's your loss. Fortunately, though, you can still see these exhibits by visiting these galleries during open hours.

Also fortunate is that this coming weekend promises even more great art for your viewing pleasure. We even welcome two new galleries to our scene this weekend: Cydonia and Erin Cluley Gallery.

Street art, meanwhile, takes center stage over these next few days with exhibitions at Kettle Art and at the W.A.A.S Gallery. We already told you about W.A.A.S' “Collect Respect” show, which brings together some 30 local and international street artists for a collection meant to educate the masses.

But the internationally acclaimed and decidedly local Sour Grapes Crew's own mural creation at Kettle Art is worth getting hyped about, too, if the below video promoting tonight's opening is any indication.

Expect a packed house there.

Additionally, RE gallery, Ro2 Art, Kirk Hopper Fine Art and Lilian Bloch Gallery also all have worthwhile shows opening.

But if you only have the time to see one show this weekend? My pick is Jeff Gibbons opening for his “11:11” show at Two Bronze Doors. Gibbons is not as loud as some of his counterparts, but he is consistently thoughtful, interesting, and challenging. Working through one's feelings on Gibbons' focus — and whether that's love or hate, it's often a worthwhile endeavor.

Then again, another worthwhile endeavor would be attending The Business of Art: Public Art 101 workshop at The South Dallas Cultural Center from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, as there is sure to be a great deal of valuable knowledge shared that will be beneficial for an artists' career.

I am curious, though: Why the entry to this is $25 in advance (or $35 at the door) instead of $5 or even $10. I understand the value of a participant having some skin in the game, but a workshop financially supported by The Bowdon Family Foundation, the City of Dallas' Office of Cultural Affairs and the Texas Commission on the Arts should be able to keep the entry fee to a minimum, even if lunch is provided. If the players involved in the production of this workshop are actually serious about accessibility, education and creative empowerment, they'd do well to make their supporting documents freely available via the Internet.

Because, really, should an artist really have to fork over $35 to hear the Office of Cultural Affairs explain how to create a competitive application to its own public arts program?

That's a rhetorically question, by the way. The answer is no.

This Week's Openings and Happenings of Note.

THURSDAY.
• “State of the Arts: Devon Nowlin, Arthur Pena, and Darryl Ratcliff” at The Dallas Museum of Art from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. (Yes, I am that Darryl Ratcliff.)
• “Sour Grapes” by The Sour Grapes Crew at Kettle Art Gallery from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

FRIDAY
• “Ex-Y: Representations of Contemporary Masculinity” at Cydonia Contemporary Gallery from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• “Where Are You From?” curated by Noah Simblist at The Pollock Gallery from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

SATURDAY
• “La Couleur de la Musique” by Cynthia Chartier at Wall Gallery from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• “You Are Here” by Peggy Epner at 1300 Gallery from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• “Estrellas” by René Treviño at Erin Cluley Gallery from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• “Cinder Blocks and Cherry Blossoms” by Leigh Merrill at Lilliana Bloch Gallery from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• “the unconscious mind” by Benjamin Terry at RE gallery from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• “Collect Respect” curated by Eddie Donaldson at W.A.A.S Gallery from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• “Ripe Produce: 500X Membership Exhibition” at 500X Gallery at 7 p.m.
• “LUSCIOUS” by Erica Stephens and Julon Pinkston at Ro2 Art (Downtown) from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• “Texas, It's a Culture Thing” at LuminArte Gallery from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• “Ctrl +V: Closing” and “In The Shadows” by Randall Garrett at Kirk Hopper Fine Art from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• “11:11” by Jeff Gibbons at Two Bronze Doors from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.