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East Versus West: Opposite Sides of Town Square Off With Various Art Happenings This Week.

Time to dust your walking shoes off, art fans. This weekend, you're going to be enjoying art on the go.

Which, because we live in the grand state of Texas, may not be a good thing. But there's no fighting it: On Saturday galleries across Deep Ellum, Expo Park and Downtown Dallas will be open for the East Dallas Gallery Walk. As the name implies, you'll be walking at least a little if you check it out. And since the weather is supposed to hover around the low 90s, you can probably safely expect to see pit stains and wet brows among other mediums on display. But don't let that deter you form some amazing art on display at various spots, a full list of which you can find here.

As if that isn't enough outdoor activity for you indoor-dwelling art appreciators, the new trails surrounding the Trinity River will be opened to the public on Sunday with a kick-off party. The Trinity River Revel, as the bash is called, celebrates the opening of the Continental Avenue Pedestrian Bridge, the Trinity Skyline Trail, the West Dallas Gateway Plaza and the Sylvan Avenue Bridge with a 5k, a “1930s danceathon,” a beer garden and an overwhelming amount more. What's the art angle here? Well, a new mural has popped up along the Trinity Strand Trail from local graphic designer Kyle Steed. The piece, which clocks in at a massive 16 feet tall and 92 feet long, was created over four days.

“The first idea that I had was to do a play on the famous quote from the Texas revolution,'Come and Take it,'” Steed says. “But then I thought it was so vague and I wanted it to have more of a closer connection to Dallas, specifically. So that quote from JFK — 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country' — came to mind. That was it, just change 'country' to 'city' and — boom! — there it was.”

Oh, and he recorded the whole thing of his creative process to make an awesome time-lapse. Take a gander at it:

In more musical news, the Dallas Opera announced this week that it's appointed its first-ever principal guest conductor, Nicole Paiement. Yes, you read that right: In its 57-history, the Dallas Opera has never had anyone fill this position, which basically acts as an in-house conductor who works closely with the music director. Paiement, a contemporary music specialist and artistic director from San Francisco, first caught the eye of the Dallas Opera in 2012 when conducting Peter Maxwell Davies' “The Lighthouse.” It's safe to say she impressed them quite a bit during that showing.

Speaking of the opera: Remember the extremely awesome — and maybe kinda scary — opening ceremony from the 2008 Beijing Olympics that made you wonder if those involved were human or just incredibly synchronous robots? Well, Shen Wei, the man who produced that very memorable moment, is bringing some of his work to the Winspear Opera House on Thursday, June 19.

Before then, though, there are quite a few gallery openings worth checking out this weekend.

The Barry Whistler Gallery in Deep Ellum will be holding a one-night-only exhibit, fittingly titled “One Night Stand.” Featuring the works of Arthur Pena, Sally Glass, Nathan Green and Luke Harnden, this one promises to be a great one. Opening night is Saturday, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Also on Saturday in Deep Ellum, The Public Trust is holding an exhibit called “Decade” that's also fittingly named as it celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the gallery that launched in Denton later moved to Deep Ellum in 2007. Featuring everything from prints to installations, the gallery will open its doors at 6 p.m.

Lastly this week, we point you in the direction of the WAAS Gallery, which will hold the opening for “Shadow Play,” a show that's set to go down from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, June 12. Featuring drawings by Ellen Soderquist, this exhibit promises to be a simple yet evocative look into light and the human form.

Plan accordingly.

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