The Harwood district is infused with art and surrounded by an exciting and rapidly expanding arts community.

Barbier-Mueller Collections
The Barbier-Mueller family, four generations of avid art collectors, support the arts and promote their success in Dallas.  There is a Dallas-based collection of fine samurai armor with almost 300 objects including masks, helmets, and suits of armor.  Pieces from the samurai collection are displayed in various buildings throughout the Harwood district.  In addition, there are two Barbier-Mueller museums in Europe.  The Geneva museum focuses on ancient and non-western art and the Barcelona museum displays pre-Columbian art and artifacts.  A special exhibition of objects from the Geneva museum will be opening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in June:

African and Oceanic Art from the Barbier-Mueller Museum, Geneva: A Legacy of Collecting

Arts in Dallas and the Metroplex
The arts in Dallas are alive and thriving.  The center of this activity is the 68 acre Dallas Arts District, which borders Harwood.  The Arts District is anchored by the Dallas Museum of Art with 23,000 works of art from around the world, from ancient to modern times and the Nasher Sculpture Center, dedicated to sculptural arts complete with a sculpture garden.  Besides the impressive permanent collections, the museums offer national and international special exhibitions and exciting events and programming based around the artworks. 

The Dallas/Fort Worth area has become a national focal point for artistic culture.  In addition to the Dallas museums, nearby Fort Worth offers another three outstanding museums and both cities enjoy a wealth of world-class art galleries. 

• The Dallas Arts District is 68 acres and home to 13 facilities:

  • Annette Strauss Artist Square

  • Belo Mansion/Dallas Bar Association

  • Booker T. Washington Highschool for the Performing and Visual Arts

  • Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe

  • Dallas Black Dance Theater

  • Dallas Museum of Art

  • Dallas Symphony Orchestra

  • Dallas Theater Center/Arts District Theater

  • Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center

  • Nasher Sculpture Center

  • St. Paul United Methodist Church

  • Fellowship Church

  • Trammell Crow Center, and the Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art

  • Dallas Center for the Performing Arts

  • Upon completion, the Dallas Arts District will have more buildings designed by Pritzer prize winning architects in one contiguous location than anywhere else in the world.
• The Crow Collection of Asian Art is the only museum in the southwest solely dedicated to the arts of Asia.
• The $81.5 million Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, designed by the famous architect I.M. Pei, houses the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and one of the last handmade Fisk organs by C.B. Fisk.
• The Dallas Museum of Art is home to one of the largest collections of post-1945 art in the country. 
• Fair Park, a district with numerous museums and venues, features the nation’s largest collection of 1930s Art Deco, exposition-style architecture.
• The City of Dallas has more than 300 public art works in its collection, displayed throughout the city.
• Dallas has the largest bronze monument in the world, Pioneer Plaza, which includes more than 40 larger-than-life longhorn steers, horses and cowboys.
• The Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University has the most significant collection of Spanish art outside of Spain, featuring art from the 10th through 20th centuries.