Arlington World of Art Festival Wants to Take You Around the World in One Day

North Texans don't have to buy airline tickets to travel the world, because the world is coming to them. Over 100 artists representing different mediums and different regions around the planet will be featured in a festival celebrating international cultures.

World of Art, which will take place at Texas Live’s outdoor venue Arlington Backyard on Saturday, June 29, was curated by Creative Currency, a local PR and brand management agency. After over six years of working with more than 1,000 artists in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Creative Currency wanted to organize an event focusing on world cultures.

“We’re curating an event where people can travel the world in one night,” says Sarah Badran, the agency's founder. “We tried to have one art form per region.”

There will be over 10 dance acts and food vendors serving the best in international cuisine, from tacos to Mediterranean, with a fashion show featuring 14 designers and 14 live music acts.

Many of the musical acts are clients of Creative Currency. Local artist Eclipse Darkness has been putting out powerful soul, hip-hop concoctions since he was 18. But at the World of Art festival, the artist will debut a new Afro-reggae album, Badran says, taking his music in a different direction.

Another artist set to perform at the festival is Amati Aura, a Dallas-based violinist. Amati Aura teaches violin lessons in North Texas when she’s not performing genres ranging from reggae to trap music.

It’s been a while since Tru Def — the Dallas-based rap artist who’s opened for Big K.R.I.T., rubbed shoulders with Kanye West and appeared in a commercial with Lil Jon and Snoop Dog — performed live onstage. But he recently signed a distribution deal with Roc Nation, the entertainment company founded by Jay-Z, and is coming back from his break from the stage to perform at World of Art.

Other artists on the lineup include: Savanna Low, a pop-R&B musician who just released her debut EP; soul-rap artist Ravs. who some might have seen performing “L$D” by A$AP Rocky under a bridge with Cure for Paranoia’s Stanley Francisko before their show in Dallas last Friday; roots-reggae band Idoljob and many others.

While attendees are free to dance all they want at World of Art, they might want to just sit back and watch when some local choreography masters take the stage. Local dancer Tricia Trevino will be taking her steps airborne during an aerial dance routine. K-Pop dance group IzaVibe Dance Team will also put their moves on display. But, Rhythmic Souls Tap Company, an award-winning local dance group, will make sure attendees hear their routine loud and clear too, as their hard-soled shoes smack and bounce off the stage.

Alanna Sarabia from Good Morning Texas will host World of Art this year. Badran hopes the event will become an annual occurrence and says it's important to showcase North Texas' cultural diversity. She moved to Dallas from the Philippines when she was 8 and says the move has been a blessing, precisely because of the area's diversity.

“What I found really cool about moving out here was that I didn’t really feel too far from culture,” Badran says.

With World of Art, Badran wanted to create an opportunity to expose the different artists and communities around North Texas.

“We are excited to curate an experience that celebrates inclusion and highlights new up-and-coming talent and small businesses throughout the city,” Badran says. “We are all coming together to celebrate the world and the city.”

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