The Smart Project
"Inspiring a future of innovative creatives, through art, technology, and design education." The Smart Project is a creative after-school program.
We offer virtual and in-person workshops for 8th - 12th graders from underserved backgrounds who want to grow as artists, pursue higher education in the arts, or enter artistic careers. Students that are able to engage with our workshops will learn about various art forms and concepts, gain hands-on experience in creating art, and the opportunity to work alongside our Teaching Artists. We have worked with local, nationwide, and international students. Through this program we focus on building personal and creative relationships within the community for the students to make connections that will help their future. The program is constantly recruiting individuals who feel the same as we do. Our Teaching Artists are trained professionals in the field who help educate the students as they prepare for their creative future. We are committed to supporting students from various diverse backgrounds and communities. We are excited to work and flourish with the generous support of future partners, team contributions, community donations, grants, and individual supporters.
09/01/2026
Students deserve to experience photography.
Take a look back at our Summer in the Studio workshop series, held at Bass School at UT Dallas in partnership with the South Dallas Cultural Center
We believe every young person deserves access to creative spaces, new experiences, and the opportunity to see themselves as artists.
08/17/2026
💜🎨
07/14/2026
Week 3
July 13–19:
Write About Your Art
Every artist has a story, and this is your chance to share yours. Don’t have an artist statement yet? That’s okay, this is the perfect time to practice! Write a short paragraph explaining who you are as an artist, what inspires your creativity, what kinds of art you enjoy making, and what you hope people feel when they experience your work.
Remember, there are no wrong answers,
your artist statement should
sound like you. South Dallas Cultural Center City of Dallas - Office of Arts and Culture
07/08/2026
Week 2
July 6–12: Anime All Day
This week’s creative challenge is inspired by the work of Mikel Miles, a Black manga artist celebrated for creating original characters and stories. Find a day to relax, kick up your feet, and design an anime character.
Let your character reflect who you are. Have fun bringing your imagination to life and creating the hero of your own story!
05/16/2026
Our Saturday Paper Portraits Workshop at is officially done and it was BEAUTIFUL. ✂️✨ A great end to the spring season!
Today our youth artists turned different types of paper and markers into portraits — layering, cutting, and creating faces full of personality and soul.
Swipe to see what they made →
Every piece you see was made by a young artist in our free workshop program. We are so proud of this crew and can’t wait to keep supporting the local community by providing these students with a creative outlet.
📍 South Dallas Cultural Center
🆓 Free & open to youth
🔗 Apply on The Smart Projects Website if Interested in Future FREE workshops
04/16/2026
Youth Workshop Alert (The Smart Projecr)
🧡🎨💜
May 9th, 2026 at the South Dallas Cultural Center, our Paint by Value workshop is ready to bring creativity to life. The Smart Project is a project-based nonprofit that believes in supporting youth artists, and the South Dallas Cultural Center is a beautiful hub for the community and what is possible, led by a team we truly adore.
We hope you will take advantage of this free creative workshop series that helps students build upon prior lessons while also introducing a creative cohort where students receive additional perks and opportunities beyond creative programming.
Huge thanks to the:
South Dallas Cultural Center
City of Dallas - Office of Arts and Culture
03/07/2026
Due to the weather, today’s The Smart Project workshop scheduled for March 7 at 11:00 AM has been postponed.
The safety of our students, especially our little ones
is always our top priority. The workshop will be rescheduled for the beginning of May, and we will share the new date very soon.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support of The Smart Project. We look forward to creating together soon. Love to the
📷 🎬📷💜📷🎬📷
03/01/2026
Work by Jonathon Madison high school
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Contact the organization
Website
Address
Dallas, TX
75081
Opening Hours
| Monday | 9am - 3pm |
| Tuesday | 9am - 5pm |
| Wednesday | 9am - 5pm |
| Thursday | 9am - 5pm |