KTX: Big Addition Coming To The Katy Trail

Jovanna Venegas explains the concept of the Katy Trail biennial public art exhibition, named the KTX Biennial, to Dallas media from behind a supporter with a bald head.

FROM THE WIRES...

A biennial public art show is coming to the Katy Trail, and it may be unlike anything else in the country. Full details below...

(DALLAS, TX — March 11, 2026) — The KTX Biennial, a new contemporary public art biennial along Dallas’ Katy Trail, is thrilled to announce its launch and inaugural edition, to debut in Spring 2027. The KTX Biennial marks Texas’ first biennial of its kind dedicated to public art and provides an open-air platform for engaging with ambitious contemporary artworks, free and accessible to all. Initiated by Friends of the Katy Trail Executive Director Amy Bean and Katy Trail Art Director Amanda Dillard Shufeldt, the inaugural edition invites New York–based curator Jovanna Venegas to organize a debut presentation of nearly a dozen existing and newly commissioned works by living artists from across the world.Unfolding along the 3.5-mile former railroad corridor running through Dallas’ Uptown, Knox, and Highland Park neighborhoods, the KTX Biennial invites the Katy Trail’s two million annual visitors and new audiences across the globe to explore and interact directly with today’s most compelling artists. Building on the Katy Trail’s existing public art program—which has featured work from the likes of Iván Argote, Eddie Martinez, Will Boone, Nic Nicosia, Carolyn Salas, and more—the Biennial thoughtfully integrates art into its natural environment, creates new avenues for discovery for local and national audiences, and fortifies Dallas’ standing as an international art destination. The KTX Biennial is distinctive in the American landscape. The rotating outdoor exhibition is conceived from the ground up as a public-space biennial, where the urban environment itself serves as the primary venue and the natural environs guide pathways for exploration, inviting audiences to uncover and experience contemporary art on their own terms. This model positions Dallas among leading global cities that activate civic space at scale with public art. Its reach, however, extends far beyond the confines of the Katy Trail and its connected neighborhoods. Through educational programs, public activities, panel conversations, and partnerships with local institutions and organizations, the Biennial is designed to live beyond its installations and build lasting infrastructure for community, connection, and engagement.With the inaugural edition set to open in Spring 2027, the KTX Biennial establishes a new cultural landmark for Dallas—an international platform rooted in local community, natural landscape, and shared public space.“The KTX Biennial grows directly out of our belief that the Katy Trail belongs to everyone. By bringing ambitious contemporary art into an open-air setting, free and accessible to all, we are inviting both longtime visitors and first-time audiences to experience the Trail in an entirely new way. This Biennial strengthens the Trail’s role not only as a place for recreation, but also as a space for creativity, reflection, and shared discovery,” said Amy Bean, Executive Director of Friends of the Katy Trail.“The KTX Biennial brings an extraordinary level of artistic rigor and ambition to the Katy Trail and the wider Dallas metroplex. Under the curatorial vision of Jovanna Venegas for our first edition, we are inviting artists to present bold public artworks that shape contemporary discourse internationally. The KTX Biennial signals Dallas’s strength as a hub for the discovery of meaningful contemporary art and underscores our capacity to commission and present work at the highest global standard,” said Amanda Dillard Shufeldt, Director of Katy Trail Art.