AURORA, the Dallas nonprofit that stages large-scale art and technology exhibitions, returns this November with its 2026 Biennial, titled States of Becoming. For the first time the event runs across three weeks, from November 4 through November 21, with free performances, talks and artist-led experiences at sites in Dallas and Fort Worth. It ends with a one-night outdoor exhibition in Downtown Dallas, when artists turn City Hall, the Central Library and the AT&T Discovery District into a gallery of projections, sculpture and sound.
Short answer: The 2026 AURORA Biennial runs November 4–21. Programs on November 4–20 take place at multiple sites in Dallas and Fort Worth. The culminating outdoor exhibition is Saturday, November 21, from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., at Dallas City Hall, the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library and the AT&T Discovery District. AURORA describes the Biennial as free.
What AURORA is
AURORA was founded in 2010 by Shane Pennington and Joshua King, with Veletta Forsythe Lill, and has grown from a single-night event into a year-round organization that also runs a Video Art Night series. The 2026 edition is its seventh biennial. The previous one, in 2024, was titled FuturePresentPast.
This year’s curators are Julia Kaganskiy and Tairone Bastien. Their theme, States of Becoming, looks at places, technologies and communities in transition, a fitting subject for a downtown that has spent two decades turning office towers into apartments.
The dates
| November 4–20 | Performances, lectures and artist-led experiences at multiple sites in Dallas and Fort Worth, which AURORA describes as free. The full schedule is on AURORA’s Biennial program page. |
| Saturday, November 21, 7 p.m.–1 a.m. | Outdoor exhibition at Dallas City Hall (City Hall Plaza, 1500 Marilla St), the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library and the AT&T Discovery District. Free and open to all ages. |
Artists to look for
AURORA and KERA have named a lineup that mixes international artists with returning Dallas names. Among the works announced:
- Trevor Paglen, Faces of ImageNet: a large-scale digital projection in which visitors can have their photo classified by AI.
- LaJuné McMillian, The Portal’s Keeper: an interactive work that turns the facade of Dallas City Hall into a portal for visitors’ reflections.
- Monira Al Qadiri, Benzene Float (Tetrakis): a monumental inflatable sculpture.
- Sasha Stiles, A Living Poem: poetry generated continuously by a custom language model.
- Christopher Meerdo, Exuvium: solar-powered sculptures that act as temporary Wi-Fi nodes.
- Diana Rojas (Dallas), What the Air Carries: a sculpture that turns the city’s low-frequency sounds into soundscapes with projected light.
- Eric Trich (Dallas), Ecodex: four 3D-printed tree stumps with LED screens and augmented reality.
- Melanie Clemmons and Zak Loyd (Dallas), ABRACADABRA: two trucks converted into mobile video installations about AI.
- Tramaine Townsend (Dallas), HARMONY: suspended moving figures.
Other announced artists include Derek Tumala, Eduardo Cassina, Ezra Masch, Holly Veselka, Josh Kline and the New York collective New Red Order. AURORA said more artists were still being signed, so check the official program before you go.
Getting there from a downtown apartment
The November 21 exhibition sits in the southern part of the downtown core. City Hall and the Central Library are neighbors, and the AT&T Discovery District is a few blocks north. Residents of the Downtown / Farmers Market and The Cedars buildings in this directory can walk. From farther out, DART into downtown avoids event-night parking. Check DART’s schedule for late-night service, since the exhibition runs until 1 a.m.
Tips
- Projection work reads best after full dark, and the event runs six hours, so there is no need to arrive at 7 p.m. sharp.
- Several works are interactive and some use your phone or camera. Bring a charged phone.
- Look for the November 4–20 programs too. Talks and performances are a quieter way to see the artists’ work than the crowds of the final night.
For the full program, visit dallasaurora.com/Biennial.
Sources: AURORA (dallasaurora.com); KERA, “Meet some of the artists coming to Aurora Biennial 2026 this fall,” Sept. 30, 2026; PaperCity, Oct. 12, 2026; AURORA’s Eventbrite listing for the November 21 exhibition.