The Artful Life Questionnaire: Will Evans (Dallas, TX)

What we know for sure: We all have a story, and engaging with the arts helps all of us to tell our own stories on our own terms. We also know that there are ways to engage with the arts other than in formal cultural venues, and that sometimes is more about the process of art making than it is about the end product. We also know that living an artful life, which is to say, living a life in which the arts and arts engagement are a priority means different things to different people based on their own interests, their communities, and many other factors, including equitable access. The Artful Life Questionnaire celebrates the diversity of ways we can make the arts a part of our lives, and, hopefully, inspires and encourages us to live our own unique versions of an artful life. In today’s edition of the questionnaire, we’re speaking with Will Evans, founder and publisher of Deep Vellum, a Dallas-based nonprofit publishing house and literary arts organization.

National Endowment for the Arts: Please introduce yourself. 

Will Evans: I'm Will Evans. I'm the founder and CEO and publisher at Deep Vellum, which is a literary arts nonprofit in Dallas, founded in 2013 with the mission to bring the world into conversation through literature, which we do by publishing great underrepresented voices from all over the world, plus programming tons of literary events. 

We have a bookstore that's a part of our nonprofit here in Dallas as well. It's been open since 2015. We work on educational initiatives to get everybody reading and writing at all ages, so that we can keep the literary scene growing and add more readers to it, because we believe everyone is a reader, and we believe everyone has a story that they're a part of and that they can share.

NEA: Do you have a current art practice or a way of regularly engaging with the arts? 

Evans: My regular art practice would probably be reading, first and foremost. I think that this is one of the most under-discussed artistic practices—the art of reading. We know about the art of writing, but the art of reading is the magical, chimerical literary art. That has been a big disservice to readers everywhere, especially in places that are not traditional cultural capitals. 

At Deep Vellum, we are really always seeking to engage readers, and to engage the reader in all of us, and to elevate that practice. I'm always reading. The new art practice that I've taken on is learning how to listen to audiobooks. It's been very funny in my old age to try a new thing. 

Then the other artistic practices I personally enjoy, I love translating Russian literature. It was my great passion that got me into doing Deep Vellum. I don't do it nearly enough. It's very rusty, but I occasionally seek out texts online and sort of practice just to keep it going. I really admire the art of literary translation. One day when I have more time I would love to write and publish something too.

NEA: What are five words that come to mind when you think about the idea of living an artful life?

Evans: Fulfilling is the first one. To lead an artful life is about finding fulfillment, and it's about the expression of self, and the connection to some greater magic that makes humanity what we are.

Magic is another one. It's really beautiful, like we're tapping into something greater than ourselves.

Another word that comes to mind is community. It's a really beautiful thing, because even if you're creating art for yourself, you're in this communal practice with people all over the world. There's this idea that we all exist in the realm of thought, which is another dimension. Sometimes called the noosphere.

Maybe that's the fourth one. I love that. Who's going to say noosphere for leading their artful life? But no matter what your artistic practice, no matter how alone you feel, you are part of a great global humanity community.

The fifth one would be fun. It's really very important to remember that art has to be fun. It can't just be prescriptive. And it can't just be for work, for the market practice of art. You got to have some fun with it so that you can keep growing and experimenting and trying new things.

NEA: Where do you currently live, and what are some of the ways that your community tells its story through the arts or through creative expression?

Evans: I live in Dallas, Texas. I've been here since 2013. I married a Texan, and all Texans have a very short leash, and they pull their spouses into the state. I love living here. There's a wonderful sense of Texas history as something that you're a part of. My favorite thing about living in Dallas is that everybody here believes that Dallas's best days are ahead of it, and that we're all writing the story of Dallas in real time.

This idea that we as a city can come together and write that story is something that I enjoy doing very much with my work at Deep Vellum. There are so many amazing ways that these stories come together. There's been a greater appreciation in recent years for the natural beauty of Dallas, which is maybe something you probably never thought of, but this is a beautiful prairie, naturally. This is one of the most fertile lands in the history of the world.

Then you go to great bookstores like the Wild Detectives or Whose Books or Interabang, and you can see the readers are working there, the readers are browsing. It's an extraordinary space to see this great literary diversity in our community, and all the great arts nonprofits who are cultivating creative writing workshops and hosting readings. You can just hear all the different sides of the city coming to life in a way. It's very exciting.

NEA: How do you think that living an artful life can improve the well-being of your community?

Evans: To lead an artful life is to be cognizant that art exists, I think. That's an important distinction, because then you can engage with art on these multiple levels. It's very interesting, I look around at other arts organizations in Dallas, and I'm always inspired by the work that they do to serve so many different communities. But I'm always surprised that we share a very similar problem when we survey audiences who engage with our organization, whether it's a symphony, the opera, the Museum of Art, the Sculpture Center, Deep Vellum. We're seeing that our audiences are siloed. They come to the museum, they come to the opera, they come to the symphony, they don't go to all of them.

The Dallas Museum of Art and the Dallas Contemporary Art Museum are free. You can just walk in. When it's 104 degrees here you can just go to the museum. Part of leading an artful life is to even be able to think that this space, I am a part of it, and to not just say it has to be a special event to go to do the art stuff. We need to invite more people in, because our audiences, our core audiences are too small. The potential audiences are infinite, and we need to do so much more work to keep inviting people in.

I'll never rest until every single person in Dallas knows Deep Vellum is important, has a Deep Vellum book on their shelf. Will it ever happen? Of course not. But if I'm not there, then we're going to keep striving there every day, because we're going to go to where readers are. Hey man, you don't come to our bookstore here in Deep Ellum, we're going to go where you are, wherever that neighborhood may be. We have 30 library locations in the city. That's opportunities to go to 30 different neighborhoods that we're not in. That's a way to go out and move into the city and do programming there, and to be in touch with local citizens.

To lead an artful life is very interesting, because as an arts administrator, we need to be cognizant that to lead an artful life, we need to go to people. And then people at the same time need to go to art. It's a beautiful two-way street. It is what we focus on at Deep Vellum. It is not a one-way street or a one-way conversation, it is a dialogue. And to have a dialogue means that you are both listening and engaging with each other. Art is there and people are there, and we've got to bring them together.

To lead an artful life, to find that true value, is to say that this is for me. I belong. And if it has not included me historically, I can be a part of that change.

Dallas is a remarkably diverse city in every way, shape, and form. If you are not fostering spaces where that kind of diversity is on full glorious display, then we need to work toward it. And one of the first ways is to be open and to invite. To say "we do this, we want you, come on in."

NEA: Is there a particular place in your neighborhood that is a creative touchstone for you?

Evans: I live over by the lake. The lake is the cultural touchstone in my world. It's the center of gravity for me in Dallas. I build my entire life around an appreciation of this lake, spending as much time there as possible. And it's very funny to think of a natural landscape as a cultural space, but it is.

The city of Dallas owns some cultural facilities, and one of them is called the Bathhouse Cultural Center, because a hundred years ago, you could swim in this lake. The bathhouse now does really amazing shows, art shows, music, a lot of senior programming, senior theater and stuff like that. It's a very inspiring space.

The converse of that is that we have a river in the middle of Dallas. It's called the Trinity River, and the Arkikosa, as it was known to the Indigenous groups here before European settlement. And it's a very unique river. It's the longest river that's just in the state of Texas, almost 900 miles long, and you can't navigate it down to the ocean.

We now as a city are really starting to appreciate it and are turning the riverside into a park. There's been a lot more stuff written about the river. We published a couple books about the river recently, and it's turning into a space that is a focal point for the city. It's not a river like the Mississippi or anything, but it is certainly something beautiful to be appreciated and cherished. These cultural spaces that are natural are so important to me. They're right up there alongside the Museum of Art.

NEA: What’s your favorite informal way or space to engage with arts and culture?

Evans: I go to the library a lot. If you ask me which arts organization aside from my own do I engage with on a daily basis, it is the Dallas Public Library. Shout out to them. They have an amazing collection, amazing staff, amazing programming. And of course, I've trained my kids to love it like I do, which is really important. Anywhere you can get a little free air conditioning outside of your own house in the summer—secret to survival down here.

My favorite informal way of engaging with the arts is making it a part of my daily life. Hopping in the library all the time. Anytime I get a chance, if I have a meeting down in the arts district, hop in the museum, just take it in. There's a concept in Japan of the forest bath. Sometimes you just got to go for a walk in the woods. I do that a lot too. Sometimes you just got to take out the earplugs and go walk in the woods. Being in the trees, there's something about the energy, it's good for you, it cleanses the soul. I feel the same way about the museums. Sometimes you just got to go walk around the museums.

NEA: Can you share an arts experience or moment of arts engagement that has had an identifiable impact on your life?

Evans: When I was 14 years old, I read a Russian novel. I did that for English class, ninth grade. For one book report, you had to do a book in translation. I read a Russian novel by a guy named Maxim Gorky. That moment transformed my life.

I was in Wilmington, North Carolina, and I had never left the southeast. I read this Russian novel about the 1905 Russian Revolution, and it made me feel small. It made me realize that I am a piece of a much larger universe and there was so much to learn. The world was so big, and I wanted to be a part of that world. That kind of moment is so transformative.

That's why reading is like an art, because then it becomes a thing that you can practice broadly. And I kept reading. As I read, I kept growing. And that's how I became a Russian literature major when I ended up in college.

It became this practice that led to me founding Deep Vellum. I think a lot of visual artists I know have similar moments when a teacher tells them something or puts a new mode of expression into their hand. That is exactly what happened to me when this teacher gave me the opportunity to read something outside of what felt familiar.

I hope that every book we publish and every event we host at Deep Vellum offers that kind of gateway and portal to another reader to transform their world as well.

NEA: If you didn’t work in the arts, do you think the arts would still be a part of your life? In what ways?

Evans: Oh, yeah! Are you kidding me? The arts would have a very important part of my life no matter what career path I chose, because the arts, they round out the human experience in such an important way.

Reading is the art form I do the most and means the most to me personally, but I love going to the symphony. I can't wait till my kids are a little older, so I can start going out at night again. Because when I go to the symphony…I don't know what this is. I listen to classical music at home. I listen to classical music anytime. But when I'm at the symphony my brain goes places that I cannot access, ever, anywhere else in the world. I don't know how to explain it, but if I'm sitting in the symphony with a notepad, I write infinitely. It is my greatest inspiration.

Something is completely unlocked for me in that space. And I love going to the symphony in Dallas. I think Symphony Hall here is the most beautiful building we have in our arts district. It's called the Meyerson. It's extraordinary. I can't get enough.

At the same time, one reason I love Dallas is because we have this series called "Mozart in the Bar." A violinist for the symphony, she goes to some bars in the city with a couple other performers, and it's usually a quartet. They perform in these very intimate spaces.

I remember the first time I went, it was in a basement bar. The acoustics were pretty bad. It was echoey and weird. But I've been to punk shows in basements with worse acoustics, and to feel the music that way, when you're that close to it, and you have these four performers in a circle, and you're standing around. When was the last time you saw classical performed in that way, that it felt so alive? Even if they're playing a composer who died 200 years ago. The energy that's there…I can't help it. I'm going to engage with this stuff and I'm going to seek it out forever.

I'm going to stop and listen to anyone doing that on the street. I'm going to go to the museums. I'm going to go to the bars. I'm going to go to the symphony hall. I had a radical transformation when I was young. I didn't grow up with any money. I still don't have enough money, but this is important to me, because this makes life worth living. That's what art does.