About Us
Location, Personnel, and Contact Information
About
Founded in 1985 by Alan Govenar to present new perspectives on historical issues and diverse cultures, Documentary Arts, Inc. is a non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas and New York City. Between 1992 and 2001, Documentary Arts operated the 5501 Columbia Art Center with Contemporary Culture, a non-profit organization founded by Kaleta Doolin. Still located in East Dallas, the main office of Documentary Arts is based at 5501 Columbia Avenue (map) in a completely renovated landmark building, formerly Fire Station No. 16, which received a 1993 American Institute of Architects Citation Award for its adaptation to a community service facility. Over the years, Documentary Arts and Contemporary Culture organized numerous exhibitions, installations, and public programs, and both organizations continue to have an active role in the arts.
In 1995, Alan Govenar and Kaleta Doolin founded the Texas African American Photography Archive, located directly across the street from the firehouse. In addition, Documentary Arts and Contemporary Culture operate a state of the art audio/video editing facility.
The best way to reach us is by email, but if you require a physical mailing address, please use our official PO box (at right), rather than our street address.
Alan Govenar
Alan Govenar is a writer, folklorist, photographer, and filmmaker. He is president of Documentary Arts, a non-profit organization he founded in 1985 to present new perspectives on historical issues and diverse cultures. Govenar has a B.A. with distinction in American Folklore from Ohio State University, an M.A. in Folklore and Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Ph.D. in Arts and Humanities from the University of Texas at Dallas. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and the author of thirty books, including Texas Blues: The Rise of a Contemporary Sound, Stompin’ at the Savoy: The Story of Norma Miller, Extraordinary Ordinary People, Everyday Music, Untold Glory, Stoney Knows How: Life as a Sideshow Tattoo Artist, Deep Ellum: The Other Side of Dallas, Portraits of Community, The Early Years of Rhythm and Blues: The Photography of Benny Joseph, and The Blues Come to Texas: Paul Oliver and Mack McCormick’s Unfinished Book. His book Osceola: Memories of a Sharecropper’s Daughter won First Place in the New York Book Festival (Children’s Non-Fiction), a Boston Globe-Hornbook Honor; and an Orbis Pictus Honor from the National Council of Teachers of English.
Govenar’s film, Stoney Knows How, based on his book by the same title about Old School tattoo artist Leonard St. Clair, was shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, and was selected as an Outstanding Film of the Year by the London Film Festival. Govenar has also produced and directed numerous films in association with NOVA, La Sept/ARTE, and PBS for broadcast and educational distribution. His documentaries The Beat Hotel, Master Qi and the Monkey King, You Don’t Need Feet to Dance, and Extraordinary Ordinary People are distributed by First Run Features.
Govenar is also a playwright, whose musicals include Blind Lemon Blues and Lonesome Blues (with Akin Babatunde) and Texas in Paris. His musicals have been performed at the York Theatre (New York), Forum Meyrin (Geneva), Maison des Cultures du Monde (Paris), Zuiderpershuis (Antwerp), Leidse Schouwburg (Leiden), Regentes (Den Haag), and Oude Luxor (Rotterdam).
His artist books and photographs are in collections in the United States and abroad, including The Museum of Modern Art (New York), Victoria and Albert Museum (London, Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), National Portrait Gallery (Washington, DC), and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Jason Johnson-Spinos
Jason Johnson-Spinos has worked as an editor at Documentary Arts since 2011. He edited the feature documentaries Extraordinary Ordinary People, Serving Second Chances, and You Don't Need Feet to Dance, as well as numerous short documentaries. In addition, he has worked for Documentary Arts in many other capacities, including graphic design, photo editing, proofreading, and data entry. With The Documentary Group in NYC, he assistant edited the documentaries Angle of Attack and Dreamland. Jason has BAs in Cinema Communications and Theatre Studies from Elon University. He is the co-founder and marketing director for Outcry Theatre.
Anthony Hill
Anthony Hill received his BA in Cinema Art and Science from Columbia College Chicago in 2007 with a concentration on Directing. He wrote, directed and edited the short films Sting In My Eyes--award winner at the “Take-One Film Festival”, Too Fast for Love--featured at the Manifest Urban Arts Festival, Table for Two and directed the interdepartmental project The Unstoppable Jackie Nava. Anthony also worked as a Production Assistant on several feature films, including the Warner Brothers production of Batman Begins. After graduating in 2007, Anthony co-founded Village Media, Inc. and worked as Producer, Writer, Director, Videographer and Editor on a number of productions that ranged from live music events, corporate videos to short films. In 2015, he began working for Documentary Arts as a video editor, media specialist and photography archive assistant. At Documentary Arts, he has edited video pieces for The Stewpot, The Museum of Street Culture, the International Center of Photography and worked as assistant editor on the feature film Extraordinary Ordinary People.
Danielle Naylor
Danielle Naylor received her MA in Art Education with a focus in Museum Education in 2016 from the University of North Texas. She received a BA in Art History from UNT in 2013. Danielle is an experienced educator in both museum and gallery settings teaching young children to adults. She has worked in museums and galleries throughout the DFW creating educational and interpretive material in addition to teaching. Danielle began working with Documentary Arts and The Museum of Street Culture in February 2017. She develops educational and interpretive materials for The Museum of Street Culture, while maintaining partnerships and collaborative efforts with community organizations on outreach and mutual programs. She also assists Documentary arts with the donation of the Texas African American Photography Archive to the International Center of Photography by cataloguing images via TMS.
Blas Garcia
Blas Garcia has worked at Documentary Arts since 2011 as an animator, assistant editor, and website designer. He has worked on several projects including animation for The Beat Hotel, redesigning the cover for the latest Masters of Traditional Arts DVD-Rom, and creating the Masters of Traditional Arts Education Guide website.
Daniel Dunnam
Daniel Dunnam has worked with Documentary Arts since 2000 as an audio editor, designer, and web developer. He has worked on various projects including the Masters of Traditional Arts DVD-Rom, Facing the Rising Sun: Freedman's Cemetery, NOVA: Voyage of Doom, as well as the company website, and several recordings.
Contact Info
Dallas Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 140244
Dallas, TX 75214
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