By definition a muse is a person — most likely a woman — who is a source of artistic inspiration. If the city of Dallas were to have a muse; it would be Brandy Adams, a Florida native raised in Dallas whose creative talents have given her the opportunity to pursue a diverse career path. Beginning her career as a professional makeup artist and hairstylist she worked in all realms of the fashion and television industries, which led to her being internationally represented by Dallas’ Page Parks Management. During an impressive 14 year career Adams worked with renowned artists and clients including David LaChapelle, Thomas Heisner, Craig DeCristo, Ford, JC Penney, Toni & Guy Hair Salons, in addition to local publications Modern Luxury Dallas, D Magazine, and The Fort Worth Star Telegram.
Adams’ versatility and passion for all forms of creative expression led her down a prolific path of discovery as a self-taught painter and dancer. Becoming a painter, she was able to easily identify with artists’ experiences and became passionate about creating opportunities for them to exhibit their work while navigating the complicated art scene. Truly believing that art has the power to enrich people’s lives Adams decided to open WAAS, her first art gallery. Walking through the doors of the WAAS Gallery, it’s easy to understand why it has been nominated as one of the best galleries in Dallas two years in a row. Housed in a historic, two-story building located in the epicenter of the Dallas art community its exhibitions functioned as a local incubator for emerging artists. Consistently pushing the envelope of creativity, Adams successfully conceptualized a hybrid exhibition environment that modeled the aesthetic of a museum quality installation.
The beginning of the new year brought a lot of changes to WAAS and Adams decided to take all the achievements and growth of the past four years and build upon its successes with the rebranding of the gallery into LEVEL, her newest program and vision to create a place that not only fosters the relationships between artists and collectors, but also supports ongoing relationships with the Dallas community. The gallery’s upcoming exhibits will concentrate on socially and politically engaged works that strive to create visualizations and conversations about themes related to identity and power. With the rebranding, Adams is looking forward to WAAS continuing to exist outside of Dallas and will continue to curate exhibitions under the brand name in Los Angeles in collaboration with NGR Recording; the new home of WAAS Gallery.
LEVEL Gallery recently launched with its first exhibition entitled, “The Oil and Gas Show” curated by gallery partner, Emma Saperstein. The exhibition runs from January 28th through February 28th 2016. Various national artists were involved in the inauguration show, including Brian Wagner (Philadelphia, PA), Jonas Criscoe, Thomas Macker (Jackson, WY), Nikki Moser, David Grassman (Pinedale, WY), Liz Appling (Austin, TX) and Dallas-based artists, William Messimer and Blake Boettcher. The installation is an investigative interpretation into the notoriously complex oil industry, “The Oil and Gas Show” artistically explores issues of labor, finance, cultural variation and industrial development, both attempting to uncover the harsh effects of the industry on the environment and quality of lives, while also illuminating the necessary practices already in place. In addition to all of the changes inside the new gallery, Adams and Saperstein have also started the build-out on what will soon be a pop-up retail space on the bottom floor where prints, fine art magazines and other cultural gifts will be available for purchase.
Consistently in a state of metamorphosis, Brandy Adams continually redefines the boundaries of artistic genres by creating a dialogue of inspiration while remaining committed to propelling her community to the next LEVEL. Haute Living stopped by the new gallery to congratulate Adams on her newest venture and discover what her favorites picks were around the city.
Where were you born: Tampa, Florida
How long have lived in Dallas: I grew up in Grand Prairie but really grew up in Oak Cliff where my dads first business was. Been back in Dallas for 11 years now from Hollywood, California
Neighborhood: Oak Cliff (The Real OC lol)
Occupation: Gallery Owner, Art Dealer, Consultant, Celebrity Make-up Artist, Brand Ambassador, Creator, Producer, Performance Artist, Family owns a Building Material Supply House (Adams Supply of Dallas), Manufacture a ONE COAT Stucco in line with Architects. All in all the best word might be Entrepreneur
Best Pizza: Serious Pizza
Best Sushi: Zenna Sushi
Best dessert: Ice Cream Cookie Sunday from Spiral Diner
Best Sunday brunch: Oddfellows
Best place for a power business meeting: My office, conference table that fits 10
Best Gym/Athletic Facility: The Yoga Movement
Best Limousine/Driving Service: Uber
Best Museum/Exhibit: Cindy Sherman at Dallas Museum of Art
Favorite shopping venue/boutique: TENOVERSIX
Favorite place to buy jewelry/watches: Tough to say since I wear a lot of custom one of kind of pieces
Favorite Charity: DCAC-Dallas Childrens Advocacy Center
Favorite Cultural Institution: DC-Dallas Contemporary
Describe your city in three words: Fascinating, Abundant, Changing
All-around favorite spot in Dallas: Anywhere I can dance!
Best Aspect of Dallas: It’s a city that’s opening up to more women entrepreneurs and creating opportunities to support them on their journeys of becoming there own person.
How do you spend your downtime: Not much downtime, but when I do find some time, I am usually working on my long term personal goal of writing an inspirational book to help others heal.
What Dallas social event do you look forward to all year: FGI (Fashion Group International Dallas Rising Stars Award)
Biggest Accomplishment: My child for sure is my greatest accomplish. But I also believe being a leader, entrepreneur and woman active in her community engaging change is a great accomplishment as well.
