DALLAS — Friday kicks off “The Beauty of South Dallas” exhibit, as seen through the eyes of artist Nitashia Johnson. Hoping to document the people, places and true essence of a neighborhood oozing with history, Johnson captured the majority Black neighborhood over a three-month period.

Johnson was selected as the first recipient of the Juanita J. Craft House Artist Residency Initiative — described as an “immersive, interactive program for artists of all disciplines to connect them in a meaningful way with South Dallas neighborhoods.” A Dallas native, Johnson graduated from Booker T. Washington for the Performing and Visual Arts and went on to Texas Women’s University where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design Communications. She also made history as the first-round Sony Alpha Female Creator-in-Residence.

Using her talents as a multimedia artist/designer, Johnson works as a graphic designer and photographer. Spectrum News 1 previously reported that the artist residency provided artists with a non-living studio space. The program connects them with residents, organizations and institutions to create unique pieces of art to contribute to a body of work. According to the site, the residency gives those a platform to “capture the immediacy of the moment where historical neighborhoods are rapidly changing due to socio-economic shifts to collect visions of South Dallas for future residents, visionaries and developers.”

The 2021 Juanita J. Craft House Artist Residency recipients include visual artist Inyang Essien, poly disciplinary artist Glyneisha Johnson, Adriane McCray and poet Laura Neal.

The exhibit housed at the South Dallas Cultural Center will be on display from Feb. 11 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will run until March 19 free of charge with an RSVP.