The arts can galvanize change or spark polarizing debate. They can be a window into our belief systems. . As 2025 comes to a close, here are 4 moments acrossD-FW that made us pause and reflect on the cultural scene.
North Texas becomes a star in the Sheridan Universe
Taylor Sheridan’s productions, with their gaggle of extras, cordoned-off roads, and star-studded casts, became a ubiquity of North Texas life in 2025. Sheridan, ever the prolific show creator, has filmed much of his Paramount+ slate, including West Texas oil rig drama Landman and espionage thriller Lioness, across the D-FW area. His presence shows no signs of abating, considering the production campus he launched this year in far north Fort Worth. His regional footprint could be seen as a product of Texas’ rising profile as a film-friendly destination (the state is expected to spend $1.5M in incentives over the next 10 years).
Sally Mann photographs are seized
In January, the Fort Worth Police Department confiscated photographer Sally Mann’s decades-old images of her children in the nude from the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. There were complaints, including from local officials, about the images amounting to child pornography. Ultimately, the photographs were returned and no charges were filed against Mann or the museum.
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“What Remains” is 2003 book from Bulfinch Press by photographer Sally Mann about her work.
mike Gibson
The incident, though, thrust Tarrant County into a thorny debate around artistic expression and censorship. A Tarrant County representative, in the months after, would propose a bill to fine museums up to $500,000 for displaying obscenity, citing the Mann controversy.
Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders turn Netflix clout into a pay bump
The Cowboys franchise had been trailed by criticism over dancers’ pay for years, most notably in the aftermath of former cheerleader Erica Wilkins’s 2018 lawsuit, where she accused the organization of paying her less than $7.25, the federal minimum wage.
The first season of the squad’s Netflix show America’s Sweethearts lightly broached the subject of pay. Charlotte Jones, executive vice president of the Cowboys, acknowledged NFL cheerleaders were “not paid a lot,” but said they “don’t come here for the money,” a remark some viewers regarded as dismissive.
A scene from Netflix’s “America’s Sweethearts.”
Netflix
In a historic labor win, the squad’s pay has jumped by 400% percent — a change announced in the second season of their Netflix docu-series America’s Sweethearts, which was released in June. A group of veteran dancers had advocated for higher wages seemingly to no avail early in season 2.
Details remain scant on how the pay bump was eventually achieved, but squad director Kelli Finglass called the pay raise “60-plus years long overdue,” in the season two finale.
Local arts organizations lose federal arts funding, D-FW entities step up
As the Trump administration sought to reshape the federal bureaucracy, the National Endowment of Arts withdrew grants nationwide, citing new priorities. At least 13 North Texas groups lost funding, totalling over $345,000.
Bishop Arts Theatre Center lost N.E.A. funding in 2025, but received a local TACA grant. Here, Sasha Maya Ada, left, and Franky D. Gonzalez discuss “A Dallas Hedda” before dress rehearsal in April 2025.
Jason Janik / Special Contributor
As some federal arts funding has waned, though, Texas entities have put up sizable investments. Dallas-based nonprofit TACA awarded $650,000 in grants to 50 art groups in the county. The Moody Fund for the Arts doled out $445,000 in grants to 66 organizations.