Ballroom Marfa: The First Twenty Years

Named a ‘Best Art Book of 2024’ by Hyperallergic

A vibrant account of Ballroom Marfa’s groundbreaking first two decades of art and music

Since its founding in the storied but remote West Texas town of Marfa, Ballroom Marfa has [punched above its weight] been an outsized advocate for visionary artistic expression. From shows including renowned artists Takashi Murakami, Rashid Johnson, and Guadalupe Maravilla, to Elmgreen & Dragset’s now-iconicPrada Marfa installation, to live performances by Sonic Youth and shock-master John Waters, to large-scale commissions from Agnes Denes and Haroon Mirza, Ballroom’s impact has reverberated far beyond the desert.

Ballroom Marfa: The First Twenty Years tells the story of this extraordinary art destination through lively firsthand accounts by internationally celebrated artists and performers such as Terry Allen, Mel Chin, Agnes Denes, rafa esparza, Loie Hollowell, Elmgreen & Dragset, Hubbard/Birchler, and Graham Reynolds, among many others. It also includes three zines capturing two decades of electrifying performances by musicians including Roky Erickson, Helado Negro, Suzanne Ciani, Lonnie Holley, Lyle Lovett, Laraaji, Joanna Newsom, Perfume Genius, Pharoah Sanders, Sonic Youth, Spoon, and Wire, to name just a few.

Ballroom Marfa: The First Twenty Years is a kaleidoscopic, lavishly illustrated collection of highlights from the [museum’s] foundation's first two decades, as told by the artists, musicians, curators, and community.

Ballroom Marfa was founded in 2003 in Marfa, a remote town of fewer than 2,000 inhabitants, to offer the public art across all mediums―from installations to performances, music, film, and dance. Since then, Ballroom has evolved to become not only an internationally recognized, critically hailed art museum, but also a landmark global destination.

Fairfax Dorn is the cofounder of Ballroom Marfa.

Virginia Lebermann is the cofounder of Ballroom Marfa.

Vance Knowles was the first music director of Ballroom Marfa.