Fort Worth to Get a Permanent James Turrell Installation, and One of the International Artist’s Signature Skyspaces

Meeting houses were established in most burgeoning settlements. They became the heart of the community, where civic business was conducted, and they were, by their very nature, some of the earliest “multi-purpose” buildings, often serving as the school house and community church as well. Now, Fort Worth’s Clearfork neighborhood is set to get one of its own. While this meeting house will host small events and meetings, its envisioned as a contemplative space ― as an art installation.

The newly commissioned installation, called “Keith House,” will feature one of international artist James Turrell’s trademark Skyspaces, titled — naturally — “The Keith Skyspace, 2023.”

Located at 4814 Edwards Ranch Road, The Keith Skyspace is currently under construction near The Heart of the Ranch at Clearfork, Press Café, and the roundabout. Keith House is anticipated to open this July.

A Gift To The Fort Worth Community

Adelaide Leavens serves as executive director of Entrada of Texas and the Meta Alice Keith Bratten Foundation (pronounced “meet-ah Alice”), the two nonprofits behind the building and operation of the venue.

“Keith House hopes to entice and welcome visitors to daily public experiences unlike anything else in the area,” said Leavens. “In its simplicity, Keith House will make room for whatever states of mind visitors bring.”

Among the gatherings Leavens expects the facility to host are community meetings, performances, conversations, wedding ceremonies, memorials, and other private event rentals, according to a release.

The 3,200-square-foot structure in its surrounding, wooded, two-acre setting on former Edwards Ranch land seemed the ideal location. The Skyspace art installation was conceived as a “gift to the entire Fort Worth community” by the foundation established by the late Meta Alice Keith Bratten.

Land for the building was provided by Cassco. Construction partners include Bennett Partners as architects, SpawGlass as the general contractor, and The Projects Group who will be serving as project managers.

“Keith House will be a completely new experience in Fort Worth,” says Michael Bennett, principal, and CEO of Bennett Partners.

“It will be a space that will help visitors consider the importance of light in our lives and how it can uplift, calm, inspire, and unite us while also connecting us to faraway worlds that share their light for us to enjoy each evening.”

About James Turrell’s Skyspaces

“Raised as a semi-observant Quaker in southern California, James Turrell graduated with degrees in math and psychology from Pomona College. He began working with light as an artistic medium in the late 1960s. Many of Turrell’s works, including his Skyspaces, draw attention to light as a presence itself rather than as an incidental source of illumination of other objects,” the statement elaborates.

There are other Skyspace installations located in Texas, including The Color Inside at the University of Texas Student Center in Austin. One Accord at the Live Oak Meeting House and Twilight Epiphany are located at Rice University in Houston. And, visitors to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas will have seen Turrell’s The Way of Color there.

Members of the foundation board of directors encountered Turrell’s installations in other locations, and they concluded a Skyspace would be the perfect gift to the Fort Worth Community ― echoing the spirit of Mrs. Bratten.

“James Turrell, whose work reveals the poetry of light, is one of the foremost artists of our time,” said Eric Lee, director of the Kimbell Art Museum. “Keith House will be a major addition to the cultural landscape of Fort Worth and the region, and will no doubt be beloved for generations to come.”

Visitors will experience Turrell’s Skyspace vision throughout the day, especially at sunrise and sunset, when the sky’s changing light is visible through a rooftop opening, bathing the perimeter of the ceiling with light.

Below the rooftop light source at Keith House will be open floor space with movable pews on four sides, all facing the center. This area will comprise the central gathering area for up to 120 Keith House guests. There will also be a lobby, storage area, and restrooms in the building.

After the launch of Keith House in 2023, Entrada’s goal is to enhance the city with additional installations.