Earth to Alena: Seeing the Chapel with Fresh Eyes
Recently, Dallas artist Alena Niehaus dropped by Thanks-Giving Square.
She encountered the distinctive white spiral of the Chapel of Thanks-Giving, stepped inside and discovered the remarkable Glory Window overhead.
Then she did what artists do: she looked closely.
Alena is the creator of Earth to Alena, a growing collection of illustrations and social media stories celebrating the buildings and places that give Dallas its character. A former fifth-grade teacher, she has developed a following by drawing familiar and sometimes overlooked landmarks and sharing what she discovers about them along the way.
The Chapel caught her eye.
Alena created her own illustration of the Chapel and a short Instagram video chronicling her visit. The response was remarkable: nearly 200,000 people have viewed the video, introducing a new audience to one of downtown Dallas' most distinctive landmarks.
[Watch Alena's Instagram video about the Chapel of Thanks-Giving.]
Designed by internationally renowned architect Philip Johnson, the Chapel has stood at the heart of Thanks-Giving Square since its dedication in 1976. Its white exterior spirals upward, leading visitors inside to French artist Gabriel Loire's Glory Window, a breathtaking stained-glass installation whose 73 panels rise from deep blues to brilliant gold.
For 50 years, people have come here to pray, reflect, celebrate, grieve, give thanks or simply find a moment of quiet in the middle of the city.
What makes Alena's story special is that no one sent her here to tell that story. She discovered the Chapel for herself.
And then she helped thousands of others discover it, too.
There is something wonderfully fitting about a young Dallas artist encountering a place created half a century ago and interpreting it through the tools of her generation: illustration, video, social media and, above all, curiosity.
That's part of what makes a good city. We notice the places around us. We become curious about their stories. And sometimes, seeing a familiar place through someone else's eyes allows us to see it anew.
Alena's Chapel illustration is now available through Earth to Alena. But her Instagram video offers an even simpler invitation:
Did you know this was here?
Visit EarthToAlena.com to see more of Alena's work, watch her Chapel video on Instagram — and then come downtown and discover the Chapel of Thanks-Giving for yourself.