DNAWORKS

What DNAWORKS does

DNAWORKS is an unincorporated nonprofit arts organization founded in 2006 and based in Fort Worth, Texas, dedicated to dialogue and healing through interdisciplinary performance combining theatre, dance, and community storycircle methodologies. It operates as a fiscally sponsored project of Producer Hub (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN 87-2432520) with a headcount of 1-10, and its core offerings are organized into three product lines: theatrical Productions (e.g., The Real James Bond...Was Dominican, HaMapah/The Map, Fort Worth Lynching Tour, Shelter in Place, Hollow Roots), recurring Workshops (We the GRIOT, Move2Heal, DNAWORKSHOP), and Programs (Hip Hop Theatre Initiative, Write OUT Fort Worth!, The Borders Project, TRANSFORM 1012 N. MAIN). The underlying "technology" is process-based rather than software-based — community storycircle facilitation, augmented reality-enabled site tours, and academic publications through Routledge Press and University of Michigan Press.

The organization's business model is donation- and ticket-driven rather than commercial: contributions are tax-deductible via Producer Hub (processed through givebutter.com and mail), and tickets for events such as the Fort Worth Lynching Tour are sold via Eventbrite. It serves a horizontal customer base spanning community organizations, educational institutions (Texas A&M University, USC Visions and Voices), and partner arts nonprofits (24th Street Theatre, Camille A. Brown Dance Company, Bridge Projects, MASS Design Group), with go-to-market conducted through a community-led motion of live performances, workshops, earned media (NPR, Christian Science Monitor, D Magazine), and academic publications.

The co-founders — director Daniel Banks and artist Adam W. McKinney — anchor the organization's reputation, having earned the TCG Alan Schneider Director Award (2020) and a Drama League Award nomination (2021). The TRANSFORM 1012 N. MAIN project, converting a 1924 KKK auditorium into an international center for performing arts and community healing, represents DNAWORKS's most ambitious operational initiative and a potential anchor for future scale, while international work in Ghana and South Africa signals geographic reach beyond Fort Worth. No venture capital, private equity, or commercial funding rounds are associated with the organization.

Name

DNAWORKS

Legal name

DNAWORKS (operating as fiscally sponsored project of Producer Hub, a non-profit organization)

Website

https://dnaworks.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

DNAWORKS is a Fort Worth-based, fiscally sponsored nonprofit arts organization founded in 2006 that creates interdisciplinary theatre, workshops, and community programs to advance dialogue-based social justice and healing through the arts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Arts & Performance

NAICS

Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (711510)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural Centers & Community Cultural Organizations (BPAGAHAD)

Keywords

• Community arts engagement
• Social justice theatre
• Interdisciplinary performance arts
• Community dialogue programs
• Healing arts initiatives

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Worth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Tax-Deductible Donations: DNAWORKS operates as a fiscally sponsored project of Producer Hub. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Donations can be made online via givebutter.com or by mail to Producer Hub.
2. Ticket Sales for Performances: Revenue generated from tickets to productions such as the Fort Worth Lynching Tour and other performances.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

DNAWORKS is a non-profit interdisciplinary theatre organization that creates performances, workshops, and community programs focused on identity, heritage, culture, and social justice. It produces theatrical works, conducts educational workshops, and stewards community-based programs that use storycircle methodologies to catalyze dialogue and healing. The organization also works to transform sites of historical trauma into centers for arts and community healing, exemplified by the TRANSFORM 1012 N. MAIN project.

Product overview

DNAWORKS is an interdisciplinary theatre company dedicated to dialogue and healing through the arts, focusing on identity, heritage, culture, and liberation. The organization operates as a single unified offering comprising theatrical productions (such as The Real James Bond...Was Dominican, Fort Worth Lynching Tour, HaMapah/The Map, and Shelter in Place), creative workshops (We the GRIOT, Move2Heal, DNAWORKSHOP), and community programs (Hip Hop Theatre Initiative, Write OUT Fort Worth!, The Borders Project). The portfolio also includes publications by its co-founders on social justice theatre practices. DNAWORKS does not offer technology products, software platforms, or developer tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Productions Interdisciplinary theatrical productions that catalyze dialogue-based social justice activism and community building for community organizations, theatres, dance companies, and university audiences.
• Workshops Creative expression and dialogue workshops focused on identity, culture, class, and heritage, offered to schools, universities, and community organizations. Includes We the GRIOT, Move2Heal, and DNAWORKSHOP programs.
• Programs Long-running community-based programs that steward connections between global communities and cultures, including the Hip Hop Theatre Initiative, Write OUT Fort Worth!, and The Borders Project.
• Fort Worth Lynching Tour: Honoring the Memory of Mr. Fred Rouse A guided group bike and car tour of locations tied to the 1921 lynching of Mr. Fred Rouse in Fort Worth, TX, paired with a downloadable augmented reality app used at five sites to learn the story of his murder.
• Publications Academic and professional publications by DNAWORKS co-founders covering Hip Hop as Pedagogy, Hip Hop Theatre, the Welcome Table Initiative, and social justice through theatre arts, published with Routledge Press, University of Michigan Press, Theatre Topics, and American Theatre.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nominated for Drama League Awards 'Outstanding Interactive or Socially-Distanced Theater' (2021)

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and notable.

• Producer HubcoreOthersDNAWORKS is a fiscally sponsored project of Producer Hub, a nonprofit organization (EIN: 87-2432520). Contributions for the purposes of DNAWORKS are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. DNAWORKS is powered by Producer Hub.
• MASS Design GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMASS Design Group designed a beautiful new brochure for the TRANSFORM 1012 N. MAIN project, helping to communicate the vision for transforming the former KKK auditorium into a center for arts and community healing.
• Bridge ProjectsnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerBridge Projects curated 'We Are All Guests Here' group exhibition featuring art installations by Adam W. McKinney in response to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
• Camille A. Brown Dance CompanynotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerDNAWORKS appeared as part of Camille A. Brown Dance Company's Social Dance for Social Change series.
• Theatre Communications GroupnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerDNAWORKS co-founder Daniel Banks received Theatre Communications Group's Alan Schneider Director Award in 2020, and DNAWORKS has an ongoing relationship with TCG as a significant professional theatre organization.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ping Chong and Company: An interdisciplinary theater company producing work around identity, culture, and community across the U.S. and internationally. Comparable to DNAWORKS in its integration of dance, visual, and documentary forms with social justice themes.
• Camille A. Brown Dance Company: An African-American dance company whose Social Dance for Social Change series partners with DNAWORKS. Comparable as a small, mission-driven performing arts organization using movement to advance dialogue about race and identity.
• Tectonic Theater Project: Known for documentary theater addressing historical and political trauma (e.g., The Laramie Project). Shares DNAWORKS' focus on memorializing violence and catalyzing dialogue through performance.
• The Civilians: An investigative theater company that develops work through interviews and community dialogue to explore social and political issues. Closely matches DNAWORKS' model of using dialogue/storycircle methodologies to catalyze socially engaged performance.
• Universes: A multi-disciplinary ensemble combining theater, music, and dance to explore identity, race, and culture. Directly parallel to DNAWORKS' interdisciplinary performance work centered on complex, multi-layered identities.
• Rude Mechs: An Austin-based experimental theater ensemble producing socially engaged original work. Comparable as a similarly small, artist-led company creating interdisciplinary productions for community and academic audiences.
• The TEAM: A Brooklyn-based ensemble creating devised, touring theater around American identity and social issues. Comparable to DNAWORKS in producing original interdisciplinary touring work with national reach.
• Cornerstone Theater Company: A community-engaged theater company that creates original productions with and about local communities, often around social justice themes. Directly comparable to DNAWORKS as a similarly small, mission-driven ensemble producing dialogue-driven work with diverse communities.

Others

• MASS Design Group: An architecture and design firm that collaborates on justice-oriented built environments, including the TRANSFORM 1012 N. MAIN brochure for DNAWORKS. Comparable as an ecosystem partner operating at the intersection of design, healing, and restorative justice.

Broad incumbents

• Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: A larger, established Washington, D.C.-based theater company known for provocative, socially engaged new work. Relevant as a broader incumbent in the same theatrical niche DNAWORKS occupies, though at substantially greater scale and capitalization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DNAWORKSARTS
• Facebookfacebook.com/DNAWORKSARTS
• Instagraminstagram.com/dnaworksarts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dnaworks-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DNAWORKS