By T.J. Griffin | Contributor
Grant Halliburton Foundation and Center for BrainHealth, part of The University of Texas at Dallas, are partnering to present Journey: The Art and Legacy of Grant Halliburton, an exhibition on view Sept. 8–25 at Center for BrainHealth, 2200 W. Mockingbird Lane in Dallas.
Presented during Grant Halliburton Foundation’s 20th anniversary year and National Suicide Prevention Month, the exhibition connects Grant’s creative legacy with two decades of work in North Texas to strengthen
youth mental health and prevent suicide. A series of public programs throughout September will extend the conversation through mental health education, brain science and community engagement.
“Twenty years of impact began with the Halliburton family’s decision to turn unimaginable loss into action,” said Kevin Hall, president of Grant Halliburton Foundation. “This exhibition gives our community the
opportunity to know Grant not only as the name of our Foundation, but as a gifted artist whose life continues to inspire this mission and save lives. We’re grateful to partner again with Center for BrainHealth to share the Foundation’s story, reflect on how far we’ve come and invite more people into the work still ahead.”
The exhibition also invites visitors to consider the connections between creativity and proactive brain health, expanding the organizations’ partnership through art, public programming and community conversation. “Our partnership with Grant Halliburton Foundation reflects a shared commitment to helping people build
stronger, healthier minds and lives,” said Laura Bloom Gordon, chief marketing officer of Center for BrainHealth. “Through this exhibition, we have an opportunity to connect art, mental wellness and brain
health in a deeply meaningful way. With a variety of events all month, we hope to inspire conversations that strengthen resilience, connection and hope. This partnership builds on our collaboration through the Mental Wellness Collective and promotes community engagement in service of a common goal: helping more people understand and strengthen their brain health.”
Presented in partnership with Center for BrainHealth and curated in collaboration with Business Council for the Arts, the Sept. 8–25 exhibition connects art, mental health and a 20-year legacy of hope.
The Mental Wellness Collective brings together North Texas mental health, brain health and youth-serving organizations to strengthen youth mental health and resilience. Journey will feature more than 50 of Grant’s original paintings, charcoal works, drawings and sketches, along with selections from his personal writings and poetry and a Listening Lounge featuring music he wrote and recorded with his high school bandmates. The exhibition will span three floors of Center for BrainHealth’s Brain Performance Institute building. A preview on the first floor will welcome visitors and introduce the exhibition,
with most of the collection and accompanying elements displayed on the second and third floors. Together, the works and interpretive elements will trace the connection between Grant’s creative legacy and
the mission that grew in his memory.
Grant Halliburton Foundation partnered with Business Council for the Arts (BCA) to thoughtfully curate the exhibition and bring Grant’s art, story and legacy to life. Amy McCloskey, a Foundation co-founder and Grant’s sister, collaborated closely with BCA throughout the curation process, contributing a personal understanding of Grant and his work. “Co-curating Journey with Amy was a profound honor,” said Jill VanGorden, chief operating officer and head of programs for Business Council for the Arts. “To help tell this story alongside Grant’s family is a privilege and reminds me exactly why the Foundation’s work matters. The exhibition doesn’t shy away from its origins. It holds space for grief while foregrounding what has been built from it, allowing visitors to find hope on their own terms. This project also gives tangible form to what BCA’s Arts and Health Committee has long championed and what research continues to affirm: that art meaningfully shapes individual well-being and the health of our workplaces.”
“To help tell this story alongside Grant’s family is a privilege and reminds me exactly why the Foundation’s work matters.”
- Jill VanGorden, COO and head of programs for Business Council for the Arts
The Foundation’s earliest efforts were rooted in art and creativity. In May 2006, Grant’s work was presented at the ArtCentre of Plano in Journey: The Art, Music, and Words of Grant Halliburton. That same year, the Foundation awarded its first art scholarship to a graduating student at Plano West Senior High School, where Grant attended. The 2026 exhibition returns to that creative beginning while showing how the mission has grown. “Twenty years ago, our family was searching for a way to help other families avoid the loss we experienced,”
said McCloskey. “Grant’s artwork offers a glimpse of the creativity, humor and depth he brought to the world. Presenting Journey again during our 20th anniversary year brings us back to where the Foundation began and reminds us why this work remains so important.”
Since 2006, Grant Halliburton Foundation has reached more than 375,000 students, educators, parents and professionals through mental health education, suicide prevention training and community resources. Since launching in 2021, the Foundation’s Here For Texas Mental Health Navigation Line has helped more than 5,100
people find providers and resources, answered more than 4,600 calls and provided more than 12,800 followups to individuals and families.
The September collaboration comes amid an urgent need for continued prevention and early intervention. The CDC’s most recent final mortality data, released in 2026, identify suicide as the second-leading cause of death among people ages 10–24 in the United States.
For personalized guidance finding mental health and substance use providers and resources, call the Foundation’s free Here For Texas Mental Health Navigation Line at 972-525-8181, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Navigation Line is not a crisis service.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Text Line volunteer. Both services are free, confidential and available 24/7.
SEPTEMBER EXHIBITION EVENTS
All events at Center for BrainHealth, 2200 W. Mockingbird Lane, Dallas
• September 8–25
Journey: The Art and Legacy of Grant Halliburton
The exhibition will be open to the public Sept. 8–25 on Wednesdays and Fridays from noon to 4 p.m. Appointments
are available on other weekdays by calling Center for BrainHealth at 972-883-3400. The exhibition is closed
Saturdays and Sundays. Learn more at granthalliburton.org/journey.
• September 17 | Reception: 6–7 p.m. | Talk: 7–8:15 p.m.
The Resilience Gap: How to Strengthen the Teen Brain in a Tech-Obsessed World
Kicking off the 2026 season of the popular BrainHealth Presents speaker series, Eva Telzer, Ph.D., and Mitch
Prinstein, Ph.D., will discuss how technology, social media and artificial intelligence are shaping the developing teen
brain and share evidence-based strategies that support attention, emotional regulation and social connection.
Attendees will also have an opportunity to experience Journey and explore Grant’s artwork during the evening. The
event is for guests ages 21 and older. Learn more and purchase tickets at centerforbrainhealth.org.
• September 24 | 6–9 p.m.
The Art of Connection: Creativity, Mental Wellness and Brain Health
A Young Professionals Event presented by GHF YP and Think Tank
Grant Halliburton Foundation Young Professionals and Think Tank, Center for BrainHealth’s young
professionals group, are partnering to present an evening for guests in their 20s, 30s and 40s. The event will
feature networking, a private viewing of the Journey exhibition and a panel including artists and mental health
and brain health experts exploring the connections among creativity, mental wellness and brain health.
Learn more at granthalliburton.org/journey.
OTHER SEPTEMBER EVENTS
• September 1–30 | Galleria Dallas
Galleria Dallas Mural
Created for Grant Halliburton Foundation’s 20th anniversary and National Suicide Prevention Month, this
public mural explores how hope grows when a community shows up. Featuring a preview of Grant’s artwork,
suicide prevention steps, mental health resources and September events, the installation invites visitors to
learn more about the Foundation, discover how to support someone in crisis, find help and explore Journey.
The mural is located on Level 1 at the south end of Galleria Dallas near Sephora and ALO.
• September 10 | 8 a.m.–3:30 p.m. | Plano Event Center
When Life Hands You Teenagers
The Foundation’s annual conference equipping parents, educators and mental health professionals with tools
for supporting youth mental health. Learn more and register at granthalliburton.org/wlhyt.
• September 17 | 6 a.m.–midnight
North Texas Giving Day
Supporters can help build on 20 years of lifesaving mental health education, resources and suicide prevention
programs. Early giving begins Aug. 28. Learn more and give at granthalliburton.org/ntgd.
About Grant Halliburton Foundation
Grant Halliburton Foundation is a Dallas-based nonprofit established in 2006 in memory of Grant Halliburton, who lived with depression and bipolar disorder and died by suicide at age 19. The Foundation works to
strengthen the network of mental health resources for children, teens and young adults; promote better mental health; and prevent suicide. Through education, resources and support, it equips students, educators,
parents and professionals to recognize signs of distress, respond appropriately and connect young people with help. Since its founding, the Foundation has reached more than 375,000 people across North Texas. Its Here For Texas program offers two free resources: HereForTexas.com, a searchable database of mental health
providers and resources, and the Here For Texas Mental Health Navigation Line, which provides personalized assistance finding care. Learn more at GrantHalliburton.org.
About Center for BrainHealth
Center for BrainHealth®, part of The University of Texas at Dallas, is a nonprofit translational research institute committed to enhancing, preserving, and restoring brain health across the lifespan. Major research areas include the use of functional and structural neuroimaging techniques to better understand the neurobiology supporting the continual growth of cognition, well-being and social connections in health and disease. This leading-edge scientific exploration is translated quickly into practical innovations to improve how people think, work and live, empowering people of all ages to thrive and unlock their brain potential. Translational innovations leverage 1) the BrainHealth Index, a proprietary measure that uniquely charts one’s upward (or downward) brain health trajectory whatever their starting level; and 2) Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Tactics (SMART™) brain health training, a strategy-based toolkit developed and tested by BrainHealth researchers and other teams over three decades. The center’s landmark longitudinal study, The BrainHealth Project, launched in 2020 with the goal of identifying actionable strategies for optimizing brain health throughout life, uncovering the dynamic relationship between lifestyle factors, biological markers, brain training and cognitive performance. It is co-led by Dr. Sandi Chapman, Dr. Mark D’Esposito, Dr. Geoff Ling, Dr. Ian Robertson, Dr. Vince Calhoun and Tom Leppert, with Georgeann and Adm. William McRaven (ret.) serving as national spokespersons.
About Business Council for the Arts
Since its founding in 1988 by Raymond Nasher as a Dallas Citizens Council initiative, the Business Council for the Arts (BCA) has championed the integration of arts and business across North Texas. Today, under the leadership of Founder’s Chair Nancy Nasher, Board Chair Joel Austin, and CEO Stacie Adams, BCA serves a network of more than 150 organizations committed to strengthening workplaces, classrooms, and communities through the arts. BCA’s programming spans creative workforce development, community engagement, and leadership cultivation. Signature initiatives include On My Own Time™, Art at Work, and the Leadership Arts Institute, alongside committee-driven efforts focused on Arts & Health, Arts & Real Estate, and
Arts & Technology. To learn more, visit www.ntbca.org.
