By Brianna Patt & Alicia Wilson
A look at the path and growth of some of DFW’s best art galleries owned by Black women.
Daisha Board Gallery
- Daisha started Black Sheep Art and Culture, March 2017
- Daisha Board Gallery had its grand opening Oct. 13, 2021
- Inaugural Exhibit featuring Gerald Bells piece, Yield Nov. 13, 2021
- Solo Exhibit of Unseen by Sharidyn Barnes, Jan. 5, 2022
- Jennifer Monet Cowley’s Patchwork Premieres March 19, 2022
- Aliyah Cydonia, In Motion April 2022
- Romulo Martinez, Reflejos May 2022
- Rodney Hawkins/Kwesi Yanful, The Mount June 2022
- Reuben Cheatem, B.L.A.C.K July 2022
- Jeremy Biggers, Defiant Aug 2022
- Joey Brock, We Are Oct 2022
- William Toliver, After Dark Dec. 2022
Missy Burton Young
- Started her photography business in 2003, mainly focusing on portrait and wedding photography.
- Released her Butterfly Effect collection in 2012.
- Released her Footprint collection in 2014.
- Began the Missy Burton Experience in May 2015.
- First solo exhibit premiered in 2016, with her Butterfly Collection.
- Burton released a Woman’s Work in 2017, part of the I Am Woman Collection
- Released Woman in 2017.
- Released Black Girl Magic in 2017.
- Burton’s second exhibit, I Am Woman premiered in 2018.
- Released her Fight The Power collection in 2018.
- Released her One Truth Collection in 2018.
- Released Bullsh*t Collection in 2018.
- First gallery opened at the Goldmark Cultural Center in 2019.
- F.R.E.E. (Flagrant Rules of Ensued Emancipation) collection from June to July in 2019.
- Day of Jubilee Collection created in 2019.
- Opened the Msanii House Gallery in November 2019.
- Burton’s Dynasty Collection: The peculiar search for totality, was released in June 2020.
- Burton’s Coffee Book, I Am Woman : An Ode to Essence was published in June 2021, a body of work that was inspired by her I Am Woman collection.
Sharon Henderson (College Town Renaissance Center)
- Henderson relocated to the College Town Renaissance Art Center, early 2017
- College Renaissance Art Center officially opened in 2018.
- Renaissance Center Fall Gallery Night featuring Rocky McGee and Doug Fudge, September 7, 2019
- Lonely Nights Exhibit premiered on November 9, 2019
- Open Art Studio premiered in November 18, 2019
- Turn the page and you don’t stop premiered in February 22, 2020
- Sound of Greatness Exhibit premiered March 1, 2020
- Martha Sue Meek Exhibit premiered March 27, 2020, lasting to April 3, 2020
- Lets Social Distance Together Event in June 5, 2020, lasting to August 1, 2020
- “30 Americans” Exhibit with the Arlington Museum of Art + AISD was released in 2021 (Spring and Summer).
- Taste and See Exhibit held July 24, 2021
- Vivid Abstractions exhibit held September 11, 2021 to October 30, 2021
- Friendsgiving Exhibit held November 20, 2021
- The Art of Gaudy Exhibit was held on June 25, 2022
- A Fall Gallery event at the College Town Renaissance Center, held October 22, 2022
- College Town Renaissance Center held an Upstairs Gallery Event, December 3, 2022
Pencil on Paper Gallery
- Pencil on Paper Gallery was formed in 2018. Gillespie became an LLC and got the rights to her gallery’s name.
- Pencil on Paper Gallery opened to the public in 2019.
- Pencil on Paper Gallery was awarded Best Art Gallery in DFW (The Dallas Morning News) in 2021.
- Purchased a new gallery space in the Dallas Design District in 2021.
- Pencil on Paper Gallery in the Design District opens to the public with a grand re-opening w/ Jeremy Biggers & Katie McKay Jones solo exhibitions in 2021.
- Pencil on Paper Gallery becomes a member of the Contemporary Art Dealers of Dallas in 2021.
- Pencil on Paper Gallery participates in its first Art Fair (Fort Worth Art Fair) in 2021.
- Pencil on Paper Gallery participates in The Other Art Fair in Dallas in 2022.
- Pencil on Paper Gallery participates in JazzAspen Art Fair in Aspen, CO in 2022.
- Pencil on Paper Gallery participates in The Harlem Fine Arts Show (Art Fair) in New York in 2023.
- Pencil on Paper Gallery collaborates with the African American Museum for the Frank Frazier Retrospective in 2023.
- Pencil on Paper Gallery participates in the Fort Worth Art Fair in 2023.
- Pencil on Paper Gallery and Msanii HOUS Fine Art (2 Black Women Owned Galleries) will participate in a historic collaboration with exhibit artist Vanessa Meshak’s first solo exhibition in 2024 for Women’s History Month.
Stephanie Ward
- Ward opened her gallery in April 1990 and closed it 18 years later.
- African American artists in the country exhibited at her gallery including Frank Fraizer, Evita Tezeno, Gibert Young, Lary Ponco Brown, Charles Bibbs, Johnice Parker and other greats.
*This timeline has been updated to include additional information for Daisha Board Gallery as of April 4, 2023.