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
Photo Credit: Dr. Vallerie Gillespie

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.