Within its warm confines, visitors find an accessible path to contemporary art.
A visitor examined artist Jennifer Monet Cowley's work at the opening of her "Patchwork" exhibition on Feb. 12 at Daisha Board Gallery in West Dallas. The exhibition runs through March 19.Daisha Board Gallery, an eponymous Black-owned contemporary art gallery in West Dallas, is creating not just a space to view and buy art but also a space of welcoming for people who may be new to contemporary art spaces.
Daisha Board, the founder and curator of Daisha Board Gallery, set out to create a welcoming space for Black artists. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science and African American studies, married, had three children, and worked in the finance/mortgage industry for over 15 years. Daisha Board Gallery was abuzz with local art enthusiasts on the opening night of artist Jennifer Monet Cowley's "Patchwork" exhibition on Feb. 12.
Within months, Board had signed a lease and was launching her debut exhibition with artist Gerald Bell. Next up would be a show by Sharidyn Barnes, precisely the type of show — an up-and-coming Black artist from Savannah College of Art and Design’s master of fine arts program — that would normally skip Dallas. Barnes’ work, mostly created for her thesis show, consists of drawings and paintings, including several self-portraits.