Dallas Art Gallery Owner Saw a Void on Gallery Walls and Filled It in Her Own Space

Daisha Board Gallery in West Dallas is splashed in colorful canvasses for the final week of Dallas-based, Ghana-born artist Nii Narku Thompson's first solo U.S. exhibit. His work was a perfect fit for a gallery that recently celebrated its first year in business.

"I saw a void. I saw lack of representation for marginalized artists," gallery owner Daisha Board said. "Like, Black History Month, or Pride Month, or Women's History Month; that's when you'll see an abundance of those marginalized artists, and we exist in this world all day, every day."

Board opened the gallery bearing her name to fill that void, becoming the only Black female art gallery owner in Dallas.

"That's a huge accomplishment, but I don't want to be the first, nor do I want to be the last," Board said. "This has been a labor of love."

Love, for giving artists a voice and a platform to speak their truths through their art.

"It's ownership. It's having a space that I can feel free to create and curate these artists and their narratives. Unrestricted. Uncensored," Board said.

Finding that space wasn't easy. Board said she looked in many Dallas neighborhoods before finding her gallery location in West Dallas at 2111 Sylvan Ave.

"Unfortunately, a lot of those spaces made it very difficult for me to be there. It was, 'Well, will Black people buy art?' Yeah," Board said. "I'm proud to say 95% of my collectors are Black and Brown families buying art for the first time."

Daisha Board Gallery exhibit openings are not stuffy. They are filled with music, drinks, and conversation.

"We have a good time! We have fun and we celebrate the artist," Board said. "This is not a transactional gallery where I'm just focused on selling, selling, selling. I'm really focused on educating and really informing people on what art looks like to them."

Board says in some art circles, she's considered a 'disruptor.'

"And I'm fine with that. Art is supposed to be disruptive. It's supposed to be subjective. It's supposed to be uncomfortable at times, and so allowing my artists to speak freely about societal issues is really important," Board said. "So they see the Black culture differently. They see the Hispanic culture differently. They see the Queer culture differently."

Board said she hopes her gallery sparks conversations.

"We have to have an honest way of showing the world who we are and I think art provides that," Board said. "It humanizes us."

Board said she'd like to expand in the future. The current Nii Narku Thompson 'Why Question' exhibit at Daisha Board Gallery closes on Feb. 25.