Join us for a lively conversation including perspectives from gallerists Dr Valerie Bennet and Daisha Board, artist Tyra J, and collector Cathryn McClellan on collecting, things to think through when buying your first pieces, and other tips for emerging collectors, moderated by Black Arts DFW Co-Founder Darryl Ratcliff.

About Our Panelists:

Tyra J. is an interdisciplinary sculpture artist and designer who has exhibited in Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Paris, and Venice. In 2023 she attended Chateau Orquevaux Artists & Writers Residency in France and became a Nasher Sculpture Center grant recipient. After gaining 10 years of experience as a project manager in the software and interior design industries, she set out to combine her talents and launch Indra Project. She's passionate about serving the creative community and serves as the Board of Directors Vice President for arts nonprofit Friends of Darryl Ratcliff.

Cathryn Mcclellan is a philanthropist, art collector, and community champion born and raised in Dallas, Texas. She has been actively involved in numerous nonprofit organizations and is committed to fostering equity and inclusivity for all. Cathryn works at American Express, spearheading strategy for global external diversity, equity, and inclusion strategic partnership initiatives in the technology organization, including apprenticeship programs and community partnerships. Beyond her corporate endeavors, she co-founded Black Arts DFW in 2021, a nonprofit organization focused on providing professionals interested in becoming more involved as collectors and/or patrons with educational and experiential opportunities to explore Black arts and culture across North Texas. She also passionately engages in community work, lending her leadership to the incoming Junior League of Dallas Board of Directors, to HERitage Giving Fund as a founding member and Chair of the Executive Council, current board member of the Business Council for the Arts, and former President of the Board of Directors of Presidental Award recognized organization The GEMS Camp. She has been recognized for her outstanding community leadership by being awarded the 2021 BCA Obelisk Oustanding Leadership Arts Institute Alumnus Award and honored as a Black Philanthropy Month Black Women Give Back recipient in 2022.

Dr. Valerie Bennett is an independent curator and gallerist based in Dallas. She holds a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of New England and a master's in art from New York University. Her undergraduate studies in Studio Art and Spanish at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College led her to spend time abroad in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, where she studied art and architecture. She later completed an artist residency at Università Iuav di Venezia in Venice, Italy, where she studied painting and art history under the guidance of Maurizio Pellegrin.

Valerie is the owner of Pencil on Paper Gallery, located in Dallas’s Design District, and the founder of Valerie Gillespie Contemporary, a nonprofit organization supporting local artists. Her curatorial projects include exhibitions with 500X Gallery, The Other Art Fair, The Beachum Family Collection, The Martin Museum, Southern Methodist University, The Hawn Gallery, The African American Museum of Dallas and the Texas Visual Arts Association.

Pencil on Paper Gallery has received accolades, including Best Art Gallery in Dallas/Fort Worth (2021), Best Art Space in Dallas by D Magazine(2023), and Best Art Gallery for Emerging Artists by D Magazine (2024). The gallery has been featured in The Dallas Morning News, Patron Magazine, Elliman Magazine, D Magazine, The Dallas Observer, Voyage Dallas, and on CBS Mornings. Now in its sixth season, Pencil on Paper Gallery proudly presented work from its represented artists at the Harlem Fine Art Show and Hamptons Fine Art Fair in 2024 and looks forward to its second presentation at the Dallas Art Fair in the spring of 2025.

Daisha Board is a prominent figure in the art world, known for her role as the Owner & Founder of Daisha Board Gallery, a renowned art gallery based in Dallas, Texas. Her passion for art, combined with her keen business acumen, has positioned her as a prominent advocate for contemporary artists and a respected tastemaker in the industry.Born and raised in Queens, NYC, Daisha developed a deep appreciation for art from a young age. She was captivated by the power of artistic expression and the ability of art to evoke emotions, challenge conventions, and spark meaningful conversations. Her fascination with art led her to pursue a bachelor's degree in political science & African American Studies at Bethune-Cookman (College) University, an HBCU in Daytona Beach, FL.After a corporate layoff from her career in Finance & Real Estate in 2017, Daisha embarked on a journey to immerse herself in the art world. She gained invaluable experience working with various galleries and museums, honing her expertise in curating exhibitions, fostering artist relationships, and navigating the intricacies of the art market. This hands-on experience allowed her to develop a keen eye for emerging talent and a deep understanding of the ever-evolving art landscape.In 2021, Daisha pursued her lifelong dream of establishing her own gallery, and thus, Daisha Board Gallery was born. Her vision was to create a space that showcased diverse and thought-provoking contemporary art, bridging the gap between artists and art enthusiasts, and fostering a vibrant creative community.Under Daisha's leadership, Daisha Board Galleries has flourished into one of the most prestigious art destinations in Dallas and beyond. The gallery has gained recognition for its carefully curated exhibitions, featuring innovative works across various mediums, including painting, sculpture, photography, and new media. Daisha's commitment to promoting underrepresented artists and amplifying marginalized voices has earned her widespread acclaim and respect within the art community.In addition to her work at the gallery, Daisha is actively involved in philanthropic efforts, advocating for arts education, and supporting local artists and cultural organizations. As a proud member of UNT College of Visual Arts and Design Board as well as Dallas Galleries for Advocacy Board, she believes in the transformative power of art and its ability to inspire change and create a more inclusive society.Daisha Board's passion, expertise, and relentless dedication have solidified her position as a trailblazer in the art world. Her commitment to nurturing artistic talent, fostering meaningful connections, and promoting the transformative power of art continue to shape and elevate the cultural landscape of Dallas, Texas, and beyond.Daisha Board Gallery focuses on optimum visibility, inclusion, and acquisitions for marginalized artists. Daisha Board has curated, juried, and collaborated on exhibitions and projects in both traditional and non-traditional art spaces throughout Dallas. To name a few, The Arlington Art Fair, The Other Art Fair, African American Museum of Dallas, Dallas Contemporary, 500X Gallery and City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture.

MEMBERS ONLY EVENT

Join us for the closing weekend of this fantastic exhibition and explore the realm of surrealism in the diaspora. Members will experience this exhibition with a guided tour from exhibition curator María Elena Ortiz, followed by a reception hosted by the museum.

Learn More About the Exhibition:

Surrealism and Us is inspired by the history of Surrealism in the Caribbean with connections to notions of the Afrosurreal in the United States. Representing a global perspective, this exhibition is the first intergenerational show dedicated to Caribbean and African diasporic art presented at the Modern.

Inspired by the essay “1943: Surrealism and Us” by Suzanne Césaire, the presentation includes over 80 artworks from the 1940s to the present day, in a wide range of media such as painting, sculpture, drawing, video, and installation. Centered on the intersection of Caribbean aesthetics, Afrosurrealism, and Afrofuturism, Surrealism and Us explores how Caribbean and Black artists interpreted a modernist movement. Artworks, framed within a pre-existing history of Black resistance and creativity, illustrate how Caribbean and Black artists reinterpreted the European avant-garde for their own purposes.

Join us at Ash Studios for an evening of music and performances featuring the Concert Truck and performances by local artists. More details to come.

MEMBERS ONLY EXPERIENCE

Join us for a curated tour of the Dallas Art Fair focused on the Black artists featured and the galleries that represent them. Tour curated by co-founder Darryl Rattclif and led by Kaci Merriwether - Hawkins of Black Girls in Art Spaces.

Members, please check your email for the link to register for our curated tour.

Do you purchase Art?  Are you interested in collecting Art? Want to know the basics of managing an Art collection?

Join South Dallas Cultural Center Manager, John Spriggins and Art Lawyer SammetriaGoodson of Goodson Law PLLC,  for a workshop on the basics of how to look at Art,  how to assemble and protect your Art collection, legal considerations for Art collectors, and best practices for Art collection stewardship.

Join us at 5 p.m. on October 7 for a curated tour of The Other Art Fair. Led by The Other Art Fair marketing coordinator, Mya Lewis, we will take a deep dive into the art fair mission and how it operates and visit several of their Black artists.

PLEASE NOTE: Two days prior to the event we will send out the promo code for your complimentary The Other Art Fair ticket, which is needed to attend this event.

Meeting Time: 4:45 pm

Tour Start: 5:00 pm

About the Other Art Fair

Presented by Saatchi Art, The Other Art Fair is a global gathering of creative thinkers, game changers, and pleasure seekers sharing emerging talent and unforgettable experiences. Set against the backdrop of the world’s biggest cities, each of their Fairs are different. The Fair combines boundary-pushing yet always-affordable artworks with immersive installations, performances, and a few curious encounters. The result is an inspiring, evocative, inclusive, and fun event that reframes how art can be perceived and creates lasting connections between artists and art lovers. Over 140 game-changing artists will showcase thousands of original works at Saatchi Art’s The Other Art Fair this October 5 - 8 at Dallas Market Hall. Plus, live DJ sets, tattooing, food trucks, and the refreshing bar.

Join us at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth to tour the latest exhibition, Jammie Holmes' "Make the Revolution Irresistible," followed by a cocktail reception and networking in the museum's cafe.

Jammie Holmes: Make the Revolution Irresistible

Jammie Holmes: Make the Revolution Irresistible is Jammie Holmes’s (b. 1984) first solo exhibition in a museum. Working closely with the artist, this survey is organized by curator María Elena Ortiz.

Holmes creates captivating paintings that show the visual and conceptual significance of the Black figure. Challenging stereotypes, Holmes explores notions of masculinity, mourning, childhood, and race. His works are filled with emotion and painterly gestures; his figures are often depicted in vulnerable situations or simply engaging in moments of contemplation. Rooted in the lived experiences of Black communities in the United States, Holmes is part of a continuum of painters that explore the human figure in current social and political conditions.

Highlighting Southern histories and contemporary realities, the exhibition includes approximately 15 paintings ranging from early to recent works, showcasing the breadth of Holmes’s signature approach toward painting. An early work that references his hometown of Thibodaux, Louisiana, BOX FAN HEROES, 2019, is a vignette of Holmes's Southern upbringing that garnered national attention. The exhibition features striking paintings and deeply personal works; Blame the Man, 2021, captures a spiritual moment that alludes to how groups form bonds for resistance, while one of Holmes’s most recent works, Lefty, 2023, is a composition honoring veterans and the 1960s civil rights movement. Collectively, these works represent Holmes's community—the lens through which the artist explores this nation's history and invokes connections to essential themes of human existence.

Inspired by the culture of his hometown, Jammie Holmes's figurative and expressive paintings elevate common events in everyday life such as death, grief, faith, and family, into scenes of conviction and compassion. He garnered national attention in 2020 for a public artwork in which he hired planes in Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York to display banners with the last words of George Floyd, killed by police days before in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

We invite our members to join us at Meliksetian Briggs for David-Jeremiah's latest show.

Melikstian Briggs will host the Black Arts DFW members for a private reception to learn more about the artist and the show before the official opening reception.

This is a member-only event at this time. Members check your emails for your official invite.

Join us for a tour of The Walls of Pleasant Grove provided by artist Khadafy "DAP". The walls are located in a drainage system where spray paint fills the walls with colors. Artists from all over the country have contributed to the walls.

To learn more about joining Black Arts DFW click here.

Join us for a Saturday evening at the Dallas Art Fair, including a private tour with Johnica Rivers. Tickets are free for members, and we have a few tickets for non-members.

In partnership with Nasher Sculpture Center and Afro Mingei, join us for a VIP experience at the Nasher, including drinks, bites, and VIP talk about the latest installation.

Limited non-member tickets are available.

Join DFW Black Arts members and the larger art community at The Other Art Fair VIP reception. The DFW Black Arts community has secured 18 VIP tickets for our community. Tickets include access to the private view of Thursday and complimentary entry another day during The Other Art Fair (October 21-23).

Tickets are prioritized for members of the DFW Black Arts community. Members, please check the members area for information to secure the tickets. There are a few nonmember tickets available.

If you are interested in joining the community learn more here.

Join DFW Black Arts members and the larger art community at Texas Vignette VIP reception. The DFW Black Arts community has secured 18 VIP tickets for our community..

Tickets are prioritized for members of the DFW Black Arts community. Members, please check the members area for information to secure the tickets. There are a few nonmember tickets available.

If you are interested in joining the community learn more here.

Join us at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth for a curated tour of the Women Painting Women exhibit and reception, followed by a visit to Hotel Dryce, a Black-owned hotel, for continued networking and bites while hearing General Manager Jada Nicome on the history of the hotel and how it supports Black arts and culture.

Non-member tickets are limited.

Registration will open soon.

DFW Black Arts is a community providing exclusive, intimate events around Black arts and artists in their many forms in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area.

Join us for the launch of DFW Black Arts in partnership with Pencil on Paper Gallery. Come learn about the membership opportunities, meet like-minded Black professionals, and sign up for future events.

Enjoy community, cocktails, entertainment, and artwork by Frank Fraiser and Stacie Monday on display in the gallery.

A short program will begin at 6:00 pm with an introduction from the DFW Black Arts co-founders and remarks from our partner, Pencil on Paper Gallery.

The event is open to all, though future events will require membership. To learn more about membership visit dfwblackarts.org.