Since opening in 2021, Daisha Board Gallery has championed artists from marginalized communities. Now, after almost two years in the artistic hub of the Tin District in West Dallas, the gallery is moving to a smaller space in Oak Cliff.
The downsizing is an effort to navigate an increasingly turbulent arts ecosystem. Recently, federal funding cuts and a decline in arts spending have further strained arts groups’ budgets.
Founder Daisha Board said rent, utilities and exhibitions for the 7,000-square-foot gallery costs over $10,000 each month.
“The overhead was crushing me, crushing [my family],” she said. “I had to just reassess what's important. It's not necessarily the size of the space, but just the impact of the mission.”
Four years ago, Board launched her gallery with her own savings. She opened her first brick-and-mortar location on Sylvan Avenue as an inclusive gallery space that represents artists who are BIPOC and LGBTQ+, and artists with disabilities. In 2023, she moved to a larger space in the Tin District.
She said her new space at the Oak Cliff Assembly will be about a tenth of the size and a tenth of the overhead cost. With that breathing room, Board wants to focus on boosting her sales.
“We still have a great opportunity to invite the general public in as needed within our community engagements, but the focus is on stronger sales and generating more money to be able to do more substantial work,” she said.
AJ Ramler, founder and owner of the Oak Cliff Assembly, said in an email statement that he appreciates what Daisha Board Gallery stands for when it comes to supporting local artists and creating inclusive spaces.
“We want our properties to be a place for community, arts and culture. Daisha Board has done amazing work in those areas, so having her at Oak Cliff Assembly really supports that vision,” he said.
In the gallery’s new spot at the Assembly, Board said she’ll offer one-on-one consultations in a return to the more intimate feel of her first location on Sylvan Avenue. She also plans to host weekend exhibitions, mixers and classes. And Board sees the transition as an opportunity to collaborate with other organizations and expand programming.
‘We’re feeling the residual impact’
Funding a private gallery in Dallas is notoriously expensive; the volatility of art sales can make it particularly challenging to cover costs. Board said last year’s drop in sales heavily factored into her decision to move out of the Tin District.
“It's just the stress of not having to figure out how I'm gonna come up with that $8,000 every month when we have one sale in six weeks,” she said.
Global art market sales dropped about 12% in 2024, according to research by Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report.
There are other looming concerns following federal funding cuts to the arts, the cost of tariffs and executive orders banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
In North Texas, arts groups have lost over $345,000 in federal funding after the National Endowment of the Arts abruptly pulled funding nationwide. Those funding losses are expected to make an already competitive grants ecosystem even more challenging to navigate.
The gallery’s nonprofit initiative Black Sheep Art Culture aims to expand arts education and cultural programming in the community.
“It's going to be very, very competitive because a lot of that federal funding has been eliminated for nonprofits, so we're competing with small businesses,” she said.
Board said her gallery is already having to eat the costs of tariffs. Recently, she had to ship art to collectors in Canada. She said the price seemed to jump overnight. Canada has placed a 25% retaliatory tariff on certain art shipped from the U.S.
“We're feeling the residual impact of these decisions that are being made,” she said.
Earlier this year, Board said her gallery faced a hit when it lost corporate accounts due to cuts to DEI programs.
However, after announcing her gallery’s move, she said a number of corporations have reached out.
“A lot of corporations that dissolved their DEI budgets have been calling back, asking how they can help and support us, which is awesome because that hurt us towards the beginning of the year when we lost about five accounts,” she said.
In her new space, she hopes to do more pop-up art events with companies who have found ways to reallocate funding.
Ultimately, Board said she’s feeling grateful for the support she’s received from the community after announcing the move. Initially, she said she felt embarrassment and guilt.
“I was just worried that I'm disappointing my community,” she said. “I just don't want people to assume that I'm closing my doors. I'm not, I just have to be smarter.”
On the Instagram post announcing the move, one commenter wrote: “A journey to be proud of! A next chapter waiting to be born.”
With this next step, Board hopes her gallery will “grow into something bigger and better and I just have to trust that.”
Arts Access is an arts journalism collaboration powered by The Dallas Morning News and KERA.
This community-funded journalism initiative is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, The University of Texas at Dallas, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef and The Meadows Foundation. The News and KERA retain full editorial control of Arts Access’ journalism.
