Elizabeth Myong wrote for KERA and Dallas Morning News about the forthcoming art fair and sat down with a few participants including Bart Keijsers Koning.
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Bart Keijsers Koning owns a gallery under his own name in the Design District of Dallas, and his gallery has been invited to the Dallas Art Fair for a fifth year. Koning said he feels a different kind of mood this year because “rights are [being] taken away and lives are affected and threatened quite literally.”
“It's depressing, point blank,” he said.
Koning said he’s been speaking to artists he represents, many of whom identify as female or LGBTQ. “So I feel extremely responsible as far as being able to garner their voice, being able to see what I can do to make sure it doesn't disappear.”
On one hand, he feels helpless. On the other, Koning said he’s doing what he can to encourage empathy with people who may think differently than him. Either way, he said it can be exhausting.
He’s thought through the presentation of his fair booth and the politics of it, but Koning said he’s chosen not to shy away from art that might create ripples.
“That's my whole program, I can't be different other than just be a stubborn shin-kicker. That’s what I do,” he said.
“That trust that the artist is holding onto the viewer, that pushes change, that pushes an element of acceptance, of normalizing,” Koning said." - March 27, 2025
