Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz are now expanding the audience for their own expansive art collection. The assortment of pieces, known as the Dean Collection, is coming to the Brooklyn Museum for a public display.
The collection, acquired by the powerhouse couple over a 20-year span, will be showcased for the museum’s Giants exhibition in February. The exhibition, aided in curation by the married duo, will feature artists across the Black diaspora, including American and African artists. The works will be derived from “giants” such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Lorna Simpson, and Kehinde Wiley.
According to the Brooklyn Museum’s website, “Giants” holds a multifaceted meaning for the exhibition.
“The term also evokes the strength of the bonds between the Deans and the artists they support and among the artists themselves. Along with examining these links and legacies, the exhibition will encourage ‘giant conversations’ inspired by the works on view—critiquing society and celebrating Blackness.”
The collection will also showcase the work of multi-generational artists like Esther Mahlangu, whose work evolves the traditional art form of South African Ndebele house painting, and photographer Gordon Parks, whose photojournalism heavily documented the livelihoods of Black Americans during the civil rights movement.
Despite being known for their musical accomplishments, Keys and her producer husband, also a former board member of the Brooklyn Museum, are well known in the art collectors’ sphere, especially in their advocacy for the upliftment of Black visual artists.
According to Observer, over 100 works from the Dean Collection will be displayed at the establishment, including the massive Big Wheel 1, an 8-foot-tall tired unveiled in 2018 by Arthur Jafa. With the cultural emphasis on the artistic achievement of Black creatives, Keys and Beatz also advocate for ensuring artists are better paid through royalties for re-selling their acclaimed pieces.
The exhibition will run from Feb. 10 to July 7 as a triumph for “Black artists supporting Black artists.”