The art exhibit Giants, curated from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, will be displayed internationally on a global museum tour. Curated by Kimberli Gant, the exhibit opened at the Brooklyn Museum in February 2024 and will next appear at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art.
In a statement announcing the global run, Keys and Beatz — born Kasseem Dean — shared: “Our mission has always been about making art accessible to everyone and showcasing these GIANT artists. We realized quickly that meant this collection had to travel to communities across the country and the world. We are so pleased that Atlanta and the High Museum of Art is the first stop on the GIANT tour.”
“ATL is an important part of my story since I went to Stone Mountain High, Redan High and Open Campus,” Beatz continued. “I started DJing parties as a kid at Atrium and Club Flavors too! So, bringing Giants to the High is an Art homecoming for me!”
The collection includes work from more than 100 multigenerational Black artists and fits within a broader thematic context established by Keys and Beatz. Speaking with Rolling Stone earlier this year, Gant explained, “For them, the artists themselves are giants [by] using creativity to present ideas about how we are in the world. The curator expressed a hope that Giants will drive home the idea that “there’s art for everyone at any price point.”
Nick Cave’s “Invisible Man,” which appears among the works, was created in response to the LAPD’s beating of Rodney King and uses obscured identity to spark conversation about interpersonal perception. A 2016 installation from Ebony G. Patterson is also featured, using the contrast between its bright colors and depictions of violence to mold an emotional response. Among the other artists included in the collection are Lorna Simpson, Barkley L. Hendricks, Kehinde Wiley, Deana Lawson, and Amy Sherald.
Beatz and Keys view the collection as an extension of their overarching goal of “collecting and preserving the culture of ourselves for ourselves, now and into the future.” In addition to the artwork, Giants will also spotlight the couple’s albums, musical equipment and BMX bikes.
“I just want to show the youth — to show everybody — how to start doing different things with the earnings from their talent. There’s so much put in front of us: There’s cars, there’s watches, there’s jewelry, there’s a house, and then … you kinda get stuck after that,” Beatz told Rema last year during their conversation for Rolling Stone‘s Musicians on Musicians.
He added, “I remember being your age and just wanting things. When you look back, you just bought a lot of things. But imagine if you set a goal and had a purpose for those things, so that everything throughout your career added up to a bigger story. If I could tell my younger self [anything], it would be to take my next steps with purpose, because we don’t get this time back.”