The Dean Collection

📣 Tickets for the Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys Preview Party at are now LIVE!

Celebrate the opening of Giants, with special guests and , followed by an after party at at .

Learn more, link in our bio.

[1: Adams Derrick, Woman and Man in Grayscale, 2017. 2: Photo Credit: Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images]

The Dean Collection stands with the people of Minnesota. We were deeply grateful for the warmth and welcome we received when we brought GIANTS to Minneapolis last year. Our hearts are with you during these difficult times.

Our documentary feature, BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL: THE KWAME BRATHWAITE STORY will have its US Festival Premiere at Doc NYC TONIGHT Thursday, November 13th

Tickets available at docnyc.net and link in  bio

Please pull up and see this magic 🙏🏽  it’s a true honor to be apart of this creative magic! GIANTS!

Last Friday night launched Mixtape Fridays Vol 1 with .daveguy, , and , along with debuting a Whiskey collaboration with — all at the .

Thank you for capturing the moments and words, ⬇️

———-

Just like a mixtape, the night was a blend of the many facets of the sounds of joy.

The night started off in conversation with Derrick Adams and Swizz Beatz on their new spirited collaboration. Both Derrick and Swizz stress the importance of creating safe space for artists and the importance of supporting their legacy. Derrick Adams highlighted the work he is doing in his hometown of Baltimore. He said, “rest should be fun, sitting on the porch in a rocking chair enjoying silence, listening to the breeze.”
We make space to be active in the many facets of life we enjoy; but do we prioritize calm rest?

Swizz Beatz talked about collaboration and believing in oneself, not being afraid to invest in oneself and others, and challenging us to think and “create larger.” He commissioned Derrick Adams to create one of his largest pieces yet.

At the end of the talk, we crossfaded to Dave Guy accompanied by Stro Elliot performing in the lobby of the Whitney, with natural light filling the room of supporters — but need I say, extended family.

Yesterday was my “day off,” but there are no days off when it comes to supporting friends.

Backed by Stro Elliot, Dave Guy’s trumpet — that brass trumpet — was so powerfully moving it turned the text on the wall backwards. Well, at least it had that inverted effect on me while I was taking photos of him with the backdrop of Glenn Ligon’s AMERICA text-based light sculpture.

Tonight’s music was a family portrait.

With the last crossfade of the night, DJ April Hunt had the crowd dancing to house music, then passed the turntables to Swizz Beatz, who was in the “zone, zone, zone” — digging in the archives of his phone, mixing reggae and hip-hop classics.