Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys
Coming This Fall to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

This fall, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) welcomes the exciting exhibition Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, an exploration of the profound and prolific contributions of Black artists to the field of contemporary art. Giants will be on view at VMFA in
Richmond from November 22, 2025, through March 1, 2026.

“At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, we strive to showcase impactful exhibitions that are relevant to all of our communities,” said Director and CEO Alex Nyerges. “Giants, which highlights exceptional works of art by contemporary Black artists, is significant and timely. We are delighted to share works from the Deans’ important collection with our community and with visitors beyond Virginia.”

Many seismic historical milestones for African Americans are rooted in Richmond and Virginia. Giants affirms VMFA’s longstanding history of supporting African American, African and African diaspora artists’ agency –– valuing diverse voices and fostering monumental conversations
through art.

Through approximately 130 objects, including iconic works of art by nearly 40 “giants” of the art world, Giants showcases the Deans’ commitment to supporting artists from 20th-century icons to younger artists who are advancing the legacies of those who came before them. The deep imprint that Black artists have made and continue to make on contemporary art and the resonance they have had on the canons of art history is significant.

The Dean Collection stands as a testament to the couple’s ethos of “collecting and preserving the culture of ourselves for ourselves, now and into the future.” Since they began collecting art more than 20 years ago, the Deans have endeavored to support living artists. Their shared passion for collecting, advocating and building community among artists — particularly artists of color — is at the heart of their audacious and ambitious collection.

The exhibition’s title, Giants, refers to the renowned artists, their impact on the art landscape and, in some cases, the monumental scale of featured works. The exhibition celebrates excellence and champions the beauty, resilience, distinctiveness, connection and joyousness within communities across the globe.
“In a moment when there is an attempt to suppress diverse narratives in art and culture, Giants underscores the significance of artists to tell their stories, celebrate life, build upon our creative vitality and resist erasure,” said Valerie Cassel Oliver, the Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art and coordinating curator for Giants at VMFA.

In addition to paintings, photographs and sculptures, the exhibition will include noteworthy examples of the Deans’ early non-art collecting interests, including albums, musical equipment, BMX bikes and related ephemera.

Giants includes paintings, art installations, photographs and sculptures by nearly 40 acclaimed Black artists: Nina Chanel Abney, Derrick Adams, Radcliffe Bailey, Ernie Barnes, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jarvis Boyland, Kwame Brathwaite, Jordan Casteel, Nick Cave, Hassan Hajjaj, Barkley L. Hendricks, Arthur Jafa, Titus Kaphar, Jerome Lagarrigue, Deana Lawson, Esther Mahlangu, Meleko Mokgosi, Odili Donald Odita, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Zohra Opoku, Frida Orupabo, Gordon Parks, Ebony G. Patterson, Deborah Roberts, Tschabalala Self, Jamel Shabazz, Amy Sherald, Malick Sidibé, Lorna Simpson, Sanlé Sory, Vaughn Spann, Henry Taylor, Hank Willis Thomas, Mickalene Thomas, Kehinde Wiley, Qualeasha Wood, Kennedy Yanko and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.

To get the latest information about Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys
at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, visit www.VMFA.museum.