Brooklyn Museum To Host Swizz Beatz, Alicia Keys Art Collection

The Brooklyn Museum is courting icons such as Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys to elevate its stature even more.

Alicia Keys, and her husband, Kaseem Dean (Swizz Beatz), have been collecting art for quite some time now. According to the New York Times, they’ve already purchased huge artworks that just a few could fit inside their homes in California, New York and New Jersey. Some of the paintings are from artists such as Kehinde Wiley, Derrick Adams and Titus Kaphar. Now, this art will be in one room.

“We have never seen all these artworks in one room,” Keys said in a recent interview.

All of their artwork will appear in a show called Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys on February 10. The show will highlight the couple as leading collectors of Black artists, although folks can't deny the star power that both Keys and Dean hold. Keys is a Grammy award-winning singer who has recently diversified her portfolio thanks to developing a musical, Hell’s Kitchen, which will be headed to Broadway this spring, and Dean has produced hits with artists such as DMX, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and Beyonce.

“There is great brand recognition with the Deans, curator of modern and contemporary art who helped organize the exhibition of more than 100 artworks," Kimberli Gant, the exhibition organizer, said. “People love Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, but they don’t know them as collectors."

While this is new for the public, this isn’t new for Swizz. Dean began collecting when he was a teenager in the 1990s when he purchased an Ansel Adams photograph with proceeds from records with DMX. Since then, he has grown his collection, reportedly with about 400 pieces as of five years ago. Now, his collection is in the thousands, including a purchase of a 2018 Darrick Adams painting, Floater 74, which will also be on view at the Brooklyn Museum.

According to Complex, the couple is excited about their new exhibition.

“Been holding this incredible new close to the chest,” the couple wrote in their Instagram caption.

“Now, it’s our pleasure to officially announce GIANTS: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Betz and Alicia Keys opening on February 8 10 @brooklynmuseum! Tickets to #GiantsBkM available now!!!! A  Must SEE SHOW. Link in bio. Lets get 2024 started!!! A BIG special thank you to all the GIANTS in the show!! @TheDeanCollection.”