Collectors of All Kinds
By Tara Kaushik
June 18, 2025—The Deans—better known as Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys—have built an art collecting practice that screams disruption. Where collecting was once the purview of wealthy (often white) patrons and institutions, the Deans are part of a growing community that is changing the game. They actively cultivate artists and preserve works in a myriad of media and styles, offering alternative ways of understanding the world around us.
“Our strategy is collecting from the heart,” says Beatz in an interview with Brooklyn Museum curator Kimberli Gant.
Here, we take a look at the Deans’ unique approach to collecting—and meet two collectors doing the same in Mia’s hometown of Minneapolis.
Artists Supporting Artists
The Deans have forged a creative family of sorts, building long-term relationships with the artists in the Dean Collection. “There’s a deep trust between us and the artists,” says Keys in conversation with Casey Riley, chair of Global Contemporary Art and curator of photography and new media at Mia.
“Other collectors may not have met the artists [they collect from] before, but there’s this understanding as a creative person with another creative person, there’s a respect and a care. … We understand what it feels like to make something, or to create something from absolutely nothing, and how much it means to you and how much you want that to be cared about, protected, respected, and loved.”
Indeed, the mission of the Dean Collection is to “collect, protect, and respect,” a sentiment that’s echoed in their outspoken advocacy for artists to benefit financially when their works are sold. Typically, when a collector sells an artist’s work at auction, the artist does not receive any portion of the proceeds. As musicians, the Deans understand the importance of royalties and have supported initiatives that provide artists with all or a share of the profits when their works are resold by galleries or at auction.
The Deans also maintain that the artists in the collection can borrow their pieces back whenever they want, a rarity in the world of art collecting. Their primary focus is on supporting living artists, particularly artists of color.
“The collection started not just because we’re art lovers, but also because there’s not enough people of color collecting artists of color,” says Beatz in an interview with Cultured magazine.
“We don’t own enough of our culture. So we want to lead the pack in owning our own culture and owning our own narrative instead of waiting for someone who’s not part of the culture to tell our story for us.”
Watch: Curator Talk: The Deans (Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys), Kimberli Gant, and “Giants”
Going Beyond the Galleries
The spirit of disruption is alive and well in Minneapolis, too. Richard Moody, a local collector, owns three houses and has filled them all with art—the walls in his own home are so decked out that the works on display extend down into the basement and laundry room.
It’s the result of over 40 years of collecting, a practice that began casually when he lived in Brooklyn in his 20, and has evolved into a dedicated commitment to supporting young, emerging artists, particularly those of color.
“People don’t generally seek out artists of color, especially young artists of color,” he says. “Buying their art gives them hope. It helps them stay true to themselves, it gives them motivation to keep in the game.”
Moody even purchased some early illustrations by Bobby Rogers, Mia’s head of Design and Editorial, back when Rogers was a student at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD).
Moody is a proponent of others doing the same.
“It’s great to be in the art galleries, but we need to buy the art,” he says. “I think everyone should collect art. It’s good for your soul. Support artists by buying their art—and displaying it as well, like hosting a pop-up in your home or backyard.”
Asked if he has any favorites, Moody mentions a portrait of Charlie Brown.
“Charlie Brown, but he’s Black,” he says. “And my 9-year-old niece says to me, ‘Uncle, Charlie Brown is not Black.’ And I’m like, well, he is in this house!”
A diptych in Richard Moody’s collection.
Collecting Stories
On their fifth wedding anniversary, Brent Marmo, collector and co-founder of Agency Squid, and his wife, Marilyn, decided they wanted to purchase a piece of art. The problem: They had no money.
The couple lived in Boston at the time, and one evening, returning home from their respective days, each told the other that they had identified the piece of art they wanted to buy. The twist: They were talking about the same piece.
It was a large, vibrant, abstract painting called “Birthday Party,” hanging in a gallery window on Newbury Street. They bought the work and paid it off over six months. Now, some 40 years later, it’s in the entryway of their home in Minneapolis.
Karen Warshal, Birthday Party, 1979, oil on canvas.
Marmo has been collecting since acquiring that first piece and has even compiled a book documenting the collection for his children.
Does he think everyone should collect art?
“Absolutely. I think it can be intimidating for people, especially if you think that art is only bought through galleries and institutions. But when you find smaller, local, emerging artists to support, it’s a much more accessible thing to do.”
Marmo frequents art sales at schools like MCAD and The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He enjoys meeting the artists at these sales, learning about them, and hearing about developments in their practices over time.
“For me, collecting art is not only about procuring a piece,” he says. “There’s the work itself, but it’s also about the story behind the piece—that’s art as well, right? When you discover that there are all kinds of people making art that need supporting, and you can be a part of supporting them and making their visions a reality, it enriches not only the experience of being a collector, but your life as well.”
About the Exhibition
“Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys” is a groundbreaking exhibition that marks the first major showcase of the Dean Collection, owned by renowned musicians and cultural icons Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean) and Alicia Keys.
Organized by the Brooklyn Museum, “Giants” highlights nearly 100 significant works by Black diasporic artists, including Gordon Parks, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Lorna Simpson, Amy Sherald, and more. The exhibition reflects the Deans’ passion for supporting established and emerging artists while fostering important dialogues about art, culture, and identity.
“Giants” is organized by Kimberli Gant, curator, modern and contemporary art, and Indira A. Abiskaroon, curatorial assistant, modern and contemporary art, Brooklyn Museum.