Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys‘ Giants collection has run its course at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, but that is not the last time fans will get to view the exhibition.
Swizz tells ABC Audio the art collection, which features nearly 100 pieces by Black diasporic artists, will make its way to Virginia and eventually across the globe.
“It goes to Richmond, Virginia, next, which is going to be amazing with the [historically Black colleges and universities]. We’re going to do big activations,” he teases. “But then it goes around the world, like it’s on tour until like 2030.”
Giants opened in 2024 and “was designed for people to go [to] museums and see a large body of work that looked like [Black people]” and was made by Black people.
Swizz says he’d initially thought other couples of colors had created museum exhibitions, but learned through the process that he and Alicia were the first to put together a collection that would “travel to major museums.”
“We collect it for people to learn and share and want people to feel like it’s their collection also. Not just hoarded in our homes and storages,” Swizz says. “The more people can see the work, the more it works for the community, and the more it works for the arts.”
He says the reception for Giants has been groundbreaking, noting 80% of the visitors are new to museums.
“That means that we do have an entry point for people to feel welcome. When you’re walking through the exhibit, Marvin Gaye‘s playing to help you relax your shoulders and feel like you’re at home,” Swizz shares. “A lot of times you go to museums and you feel like this is some rich people’s thing and I’m not invited, but I’m kind of acting smart…You can be yourself in Giants.”
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