Alicia Keys has more than just her Super Bowl Halftime Show performance to celebrate. Along with her husband Swizz Beatz (real name Kasseem Dean), the "If I Ain't Got You" singer has officially cut the ribbon on a new art exhibit comprising some of the couple's massive art collection.
As both artists and art aficionados, the Dean's collection of artwork surpasses the thousands, and has certainly outgrown all three of their residences in California, New York and New Jersey.
With that, the couple decided to give some of their collection its due time in the spotlight, and have done so thanks to the Brooklyn Museum in New York, which the DJ was previously on the board of, and curator Kimberli Gant.
As of this week, monumental pieces from esteemed artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kehinde Wiley, Derrick Adams, Amy Sherald, Gordon Parks, Lorna Simpson, and more are on display at the Brooklyn Museum's Great Hall, as part of the "Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys" exhibit.
"We have never seen all these artworks in one room," Alicia recently admitted to the New York Times.
The exhibit, which is on view until July 7, specifically spotlights and celebrates works from Black artists. Looking back at when he first began collecting as a teenager in the 1990s – starting with an Ansel Adams photograph – Kasseem explained to the Times: "The reason why we doubled down on African American art is because people weren't collecting it."
© GettyThough he noted "things flow a little better now" when it comes to diversity across what's being both sold and exhibited, he emphasized: "I definitely see changes being made, but we as collectors must take responsibility to shape the market."
MORE: Alicia Keys celebrates birthday in luxurious private jet – peek inside
MORE: Alicia Keys' make-up artist reveals the star's secret to glowing, make-up free skin
Much about the exhibit and its intention inspired the title "Giants," including the legacy and impact of the artists themselves, the size of the works – such as the largest ever Meleko Mokgosi painting – and the "giant conversations" they hope the exhibit inspires about art history's complicated relationship with Black artists and the Black community as a whole.
© GettyThe couple also hopes to encapsulate "the strength of the bonds" between them, the artists they support, and among the artists themselves, in tune with their philosophy of being "artists supporting artists."
MORE: Alicia Keys almost broke the internet in this sizzling pre-Super Bowl sparkly look
In a trailer for the exhibit, Alicia further explained: "We want people to see themselves, we want people to feel inspired, we want you to feel connected and emotional and really discover. We want you to see the giants of whose shoulders we stand."
© GettyHer husband added: "That's why the title 'Giants' is so important, because the artists are giants, the people are giants, and the works that they're going to see are giant."
She concluded: "Every person that is hanging on the walls is just like you and I. We want you to see that you are also a giant, that you are special, incredible, [and] unique."
Get the lowdown on the biggest, hottest celebrity news, features and profiles coming out of the U.S. Sign up to our HELLO! Hollywood newsletter and get them delivered straight to your inbox.
