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How These Second-Generation Gallerists Are Demystifying Art Culture

SIBLINGS IZEGBE AND JUMAANE N’NAMDI SHARE INFO ON ART INVESTING AND HOW TO BUILD A CAREER IN FINE ARTS.

 

BY EBONY FLAKE · UPDATED NOVEMBER 29, 2022

Once considered a status marker for high net worth individuals, collecting fine art has gone mainstream.


This week, over 60,000 people will flock to Miami Beach for Art Basel to view works by leading artists and immerse themselves in art culture. With A-listers like Cardi B, Offset, and Travis Scott set to perform, the event— considered one of the leading global platforms for art—is one of the year’s hottest tickets.

Like most trends that have a chokehold on the culture, Black creatives are leading the revolution that’s shaking up the art world. Art by Black artists like Julie Mehretu, Mark Bradford, and Amy Sherald are commanding multi million dollar price tags. Additionally, acclaimed works by Basquiat have sold for upwards of $100 million and Kerry James Marshall for nearly $18.5 million at contemporary auctions in recent years.

Despite the undeniable value of Black artistry on the frontlines of the fine arts industry, African Americans occupy only 4% of museum curator roles. People of color hold only 20% of intellectual leadership positions at art museums.

Further, premier auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s have committed to increasing focus on diversity and racial equity in recent years. However, Siblings Izegbe and Jumaane N’Namdi are addressing the glaring shortage of Black executives in the fine art industry by breaking down barriers of entry for African American collectors, investors, and professionals in the business.

With unique upbringings steeped in art culture, Izegbe and Jumaane learned the intricacies of the industry by observing their father, Detroitbased gallerist George N’Namdi, who launched his family-based G.R. N’Namdi Gallery in 1982 with locations in Detroit, Chicago, and New York. The two have since gone on to achieve their own careers in fine arts. Izegbe as director of the N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art in Detroit, and Jumaane, owner and director at the N’Namdi Contemporary Gallery in Miami. With their background, the two are well equipped to create the change they want to see in the art world.

ESSENCE spoke with the second generation art professionals who shared advice for beginners who are interested in investing in fine arts or building careers in the long-gate-kept industry. They encourage newcomers to keep an eye toward the bigger picture – supporting Black artists and preserving Black art culture.

How to Invest in Art

“I bought some artwork for 1 million / 2 years later, that s**t worth 2 million / Few years later, that s**t worth 8-million / I can’t wait to give this s**t to With these four bars from The Story of O.J., disciples of the billionaire rapper rushed the internet to research how to get into the art investing game. Unfortunately, for the novice, the world of collecting, trading, and investing in art is shrouded in mystery and elitism. Navigating the jungle of galleries, dealers, and which pieces are worth investing in is a difficult, if not impossible, task for would-be investors unfamiliar with the art world. For first time buyers and budding collectors, Jumaane offers the following beginner’s guide:

Get to know your local galleries.

Art galleries offer potential buyers a chance to see a wide variety of pieces in one setting. Gallerists typically serve as a direct conduit between artist and consumer so you can be confident you’re buying quality, authentic pieces.

Jumaane says, before making an investment, buyers should spend lots of time exploring. “Get to know your local galleries. Visit galleries when you travel. If you see a gallery on Instagram, reach out. Ask about the art that appeals to you, ask about the artist, inquire about pricing—make yourself aware. The more aware you become of what’s out there, the more you develop as a connoisseur,” he said.

Find the art you love.

Barack and Michelle Obama, Angela Bassett and Courtney Vance and Beyoncé and Jay-Z—these are just some of the high profile couples who have made public their obsession with art collecting. While a nod from influential collectors can send an artist’s portfolio soaring, Jumaane encourages first-time art buyers not to get too hung up on what’s considered hot in the mainstream He advises investors to, first and foremost, buy the art they love by artists that move them. “You want to buy art because you like the way it looks in your home. Because it makes you feel something,” he said.

From a broader perspective, Jumaane views the collecting and keeping of art by African American artists as a matter of social and cultural importance for Black American buyers. “You’re buying their art to preserve our culture, to grow in the arts, to support Black artists, to nurture the ecosystem,” he said.

Research the artists.

When evaluating whether to invest in a piece of artwork, buyers should consider the artist’s resume and the demand from art collectors for the artist’s work to determine potential market value.

“Find out what exhibitions the artist has been in. Look at a variety of their works. You want to invest in an artist who has some kind of consistency,”

“Consider their originality. Is their work derivative, or is the work they’re doing innovative? There isn’t necessarily a wrong answer, because artists are always growing, but you want to pay the amount of money that’s consistent with what they’re producing.”

Be in it for the long haul.

Once considered a status marker for high net worth individuals, collecting fine art has gone mainstream. 

This week, over 60,000 people will flock to Miami Beach for Art Basel to view works by leading artists and immerse themselves in art culture. With A-listers like Cardi B, Offset, and Travis Scott set to perform, the event—considered one of the leading global platforms for art—is one of the year’s hottest tickets. 

Like most trends that have a chokehold on the culture, Black creatives are leading the revolution that’s shaking up the art world. 

Art by Black artists like Julie Mehretu, Mark Bradford, and Amy Sherald are commanding multi-million dollar price tags. Additionally, acclaimed works by Basquiat have sold for upwards of $100 million and Kerry James Marshall for nearly $18.5 million at contemporary auctions in recent years. 

Despite the undeniable value of Black artistry on the frontlines of the fine arts industry, African Americans occupy only 4% of museum curator roles. People of color hold only 20% of intellectual leadership positions at art museums. 

Further, premier auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s have committed to increasing focus on diversity and racial equity in recent years. However, neither firm has moved the needle on representation of Black employees in their firms. 

Siblings Izegbe and Jumaane N’Namdi are addressing the glaring shortage of Black executives in the fine art industry by breaking down barriers of entry for African American collectors, investors, and professionals in the business.

With unique upbringings steeped in art culture, Izegbe and Jumaane learned the intricacies of the industry by observing their father, Detroit-based gallerist George N’Namdi, who launched his family-based G.R. N’Namdi Gallery in 1982 with locations in Detroit, Chicago, and New York. The two have since gone on to achieve their own careers in fine arts. Izegbe as director of the N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art in Detroit, and Jumaane, owner and director at the N’Namdi Contemporary Gallery in Miami. With their background, the two are well equipped to create the change they want to see in the art world.

ESSENCE spoke with the second generation art professionals who shared advice for beginners who are interested in investing in fine arts or building careers in the long-gate-kept industry. They encourage newcomers to keep an eye toward the bigger picture – supporting Black artists and preserving Black art culture.

How to Invest in Art

“I bought some artwork for 1 million / 2 years later, that s**t worth 2 million / Few years later, that s**t worth 8-million / I can’t wait to give this s**t to my children.” -Jay-Z

With these four bars from The Story of O.J., disciples of the billionaire rapper rushed the internet to research how to get into the art investing game. Unfortunately, for the novice, the world of collecting, trading, and investing in art is shrouded in mystery and elitism. Navigating the jungle of galleries, dealers, and which pieces are worth investing in is a difficult, if not impossible, task for would-be investors unfamiliar with the art world. 

For first time buyers and budding collectors, Jumaane offers the following beginner’s guide: 

Get to know your local galleries. 

Art galleries offer potential buyers a chance to see a wide variety of pieces in one setting. Gallerists typically serve as a direct conduit between artist and consumer so you can be confident you’re buying quality, authentic pieces. 

Jumaane says, before making an investment, buyers should spend lots of time exploring. 

“Get to know your local galleries. Visit galleries when you travel. If you see a gallery on Instagram, reach out. Ask about the art that appeals to you, ask about the artist, inquire about pricing—make yourself aware. The more aware you become of what’s out there, the more you develop as a connoisseur,” he said.


Find the art you love.

Barack and Michelle Obama, Angela Bassett and Courtney Vance and Beyoncé and Jay-Z—these are just some of the high profile couples who have made public their obsession with art collecting. While a nod from influential collectors can send an artist’s portfolio soaring, Jumaane encourages first-time art buyers not to get too hung up on what’s considered hot in the mainstream

He advises investors to, first and foremost, buy the art they love by artists that move them. “You want to buy art because you like the way it looks in your home. Because it makes you feel something,” he said.

From a broader perspective, Jumaane views the collecting and keeping of art by African American artists as a matter of social and cultural importance for Black American buyers. 

“You’re buying their art to preserve our culture, to grow in the arts, to support Black artists, to nurture the ecosystem,” he said.  

Research the artists.

When evaluating whether to invest in a piece of artwork, buyers should consider the artist’s resume and the demand from art collectors for the artist’s work to determine potential market value.

“Find out what exhibitions the artist has been in. Look at a variety of their works. You want to invest in an artist who has some kind of consistency,” Jumaane said. “Consider their originality. Is their work derivative, or is the work they’re  doing innovative? There isn’t necessarily a wrong answer, because artists are always growing, but you want to pay the amount of money that’s consistent with what they’re producing.”  
 
Be in it for the long haul.  

Fine art doesn’t appreciate overnight; it’s a long-term, sometimes generational investment. Jumaane warns against approaching art investment like Wall Street stocks. 

“There’s no quick flip. No get rich quick. Art is a unique asset. You’re not going to win until you understand the importance of owning art. Ownershi —that’s the investment, that’s where the wealth lies,” he said. “The only way you can really get into the business is by actually buying art that you want to live with.

Jumaane is optimistic about the surge of interest in buying and collecting art by Black American artists, but he balances that optimism with a clear eyed view on the current state of Black art. “The number of African American galleries has decreased. The access of art to African American collectors has decreased. Our art is being commercialized and commodified at the expense of our culture,” he said. He is hopeful that newcomers looking to invest and build collections will help to reverse this course.

Building a Career in the Arts

The global art market, which includes high-value sculpture and paintings, is a $65.1 billion industry employing professionals at every level, including directors, gallerists, curators, and investors. As a second generation gallerist, Izegbe has touched every role.

Her interest lies in exposing others to careers in the arts. To that end, Izegbe has outlined a threefold mission for Detroit’s N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art. “The goal is to ensure that the vision of my family’s legacy is preserved and continues to serve as a vehicle for educating the community and collectors while securing the heritage of African Americans in Detroit and beyond,” she said.

For those interested in pursuing careers in the fine arts business, Izegbe
offers the following career paths:

Museum or Gallery Director.

Less than 2% of exhibitions in America’s top museums feature work by African-American artists. 85.4% of works in the major US museums belong to white artists. Not at all surprising considering the demographics of the decision-makers occupying executive roles in the fine arts business.

Directors determine what is shown in a museum or gallery. They are
essentially the CEO of the operation, responsible for everything under the roof, including the venue’s profitability, day-to-day operations, long-term planning, and exhibitions.

Fine art directors typically require a Master’s or Ph.D. in museum studies. The most relevant advanced degrees for the role are public administration, archeology, and public history. However, like most industries, it’s possible to work your way up. Professionals with equivalent gallery or museum management experience sometimes advance to director roles sans the advanced degree.

Exhibit Designer.

Anyone who’s ever been wowed by a museum or gallery exhibit has experienced the impact of an effective presentation. Whether grand or understated, how art is arranged in space is sometimes just as important as the art itself. The exhibit designer is responsible for that visual interpretation.

Most exhibit designers hold bachelor’s in the arts. Graphic design, architecture, interior design, or visual communication are common degrees for this role. 

Art Curator

A museum or gallery curator manages art collections. Day-to-day tasks include monitoring the transport of valuable artifacts and ensuring their safekeeping, documenting inventory, and thoroughly researching collections.

Most museum curator roles require advanced degrees in art history, archeology, or museum studies. Curator roles at small to midsize galleries are often more flexible; a bachelor’s in fine arts or business administration may get you in the door.

“I actually prefer someone who doesn’t have art experience. We can teach that. But work ethic and organizational skills are what I look to hire,” Izegbe said. No matter the role, Izegbe says she’s heartened to see swelling interests in the industry and hopes for an increase of Black decision-makers behind the scenes at galleries and museums.

“The more we have African Americans participating in the art business, the more we can break away from the traditional Westernized perceptions of African Art,” she said. Izegbe and Jumaane relish the opportunity to use their platforms and their deep knowledge of the art world to educate and open doors for people who look like them.

“A hundred something years from now, you’ll know our culture because of the art we produced. They can rewrite history, manipulate the texts, but art will serve as our hieroglyphics. The art will preserve our culture. You can’t put a monetary value on that,” Jumaane said. 

A CONVERSATION WITH JUMAANE N’NAMDI BY CHARLES MOORE

Jumaane N’Namdi, director of the N’Namdi Contemporary Gallery, grew up immersed in the art world. The second-generation gallerist launched his career in Chicago (1997-2012), expanded to New York (2001-2009), and since has put down roots in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami (2012). I recently had the opportunity to sit down with him at the Princeton Club in New York City and learn more about his trajectory.

“I grew up in the gallery,” explains Jumaane N’Namdi. 

Pausing for a moment, the gallery director adds, “I played hide-and-seek behind sculptures, and these great master artists—meeting them and just having them around—all this was very normal to me.”

The art dealer’s father, George N’Namdi, a former developmental psychologist, switched gears and launched his own Detroit gallery in 1981. From an early age, N’Namdi spent a great deal of time in the business. He watched his family accrue an expansive art collection and witnessed first-hand the power of the artist-collector relationship.

Yet N’Namdi didn’t always set out to live his father’s legacy. Initially, he was going to be a teacher at Nataki Talibah Schoolhouse of Detroit, the institution founded by his mother,Carmen. He also thought about being a music producer. But after graduating from Morehouse College in 1997, he moved to Chicago and launched a career in the arts.

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‘Resting in Black’: Artist creates socially conscious works about Black life in America

Rashaun Rucker Overbooked 2020

Duante Beddingfield | Detroit Free Press

 

Taking a novel approach with featured artists during COVID-19, Wayne State University’s art department has transitioned to non-traditional gallery exhibition venues for its current season. 

A billboard, at the corner of Woodward and Canfield will display a work by one artist, per month through next spring for “In the Air: Voices From Detroit and Beyond.” According to the exhibit website, the series features works by eight local and national artists “in response to the global pandemic and racial injustice.”

This month’s billboard, “Resting in Black,” was created by former Free Press deputy director of photo and video and locally based Kresge Artist Fellow Rashaun Rucker, whose drawings and prints make socially conscious commentary on the Black experience in America. The Detroit billboard features two black men, shoulder-to-shoulder, weighed down by worry.  

 

 

 

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Neha Vedpathak: Defiant

Neha Vedpathak

By Heike Dempster

Original Post: Art Districts Magazine 

“Defiant,” at N’Namdi Contemporary, encompasses 13 multi-layered works by Neha Vedapathak in which the artist offers a view into her innovative practice and recent explorations of space and landscape while inviting the viewer to delve deeper, literally and conceptually, into the works she has fabricated.

Born in India, Vedpathak created the majority of the works in the exhibition while living in Phoenix, Ariz. and Detroit, Mich., where she currently resides and maintains her studio. Using a unique technique of paper plucking she created herself, Vedpathak presents works that explore a variety of subjects via concept and process as well as multiple layers of materials, texture and color. Vedpathak studiously maintains her focus on the artistic process, innate qualities of materials, mystery of nature, idea of the ritual, concepts and interpretations of time and in the contemporary notion of space. In “Defiant,” Vedpathak closely investigates landscape, light and architecture, as well as society living and moving within that landscape, specifically Phoenix and Detroit.

 

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Patrick Quarm – Paradox: Surfaces of Self

Patrick Quarm. Paradox: Surfaces of Self

By Heike Dempster

Original Post Patrick Quarm. Paradox: Surfaces of Self

Patrick Quarm’s exhibition “Paradox: Surfaces of Self” at N’Namdi Contemporary Art’s new Little Haiti space presents nine new works by the artist focusing on cultural hybridity, identity construction and its fluidity, and the interconnectedness of past, present and future.

Born in Sekondi, Ghana in 1988, Quarm currently lives and practices in the United States. He graduated from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana with a BFA in Painting and a Masters of Fine Art degree at Texas Tech University; his work has been showcased at K.N.U.S.T Museum Kumasi, Ghana; Peckham International Art Fair (PIAF), London, England; and the Caviel Museum of African American History, Lubbock, Texas, amongst others. He has also served as a teaching assistant and Adjunct Professor for painting and drawing courses in both Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Texas Tech University.

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Stephen Arboite Dreamscapes: The Metaphore Has Shifted to Healing

Stephen Arboite, Untitled, 2020, coffee, charcoal, mixed media collage on paper All images are courtesy of N'Namdi Contemporary, Miami.

By Heike Dempster

Oringal post Art Districts Magazine – Florida

With “Dreamscapes: The Metaphor Has Shifted to Healing,” artist Stephen Arboite presents a series of soulful and spiritual works focusing on a metamorphosic journey, inviting viewers along on an emotional and introspective path to self-discovery and healing.

The paintings are representative of the past 10 years of Arboite’s artistic practice and are as much rooted in the present. They are continuations of investigations he started to pursue while a student, when he first discovered coffee as a medium. Initially chosen based on a lack of resources, the coffee soon led the artist on a powerful journey to explore his Haitian heritage and various discourses on the Caribbean diaspora.

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The Gallerist Jumaane N’Namdi

Although he has made Miami his home only since 2012, Jumaane N’Namdi is a committed stakeholder. “Everyone here who’s involved in the arts has a mission to promote the arts in South Florida,” says the director of N’Namdi Contemporary Miami, a gallery in Wynwood. Although the neighborhood is increasingly dominated by retail stores, he insists art cannot be just a commodity. Instead, he finds himself allied with the Pérez Art Museum Miami and other venues “to put the city on the map … for people to come to see art.”

Consider This

By Jeff Edward s An Interview with Gregory Coates Gregory Coates in Obama, Japan in front of his piece Black Rice, 2010. Courtesy of the artist and N’Namdi Contemporary, Miami.

 

 

New York Times: As a Painter Grows Older, His Creativity Endures

By RACHEL L. SWARNS FEB. 23, 2014

Ed Clark stood silently before the canvas on the floor of his studio. He buy essays online considered the muted morning light, the paint and its promise. Then he pushed a broom across the surface, capturing the hues of daybreak and twilight with each stroke.

He leaned on his personal assistant, who steadied Mr. Clark’s aging body. There was a time when it seemed that nothing could stop him from painting with his push broom, one of his signature innovations. But he is 87 now. After about three hours, he was physically spent.

“When you get older, what you’ve done when you were younger, you research paper can’t do anymore,” Mr. Clark said last week, as he sank slowly into his easy chair. “That’s just the body getting old. It’s telling me, ‘You won’t be here for long.’ ”

Then he grinned: “But I don’t intend to go.”

N’Namdi Gallery Opens a New Location in Miami