“Giants,” a large-scale touring exhibition of works owned by married music artists Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, has been a gigantic success for the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla.
Officials with the museum say “Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys” has been the highest-attended exhibit since the museum reopened after a major renovation in 2022. The exhibit, which closes Sunday, has also been a boon for gift shop sales.
From opening day of “Giants” on April 19 to July 29, the museum had 29,781 visitors, with average weekly attendance of just under 2,000. This compares to weekly attendance in the nearly three years before “Giants” opened ranging 722 to 1,065 visitors a week.
Revenues have also more than tripled. Since “Giants” opened, the museum has made an average of $19,579 per week, compared to an average of $5,281 per week from Jan. 1 until the exhibit’s April opening.
“Giants”-related merchandise sales through July 29 totaled $149,343, which represented just over half of total museum revenues. Also, during the run of “Giants,” the museum has sold nearly 400 new memberships.
Scott Anderson, Chief Advancement Officer at MCASD, said in a statement thata “Giants” marks an “important moment” in the museum’s evolution.
“The exhibition has not only generated record-breaking attendance and significant membership growth, it has reintroduced the museum to our community as a place where world-class contemporary art sparks dialogue, brings people together, and reflects the cultural vibrancy of our region.
“We’ve welcomed visitors from across San Diego and around the country who traveled here specifically to experience the exhibition. That response reinforces our vision for MCASD — to be a leading destination for contemporary art and a cultural anchor for Southern California. We are honored to have brought Giants to San Diego, and we see it as the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the Museum,” Anderson said.
“Giants” is an expansive, multi-floor exhibition. (Noah Lyons / U-T)
“Giants” will conclude its run Sunday with free admission for all from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. that day. The museum at 700 Prospect St. is also hosting a closing celebration from 5-10 p.m. Friday that will include a lowrider car showcase, presentations and DJ performances by Dauché, Sasha Marie and Joe Kay. Tickets for that event are $65.
MCASD is the only West Coast venue hosting “Giants.” From La Jolla, it will move on to the Newfields museum in Indianapolis, Ind., where it will open in mid-September.
“Giants” was organized in 2024 by Kimberli Gant, the curator of modern and contemporary art at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. It features more than 130 work by 37 Black American and diasporic artists from Africa, Europe, the United States and the Caribbean whose monumental works tower in scale, conceptual depth and technical skill.
The exhibit represents just a small portion of the more than 1,000 pieces in the colleciton of Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean) and Alicia Keys.
Guests browse the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego exhibit “Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys” on April 17 in La Jolla. (Noah Lyons)
In an interview with the Union-Tribune in February, Beatz said he began collecting art in his teens, beginning with a photograph by Ansel Adams. As his career success grew, he began investing in artwork by Black artists that he admired and wanted to support. He also hoped that by exhibiting pieces from collection it might encourage others to collect.
“What made us double down on African and African American artists was because our own culture wasn’t really collecting it or knowledgeable about it. And so we wanted to change that,” he said. “Although we have artists of all colors in our collection, we’re not just Black collectors. We’re art collectors that happen to be Black.
“We wanted to really put the importance on the culture collecting and supporting the culture and supporting each other. From the little bit of work we’ve put in, we’ve seen a big change and we continue to push every day and continue to support each other and other cultures as well,” he said.
Beatz said he’s happy that the exhibition has served as a gateway for nontraditional art museum visitors.
“Eighty percent of the people who have been coming to the show, this is their first time (at an art exhibition),” he said. “So we love to see that “Giants” is a great entry point for people to get into the arts in general and feel like they have a home.”