Commending Kasseem Daoud Dean and Alicia Augello Cook.

Commending Kasseem Daoud Dean and Alicia Augello Cook.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 2, 2026
WHEREAS, Kasseem Daoud Dean and Alicia Augello Cook, better known by their stage names Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, brought their art exhibition
Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys
to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in 2025; and
WHEREAS, Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, both successful recording artists, have been collecting art together for more than 20 years, and the Dean Collection stands as a tribute to the couple's passion for arts advocacy and dedication to supporting living artists, particularly artists in the Black community; and
WHEREAS,
Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys
takes its name both from the giants of the art world highlighted in the collection and, in some cases, the monumental scale of the featured works; and
WHEREAS, with more than 130 individual objects,
Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys
showcases paintings, photographs, art installations, and sculptures from nearly 40 acclaimed artists, as well as BMX bikes, albums, musical equipment, and ephemera from the musical careers of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys; and
WHEREAS,
Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys
features established artists and younger, up-and-coming artists; the exhibition is divided into three parts: “On the Shoulders of Giants,” which features work by elder artists, “Giant Conversations,” which addresses societal critique and protest, and “Giant Presence,” a finale of large-scale works; and
WHEREAS,
Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys
celebrates the beauty, resilience, distinctiveness, joyousness, and sense of connection found within communities around the world; and
WHEREAS,
Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys
has also reaffirmed the longstanding commitment of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to supporting the agency of Black American and African diaspora voices in the arts; and
WHEREAS,
Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys
, which originally debuted at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City, opened at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on November 22, 2025, and is scheduled to run until March 1, 2026; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Kasseem Daoud Dean and Alicia Augello Cook hereby be commended for their commitment to preserving and promoting the work of diverse artists through their private collection and the
Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys
exhibition; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Kasseem Daoud Dean and Alicia Augello Cook as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for their legacy of contributions to the fine arts.