{"id":10712,"date":"2021-11-09T19:53:28","date_gmt":"2021-11-09T19:53:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/media-archive.blackartinamerica.com\/?p=10712"},"modified":"2021-11-09T19:53:28","modified_gmt":"2021-11-09T19:53:28","slug":"a-conversation-between-najee-dorsey-and-founder-of-the-black-fine-art-fair-of-ohio-keith-golden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earthexhibitions.org\/media-archive\/?p=10712","title":{"rendered":"A Conversation Between Najee Dorsey and Founder of the Black Fine Art Fair of Ohio, Keith Golden"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

A Conversation Between Najee Dorsey and Founder of the Black Fine Art Fair of Ohio, Keith Golden<\/h2>\r\n

The inaugural Black Fine Arts Fair of Ohio\u2014created by Art by Golden\/Golden Galleries LLC and hosted by the KBK Foundation\u2014is this Thursday, November 11th through Sunday, November 14th. Black Art in America will be present, along with a host of other Black galleries and Black artists.<\/p>\r\n

This fair is our homecoming. It takes us back to the Black shows where we commune with each other, share our culture with each other, and support each other. Everyone references Black Wall Street, but this is<\/em> Black Wall Street. This is us bringing the material to the people and presenting space all on our own and making things happen. This is the tradition, and it\u2019s a celebratory time. Any time that we can do our own thing for ourselves, it\u2019s time to celebrate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If anyone understands that, it\u2019s Keith Golden. Founder of the Black Fine Arts Fair of Ohio, Keith is a pioneer in African-American Fine Art Publishing. He\u2019s an educator, investor, purveyor of African-American Art with over 30 years\u2019 experience, and not only a peer of but also a friend to Najee Dorsey.\u00a0With the show getting closer and closer, Najee threw a couple questions at Keith to show who he is and to share what\u2019s going on behind the scenes of the show, what inspired it, and what it means for the culture.<\/p>\r\n

Here\u2019s a peek into that conversation.<\/p>\r\n

Keith: My grandmother would say, \u201cOh, the devil, he ain\u2019t gon\u2019 be able to make it. You know something good about to happen now. He don\u2019 showed hisself.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Najee: The enemy can\u2019t control this one. It\u2019s divine providence.<\/p>\r\n

Keith: Right.<\/p>\r\n

Najee: Events like the Black Fine Arts Show of Ohio is the foundation of all the interest in African-American art, people going to all these fairs, and different galleries popping up to show the material. This is where we come from. It\u2019s the Black gallerists finding space, creating opportunities, and showcasing the works of our artists to our people. This is taking it back in the day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Keith: With no drama.<\/p>\r\n

Najee: I don\u2019t know. A little drama might be part of the culture.<\/p>\r\n

Keith: (laughs) I woke up this morning, and the magnitude of what\u2019s taking place hit me. Out of nowhere, my cousin Tony popped into my mind and said \u201cYou\u2019re in the ocean now. You better swim.\u201d I laughed because it\u2019s exactly what he would\u2019ve said. Ain\u2019t no time for fear. Then my mind turned to being grateful. God got me on this one. He always does, but now I see it. So I have to get my mind ready, remain humble, and do for the people. That\u2019s where I am right now. I\u2019m at a place of gratefulness, recognizing that it\u2019s not me. It\u2019s God first and it\u2019s us working together as a village.\u00a0I have 15 people on my team who I\u2019m bringing here. I remember at one time struggling for a few dollars just to get a \u00a0booth, let alone talk about building walls, doing all of this advertising, paying for hotels and Airbnb\u2018s. And I don\u2019t feel fearful; I\u2019m not afraid.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Najee: What are you most looking forward to?<\/p>\r\n

Keith: I\u2019m looking forward to letting everyone in to see that this is who has been supporting you all along. This is who has been pushing you to the forefront, right here. I want the artists that you engage with and the people that you are helping to understand where it comes from, where we come from.\u00a0<\/span>I remember when you first started, we used to talk day and night about the things you wanted to do with Black Art in America. To watch it come to fruition has just blessed me. I\u2019m proud of you and I know God\u2019s hand is on you.<\/p>\r\n

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Najee Dorsey, Eugene Foley, and Keith Golden<\/p><\/div>\r\n

Najee: Man, I appreciate that and I appreciate you. The first art show that we did in New York for Black Art in America, you were there. That was our first production. People want to be a part of something, they want to be inspired, they want to know how we began. We are the ones who are keeping the tradition alive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Keith: We are built to preserve our culture and to submit our legacy. One of the ways to do that, outside of speaking about it and telling people about the history of where we came from and who we are as a people, is to use imagery. Imagery has been the strongest source of showing what a group of people are about, since the beginning of time. When you look back in the Dark Ages, and you see some of the information that they\u2019ve been able to prove historically as fact, it\u2019s because they used imagery.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So when you talk about African and African-American culture and history, imagery is one of the strongest resources to be able to prove that it\u2019s true what we\u2019re talking about. When you do that, now you\u2019re preserving the culture by teaching\u2014not just the youth but anyone who does not know\u2014what this culture was built on and what they need to understand. And what better way to do that than with imagery? That\u2019s one part.Once you establish that and you educate people about your culture, now that you\u2019re into the fine art room, use fine art to show that this is what we\u2019ve been doing all along. This is why people are wanting this culture. It\u2019s because they see the authenticity. People want to spend money on things that are authentic and true. They don\u2019t want fake. They look at this African-American fine art and know that is real, they know that it\u2019s true. From a business perspective, it\u2019s still in its emergence stage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Some people say, \u201cMan, that\u2019s a lot for that piece.\u201d But it\u2019s not. When you look at a Sam Gilliam and you compare it to a Jackson Pollock, because they were peers, and you look at the depth and the breath of their work, you begin to understand. Jackson Pollock did what he did without a guide, but the same for Sam Gilliam. That was a man who was true to his craft for over 50 years and his work should be celebrated. There\u2019s no way you should be able to get one of these major Sam Gilliam pieces for under $50,000. There\u2019s no way.\u00a0<\/span>The only reason you can, however, is because there\u2019s a lack of education about who he is, what he means to our society, and what he means to the culture. If you want your legacy to be strong, you have to know where you came from, you have to know who you are currently, and you need to know your value. That\u2019s really what I want to do in this realm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I want to work with my peers, that\u2019s number one. Number two: I want to support emerging artists so they\u2019ll have a great footing that can\u2019t be stolen, because they know their value and they\u2019ve been informed about who they are and what they have.\u00a0People from all over the world, Asia especially, buy Richard Mayhew and Sam Gilliam\u2019s work in droves when they can find them. They\u2019ve studied the artists and know their work is valuable. These buyers know that once the people in the culture wake up and figure out who these artists are, they\u2019re going to be looking for it. And who\u2019s going to have it? That\u2019s the truth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Najee: It\u2019s also important for people to realize that this is a continuum of art and culture. It didn\u2019t begin with the Harlem Renaissance and it hasn\u2019t ended. It\u2019s a continuing of people mark-making and making statements, concepts, and ideas. We have new artists coming up in the pipeline, and they have access to them today.<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

Keith: That\u2019s the other piece. When I talk about the support level, it\u2019s not just the historical legacy work. I think of the emerging and mid-career artists as well. That\u2019s the reason that the show was positioned like it was. Take how I met Kevin Nance-West, for instance. I was at the barbershop at home in Denver. This was about two months ago. My barber asked to see some new art, so I showed some pieces on my iPad. He asked me how much they cost, I told him, and he laughed. \u201cStop lying! You know damn well ain\u2019t nobody paying that!\u201d I pointed out three pieces that had already sold. A guy walked over and asked what I do. I told him that I\u2019m a fine art publisher and art dealer. \u201cMan, I have a cousin,\u201d he started. I said, \u201cStop right there. Everybody has a cousin that can draw with some crayons.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Everyone starts laughing and we\u2019re all joking. He showed me his cousin\u2019s work on his phone and I admitted that he was talented. \u201cHe\u2019s a young guy,” the brother in front of me said, “He\u2019s trying to find his way. Can you call him and just speak to him? I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s on your level though.\u201d I said, \u201cI don\u2019t have a level. I\u2019m just who I am. It\u2019s not about levels.\u201d He gave me his cousin\u2019s information and I reached out. I learned about his vision for himself and his family and said, \u201cYou know what? I was going to give one of these booths [at the Black Fine Arts Fair] to somebody. Why not him? I found him a sponsor to pay for his booth, somewhere to lay his head, and eat. I also arranged for someone to help him put his work up, the whole nine.\u00a0My only rule was that he don\u2019t sell the work he\u2019s creating right now before the show. \u201cYou have to develop a body of work and you have to have some discipline. You can\u2019t let the dollars get in the way on the front side, because you\u2019ll end up with some of the lesser work. Everything you create won\u2019t be your best. That\u2019s just the way that it is. Develop this work with the energy that you got right now.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

Keith: That\u2019s how I embrace what I see in someone that\u2019s emerging\u2014not just sell their work but show them how it goes. It\u2019s not just about selling a piece of art. You have to know how to put it on the walls, you have to have labels. No one showed me this when I started out. It was all trial and error. Imagine if someone had done that for you at that level, without [financially] busting your head wide open.<\/p>\r\n

Najee: My first show was at Underground Atlanta in 2005. I didn\u2019t have a booth. I didn\u2019t have no walls. I had a pop-up tent and hung up art with fishing lines.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Keith: There\u2019s a whole contingent of folk that the academic world says we should have our eye on. I think that\u2019s good, but there\u2019s also people like Kevin Nance-West. No one of \u201cnote\u201d or \u201cimportance\u201d put their own hands on him to say he’s great, but now he gets an opportunity to be in that realm. I\u2019ve already sold five or six of his pieces, but I didn\u2019t even let the people get them. I said I don\u2019t even want your money yet. You\u2019re gonna have to be at the show. If not, then you won\u2019t get it.\u00a0<\/span>I want the show to be so full of buzz that people will know that this is on a whole \u2018nother level. Not just for me, but for us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

That\u2019s what I want.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Click here to learn more about (and grab your free tickets to) the Black Fine Arts Fair of Ohio.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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