At Expo Chicago, a crew of collectors bond over Black art

For one group of collectors, Expo Chicago is not just an art fair but a family reunion.

On Thursday afternoon, they trickled into Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, offering enthusiastic hugs and handshakes. The cohort included everyone from health care professionals to military veterans, who traveled from Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Kansas City, Mo., and other major cities. Before touring the galleries, they gathered in the center of the venue for a champagne toast to “building together.”

“You can feel the energy in the space,” said collector Naretha Hopson, 48, of St. Louis. “When we have everyone together, the unity, joy and love for art is invaluable.”

They are part of the Black Collectors Guild, a social group co-founded by Chicago engineer Chris Craft. Since its launch in 2020, the collective has grown to include more than 100 members around the world. They communicate regularly in a digital group chat, but relish the rare opportunities to meet in person at events. They say the guild has allowed them to build community and share tips in an industry where information and access are gatekept. And they are intentional about supporting Black artists by purchasing their work and advocating for its inclusion in museums.

“Being active and supporting artists and getting them out there is really what it’s about,” said co-founder Dwight Smith, a 55-year old Army veteran who lives in Kansas City, Mo. “And showing folks that Black people do it, too. We like art. I think it’s really important that you see Black influences.”

Craft said the group has made him feel less alone as a Black professional.

“We’re successful, but we’re successful in our own worlds,” said Craft, of Irving Park, who also celebrated his 47th birthday at the expo.

“You walk into a room and it’s just you. It’s good to know that everybody else is going through that same experience. It is good to have a safe space where we can all talk about different things but also help each other.”

That means educating each other about different artists across the globe. Equipped with that information, Craft and his wife, Dione, now own more than 200 works of art. He and other guild members have also helped Black artists in their collection get representation and get their pieces shown in art institutions. It’s an attempt to fill gaps in diversity, as works by Black artists only account for 2.2% of acquisitions and 6.3% of exhibitions at U.S. museums, according to a 2022 study.

Smith said he has loaned pieces from his own collection to the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art in Missouri. And he is especially passionate about helping young artists.

“I think a lot of these status quo institutions get Black artists once they’ve already made a name for themselves,” Smith said. “They’re not doing the heavy lifting. I support the students early.”

A featured artist at Expo Chicago, Helina Metaferia attested to the impact of the Black Collectors Guild. Black women members from the group purchased two of her sculptures, a wood and brass staff and brass crown. They also donated the latter to be included in the permanent collection of a prominent museum, which will announce the acquisition later this spring. The pieces are displayed by Superposition Gallery, owned by New York resident Storm Ascher.

“My work upholds the legacies and histories of women of color, particularly Black women,” said Metaferia, an Ethiopian American artist and New Yorker.

“To be supported by a Black woman gallerist, Black women collectors and then to make sure that [work] gets to be in the museum feels so empowering,” she said. “It’s beyond what I could have dreamed of on my own.”

After stopping by Superposition Gallery’s booth, the guild members visited an exhibition by Affinity Gallery, which is based in Lagos, Nigeria. There, they admired pieces made from African wax print fabric and acrylic paintings on lace paper.

“You want to see people that look like you,” said gallerist Olu Affinity. “It gives you more confidence. It’s also a privilege to be able to support Black collectors. It’s important to help them continue to grow their collection.”

As a collector and a photographer, being a member of the guild is especially beneficial for Jordan Porter-Woodruff, 35, of Woodlawn.

“It's nice to know what other collectors are thinking or what they’re interested in,” she said. “It also helps inform where my art fits in, too.”

Porter-Woodruff said Chris Craft helped build her confidence as an artist. He was the first person to buy one of her portraits at her debut art show at Epiphany Center for the Arts in 2023.

Porter-Woodruff didn’t attend art school and works as a staff photographer for University of Chicago Medicine. But she is pursuing her passion for fine arts photography.

“I never thought of myself as someone to really have the right to do that,” she said. “[Craft] really helped my career.”

Craft himself credits other Black Collectors Guild members with his own advancement in the art world. He said the network helped him get a seat on the board of the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center.

Beyond influence, the guild is also about stewardship, said Chris Eke, a member who also serves on the DuSable Black History Museum board.

Too often, Black stories are not told by Black people, Eke added.

“We have to be custodians of the art,” he said. “You can’t control the culture if you don’t own the culture. These are our stories, and they’re priceless.”