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In Washington DC, Black-owned art galleries redefine spaces of belonging in a changing city
Over the course of the last century, Washington, DC has positioned itself as a leader in arts and culture. The nation's capital is home to a network of several dozen museums and galleries , including more than 20 devoted primarily to exhibiting visual art. Only a handful of galleries are Black-owned.
Mehari Sequar, owner of the eponymous gallery in Northeast Washington, DC , operates one of the few galleries in the city that focuses on highlighting the many layers of Black life. In partnership with head curator Chioma Agbaraji, Sequar is dedicated to "articulating global narratives by examining the world through art." The DC-based real estate developer and art enthusiast had long dreamed of opening a space that prioritized and celebrated Black artists. The curatorial team, artists and subjectivity are all of the African diaspora.
"In the typical establishment, there are very few of us that are represented," Sequar tells CNN. "And I think that is a barrier to entry, consciously or subconsciously."
The Northeast Washington DC Mehari Sequar Gallery opened in 2019. It is situated in the historic H St. Corridor in Ward 6. Credit: Courtesy HD Bros
The Mehari Sequar Gallery occupies a dually significant role: owning space in a historically Black city, and preserving Black material culture despite gentrification. Property ownership rates amongst Black residents have fluctuated, often trending downward, since the late 1990s, when DC -- recovering from a financial crisis -- began incentivizing hundreds of thousands of new residents to buy in the district.
Rising property taxes and intensifying pressure to sell has placed White homeownership in the District at a rate roughly 20% higher than that of the average Black Washingtonian family. The city's Black population -- once the majority -- fell to an estimated 46% by 2019 , according to US Census figures.
In the often opaque world of art valuation, galleries provide a direct route from the artist's studio to the consumer. An emerging artist being prominently featured in a gallery's collection often leads to more visibility in the industry.
Since its 2019 inaugural exhibition, "Ain't going to tell you no story, Ain't going to tell you no lie," showcasing the mixed media works of Jamilla Okubo , the Mehari Sequar Gallery is increasingly equipped to back its artists, connecting them to collectors and publicizing their work. Today, Okubo is represented by the gallery and speaks highly of its support, especially as she became more selective in her creative projects.
Okubo tells CNN: "It helped me start to be more intentional with my practice as an artist, realizing that I'm at the point in my career where I can say no to certain projects and say yes to certain projects that were more in the direction of what I want for my career as an artist."
Providing institutional support to emerging artists was one of Sequar's leading motivations in opening the gallery. "We hope to be a place where artists of color can feel comfortable, represented, heard and welcomed. No one can better represent us than us."
More than 80% of museum leadership positions are occupied by white people, according to a demographics survey conducted in 2018. Despite efforts towards diversifying collections , the boards, trustees and directors of many of the nation's largest art institutions still do not reflect many of their patrons.
The dearth of diverse voices in executive and conservation roles can create a familiar imbalance of power where Black artists exert their creative labor for the scrutiny of predominantly White stakeholders. Black purveyors of the arts can challenge this by establishing spaces where underrepresented creative work is presented to larger audiences, rather than placed in competition for spots in elusive, less-diverse institutions.
The Art of Noize, another Washington D.C.-based gallery, implements this mission by lending its space to developing artists across visual and musical mediums. Husband-and-wife co-owners and directors, Tamara and Adrian Ferguson opened the studio after noticing a diminishing presence of affordable, intimate spaces for artists within the DC area. As lifelong residents of the region, the Fergusons observed the ways the city was changing, and wanted to ensure that the legacy of African-American artistry was accessible to all.
In forming a community of other Black arts benefactors, Adrian Ferguston tells CNN, he identified a shared priority. "Our common ground is that we're elevating artists who happen to be Black."
"We're not just limiting ourselves to providing art just for Black people," he adds, referring both to his gallery, as well as Mehari Sequar and 11:Eleven Gallery . "This is beautiful art made by beautiful Black people, for the world."
In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement , some of the country's largest institutions have attempted to reduce white supremacy in the art world with special exhibitions and diversity initiatives. Although well intentioned, this approach can result in Black artists being tokenized by reducing their work to thematic collections. Galleries like Sequar's and Ferguson's challenge the marginalization of Black and brown artists by elevating their creative labor year-round, not just during times of racial accountability.
Westminister (2020) by SHAN Wallace.
Wallace's solo exhibition, "derivatives, memory, & the mundane" was on view at Mehari Sequar from May 29 to June 30, 2021. Credit: Courtesy SHAN Wallace
Photographer and installation artist SHAN Wallace, the most recently featured artist at Mehari Sequar, documents Black life in Baltimore. Her work is intimately linked to and understood by fellow members of the Black community.
"I've had people ask, you know, 'are you attempting to eradicate the myths of Black people' or 'are you making these images to humanize Black people's experiences.' I'm not doing any of that. That's not my language," Wallace tells CNN.
"I'm not thinking about White people or the White gaze in my work. I am thinking about Black people. I'm thinking about communicating with us. I'm thinking about providing balance in a world where we are so imbalanced, especially when it comes to the images, because of that history of White people coming in and documenting our communities, with no experience of being Black, with no understanding of the cultures and the subcultures."
Handling this work with care and integrity is a shared responsibility between artist and gallery that Sequar is very thoughtful about. "I was moved to create this gallery as I felt we needed to have a bit more ownership in the process," he tells CNN. "If you're talented, you should feel comfortable asserting that your work deserves to be in a place such as this."
The exclusivity and competitiveness that has maintained the art world over the years, particularly in the high-value selling market, has also kept certain communities at a disadvantage. While steps are being made at institutional levels to open seats at the table, there is something to be said for the creation of one's own table. In the city formerly known as " Chocolate City " for its robust African-American population, the Mehari Sequar Gallery is one such space.
Lending themselves to audiences of color who have historically been denied access, this and galleries like it occupy the space between creative exhibition and social impact. In their ethos, collections, and community building work, they speak to the necessity for Black people to define the world in their own terms.
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Life through the lens of a blind photographer
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A Growing List of 90+ Black-Owned Galleries and Museums to Support Across the Globe

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Black Lives Matter demonstrations have erupted across the country since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2021. Protesters from New York City to Los Angeles have called for racial justice and pressured local officials to defund police departments following Floyd’s death in the hands of local authorities as well as Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery and countless Black victims. As massive crowds continue to march in solidarity, there has been overwhelming support for the Black community with people taking to social media to share lists of Black businesses to support across fashion , music and more categories.
In the art world, many institutions including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum were criticized for not reflecting on their stated commitments to antiracism in their programming and hiring practices during the #BlackoutTuesday social media campaign. The industry, as a predominantly white entity, must now grapple with the lack of Black and minority representation in institutional spaces.
For years, Black people have largely been excluded from the executive board and permanent collections of America’s most prestigious museums such as The Met, National Gallery, MoMA, and the Guggenheim. The Guggenheim itself did not have a full-time Black curator until 2019 when the museum hired Basquiat scholar and journalist, Chaédria LaBouvier .

To help elevate Black visibility, we compiled an ongoing list of over 90 Black-owned museums and galleries from around the world, below. Be sure to also check out Dazed’s global list of Black-owned/founded museums, art galleries and spaces to support.

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In Los Angeles, from left: ULYSSES JENKINS , CHARLES DICKSON , BARBARA MCCULLOUGH , SENGA NENGUDI and the Brockman Gallery co-founder DALE BROCKMAN DAVIS . Photographed at Smashbox Studios on Oct. 30, 2019.
Wayne Lawrence

In New York City, from left: the JAM founder LINDA GOODE BRYANT , GREGORY EDWARDS , the Gallery 32 founder SUZANNE JACKSON , the author and former JAM employee GREG TATE , LORRAINE O’GRADY , FRED WILSON , HOWARDENA PINDELL , ADGER COWANS , MAREN HASSINGER , DAWOUD BEY and MING SMITH . Photographed at Pier 59 Studios on Nov. 19, 2019.
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An exterior view of Brockman Gallery on the opening night of the first gallery exhibition in 1967. The gallery was located at 4334 Degnan Boulevard in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.
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A poster for “Contemporary Black Imagery” at Brockman Gallery, a group exhibition featuring work by Herman Bailey, David Bradford, Elizabeth Catlett, David Hammons, Suzanne Jackson, Timothy Washington and Roland Welton.
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In the 1960s and ’70s, Brockman Gallery, Gallery 32 and JAM led the way in showing the work of artists now among the most influential of our time.
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