To walk through the vault door is a reminder that this is a secure space containing invaluable objects, documents, and histories. The Vault is a series of collections reimagined as a portrait of our collective history within a museum’s exhibition space. This protected space demonstrates that our interiors and the objects that we covet shape who we are.
Unlocking The Vault
Race has always been a significant factor in determining equity, ownership, and rights in the United States of America.
Not only has this country continuously attempted to convert Black people and their cultural contributions into objects of possession, but Black Americans have been disproportionately barred from access to property, wealth, land ownership, and occupancy for centuries.
Over generations, forced migration throughout the African diaspora has left many Black people without a sense of history or home. As a people who are constantly grappling with displacement — perpetuated by slavery, the Great Migration, segregation, housing discrimination, and gentrification — moving through space is a practice built out of necessity, bodily protection, and an urgency to lay down familial roots.
In addition to the lack of stability and access, Black Americans have had to navigate a complex legal system used to prohibit them from access to home ownership. From legal housing discrimination practices and policies like red-lining, racially-restrictive covenants, disparate access to credit, consistent devaluation and divestment, government expropriation through sanctioned and racist practices like Eminent Domain, evictions, and failed urban redevelopment projects, unseen restrictions
were placed on the land for our people.
The privilege of home — to be able to choose a safe, stable, and consistent space — affords choice, agency and autonomy. At home, our roles and identities are chosen rather than assigned. The home is our sanctuary of affirmation, healing, joy, comfort, and freedom. Our domestic homespaces are necessary for our survival. After all, the home is where we first come to learn and love ourselves.
— Jessica Gaynelle Moss, curator of The Vault
Welcome to The Vault
The Vault presents important works of art previously kept in the private homes of collectors throughout Mecklenburg County. Depicting our history through the idioms of quiet, interior, domestic space, curator Jessica Gaynelle Moss has worked closely with four Charlotte-based art collectors — Judy and Patrick Diamond, Nina and James Jackson, Christy and Quincy Lee, and Cheryse and Christopher Terry — to transform the museum into a series of thematic interiors based on each of their private collections.
The Capsule: Collector X Collector Series
The Capsule: Collector X Collector Series presents conversations between the collector couples featured in The Vault and prominent art collectors from around the nation.
Collectors in addition to the couples featured in The Vault, include Darryl Atwell from Washington, DC, Larry Ossei Mensah from New York City, Juana Williams from Detroit, and Ciera McKissick and zakkiyyah dumas o’neal from Chicago. These discussions build upon the methodologies, philosophies, and approaches already shared by the four local collectors throughout The Vault, by underscoring an even greater range of collecting practices and strategies. Excerpts from The Capsule: Collector X Collector Series discussions follow below. Hear the full conversations on The Mint’s YouTube channel.
Judy and Patrick Diamond
The Diamonds have spent the last 48 years amassing a collection of Black art that includes works by some of the greatest artists of the 20th century, including Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, and Jacob Lawrence. They buy methodically, and rarely, as an investment. They are privy to the market, incredibly knowledgeable, and maintain great friendships with the artists whose work they collect. In this exhibition, they will share works by Hale Woodruff, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, John Tweedle, Margaret Burroughs, Elizabeth Catlett, and Nellie Ashford.
Collector X Collector Conversation
Judy and Patrick Diamond are joined with Chicago collector couple Ciera McKissick — an independent writer, curator, cultural producer, and the founder of AMFM, an organization whose mission is to promote emerging artists — and zakkiyyah dumas o’neal, a practicing visual artist and the current Public Programs and Engagement Manager at South Side Community Art Center. This intergenerational conversation brought two collector couples together to discuss their relationships with artists, preserving individual works, navigating a collaborative collecting practice, and their shared experience at the South Side Community Art Center in Chicago, an organization started by Black students from the School of the Art Institute when no institutions would exhibit their work.
Patrick Diamond: The truly extraordinary components of our collecting over a 50-year marriage has been that we have gotten to know, and in some cases, we build personal relationships with a lot of the artists that we’ve collected. One of the beauties for us has been, again, getting to know the artists. Maybe going to an exhibition opening, having the opportunity to meet them and then over time cultivating a relationship. And then in many instances, they extended invitations for us to visit with them in their homes and or studios. For us, it’s been like a magic carpet ride. We couldn’t have anticipated or expected any of this because initially, we just wanted to outfit our apartment with African American Art. We wanted our son to grow up around African American art. We never did an awful lot of entertaining and having friends in to view the art. We just loved living with the works, getting to know these wonderful people.
Ciera McKissick: Yeah, I think we can definitely relate. We both are artists and curators in a tight knit artistic community in Chicago. I came here from Milwaukee about 10 years ago and was only supposed to stay in Chicago for one year. I was going to go to New York or to L.A. and ended up really falling in love with the creative artistic community here. We collect together, we collect separately. And I feel like our relationships with artists are very important to the aspect of collection as well. We collect from our friends. Or if I do curate an exhibition, I always try to acquire a piece from that show or I’ve been given pieces before. And I think that mentorship and kind of that relationship building has always been at the crux of my work in general. So we take an intentional approach to those conversations around acquiring work as well.
zakkiyyah dumas o’neal: And yeah, and I think similarly with us, we just love living with art … We do have varying tastes, but I think it’s also getting at a point like within our small apartment, where we kind of want more wall space because we want more art, because we’ve just become very, very passionate about, again, as an artist myself, just like I’m also passionate about supporting other artists and also living with the work of my contemporaries because I really do believe in supporting their work and I want to see them thrive. But I also think there’s something really special about being able to live with work that people are making and the time that we’re also living in, especially right now. Also in this moment when a lot of Black artists are sort of getting more opportunities for collecting and getting more opportunities for having their work seen. And we do like to entertain. And it’s actually encouraged some of our friends when they come to our home. We know a lot of people who have never really thought about collecting or they think that it’s not accessible to them. And they come to our home and they’re always surprised and shocked to see.
Image Credit: Judy and Patrick Diamond portrait captured by Carey J. King, zakkiyyah najeebah dumas – o’neal and Ciera Alyse McKissick portrait captured by Nathan Smith
Nina and James Jackson
The Jacksons are very supportive patrons of the arts. They frequent museums for openings and events, but tend to prefer the shop galleries and are driven by a visceral response to an object. They are not motivated by status or financial gain, but prioritize storytelling and personal histories. For The Vault, The Jacksons will be sharing paintings by Thomas James “T.J.” Reddy, prints by Kerry James Marshall, and a collection of over 50 Black Santa Claus dolls and figures.
Collector X Collector Conversation
Nina Jackson is joined by Juana Williams, the Associate Curator of African American Art at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Nina and Juana connected on being children of creative parents, the value of having artwork in the home, and balancing an artist’s intent with the perceptions of the viewer.
Nina Jackson: My friend, the late Justine Alexander, a self-taught artist, kind of folk art, I commissioned her to do a piece for my husband’s birthday. It was a great piece and I love it. And he loved it. And I said, “Well, Justine, how much?” “Oh, girl, just, you know, just give me what you think.” I remember what I gave her and I thought it was fair. Maybe a little bit more generous than fair, but I wanted to bless her and let her know that I appreciated it when I paid her. She dissolved in tears. She literally just dissolved in tears. She said “No one has ever paid me that kind of money”, and she said, “And it’s not the money. You know, I need the money and I’m going to use the money. But the fact that you think that much of something that
I did”, she was overwhelmed by it.
She was the first artist who I knew. She painted for me and we exchanged that way. And so through Justine, I fell in love with not only art, but then I fell in love with artists as well, and the energy and the appreciation that they have for someone getting their expression of the world.
Justine took me to a thing with some of her friends. I bought the diptych behind me at that point just to support the artist. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. Years later I realized that to me it looks like a sharecropper family in a little house… this is a painting that reminds me of my family, of my heritage, and so it has become a favorite of mine.
Juana Williams: I think that’s so interesting that you said that, because I always think of this two-way conversation with art. Like the artist is creating something from their experiences and from their understanding of the world and what they want people to know or people to see. But then they don’t necessarily have control over that, right? The viewer comes in and they get to look at the work and they bring all their baggage with them. They bring their experiences, they bring their relationships with their parents or partners or whatever. And so it’s not necessarily that, you know, that experience that the artist wanted them to have or their intention behind it … I think that’s part of why curating is so enjoyable for me. Because, I mean, like there’s like layers to it. Of course there’s a layer of me as a viewer. I get to interpret the work based on that, but also just like thinking about my training as an art historian and thinking about the research I’ve done in the past and the research I do on specific pieces. You know, I think about “Have I had a conversation with this artist and have they talked to me about this specific piece?” like there’s so much that goes into it … But as the curator, sometimes I get to kind of help with that story. Like I get to narrate a conversation in a sense. And I think that maybe it’s like part of what makes artwork so interesting to me and what draws me to it, like the complexity of it, the fact that you could it can be 20 people looking at this work of art and you all have different understandings of it.
Image Credit: Nina and James Jackson portrait captured by DaRemen J
Christy and Quincy Lee
The Lees have amassed an incredible collection of works by Black artists. Their home is a museum of remarkable talent, history and legacy on every wall. The Lees are active at auctions and seek valuable works of art. The Vault features works from the Lees’ collection by artists Albert Wells, Charles Alston, Bryan M. Wilson, Juan Logan, Antoine Williams, and J. Stacy Utley.
Collector X Collector Conversation
Quincy Lee was joined by Darryl Atwell, whose decade-long collecting practice continues to evolve. Atwell, who is based in Washington, DC, shies away from the title of art collector and considers himself more of a purveyor of culture or a steward of cultural capital. The two chatted about their connection to the art world as a pharmaceutical executive and medical professional, collector strategy and responsibility, and asset management and estate planning.
Quincy Lee: One of the things I hear all the time is, ‘Hey, Quincy, you’re holding on to a lot of work. ‘Big collection of art, you know? A fair amount of people may know, maybe not a lot, but they know of your collection. You never really share works. Periodically, maybe you may loan a painting to an institution but not that often. If somebody reaches out and they’re potentially going to write some[thing] of course I’ll try to jump into that. But for loaning works, I just don’t. I live with my work.
And so it speaks to the legacy and what do you want to do? I’m trying to figure out what do I want to do longterm. Do I just at some point sell everything? You’ve got to do that slowly. That’s a whole process, a whole game in itself. Do I give big blocks to institutions? What’s your thought? What’s your strategy on that?
Darryl Atwell: Well, I do feel a certain responsibility as a collector. As I mentioned earlier, I’m trying to figure out what my connection to all this is. I do feel, or I believe, as a Black person, that part of my duty is to help show these images and works to our community for them to see them. I don’t have an issue loaning works when someone asks, if I feel comfortable with whatever institution, let’s do it. I’m going
to loan it because I want people to see it.
You said you have a lot of works at storage. I have some works in storage, too. I certainly can’t look at all of them at the same time. So I do feel it’s a good way to help both the artists, but more importantly for persons, hopefully in our community, to see the works … Any chance we get to spread these images and spread some of these messages of the artists, on the surface that appear to be talking about us, I do feel that’s just part of the mission. Down the road, I’ve thought about donation for sure. After I leave the earth, I have nephews. Certainly, will leave something to him, if I deem that he understands the importance of it. Can’t get caught up in that.
QL: Exactly right.
DA: You don’t know if your relatives will cherish these things as much as you will, at all. If you don’t educate them with you, along with your journey, then they’re not going to deem these things important, they’ll get just sold in a fire sale … Find an institution that can take your works. That’s great. Especially, again, Black institutions that are capable of managing it. But also white institutions to help them, you know, broaden their horizon about what they have in their collection. So it’s
a three-pronged thing.
Image Credit: Christy and Quincy Lee portrait captured by Breonna T. Collier
Cheryse and Christopher Terry
The Terrys may not have always considered themselves collectors but their research-based archival practice says otherwise. The Terrys are true custodians of the history, culture, and nuanced narratives of the artists in their collection. They feel as though they have a distinct duty and responsibility to protect Black artists and to preserve Black culture. They believe that art history is just too important to be left to art historians. The Terrys will exhibit their collection of over 30 afro picks, hundreds of magazines, records, toys, advertisements and other culturally specific and historic ephemera in The Vault.
Collector X Collector Conversation
Cheryse Terry is joined by Larry Ossei-Mensah, Ghanaian-American curator, cultural critic, and angel investor. Both Archive CLT, a Black woman-owned cultural ephemra and coffee shop on the westside of Charlotte, and ARTNOIR, a female-majority and Black + Brown-owned, NYC-based global collective celebrating the work of creatives of color demonstrate both Cheryse and Larry’s dedication to creating safe spaces for Black people to engage with Black art and history. The two continue to highlight the importance of archive building as an active exercise and creating our own tables rather than just a seat at someone else’s.
Cheryse Terry: And so the Jacob Lawerence you have, I have the TIME magazine that he did when he illustrated Jesse Jackson. And it’s just about as close as I got to it.
Larry Ossei-Mensah: Yea! Nah, And you just frame that up.
CT: That’s period. That’s what I got going on!
LOM: I think it’s also kind of expanding our mind around that. That’s just as important and just as intentional. Jacob was like, “I’m going to I’m going to make sure there is a record of the existence of Jesse Jackson,” because I think, you know, we kind of forget about what Jesse did, his contribution, because he’s not in the public picture as much anymore. So, you know, you’ve got the space. In the next 18 months what are you thinking about — with relationship to archive building, with the relationship to collecting, to the business — what should collectors be thinking about and working towards?
CT: Building a sustainable collection, for ourselves, to be able to tell whatever story you are trying to tell. So although I collect ephemera I can’t honestly say I’ve read it all. I have over 5,000 magazines. I haven’t read all those, but I know them, I’m going to get around to them, I’m able to flip through them, reference points like, “Oh, I seen this!” and be able to grab information from it. The other night Johnson C. Smith, the local HBCU in my city, the hip-hop class, that’s a class in college! I don’t know much about college, but they had a class there! So the guy was able to come and teach the class. They were talking about the East Coast West Coast beef and they were able to use my XXL, Source and VIBE magazines to get stories from.
LOM: Oh, wow.
CT: Yes. So he brought his class to Archive and they were able to have real ephemera where from the time.
LOM: That’s crazy.
CT: Especially as the person that got a high school education, I’m like, “Wait, my space is being used for academia? That’s amazing.” So yeah, just because I thought, “I see value in having those.” So I think collectors and archivists should be definitely looking at like what can bring value to the people around you? In the meantime, while you trying to figure out the value of it, monetarily, how can it be engaged with now?
LOM: Mm hmm—
CT: I’m sorry — I was saying, I have some JETS beside me now.
LOM: Oh, wow. Dick Gregory.
CT: Yes, Dick Gregory, and—
LOM: So you just have them around the crib?
CT: Yea, they just be around the crib, Larry.
Image Credit: Cheryse and Christopher Lee portrait captured by Sancho Smalls, Larry Ossei-Mensah portrait captured by Courtney Harvier
Meet the Curator
Guest curator and artist Jessica Gaynelle Moss is the founding director of The Roll Up, an artist residency program connecting artists and community residents in the Camp Greene neighborhood of Charlotte, frequently speaks on panels about artist support, advocacy, and stewardship. Previous curatorial projects include mood:BLACK at Goodyear Arts (2017), BLACK BLOODED at New Gallery of Modern Art (2018), Southern Constellations at North Carolina A&T State University (2019), Taking Care at Silver Eye Center for Photography (2021), SHRINE at the Mattress Factory (2022), and TEMPLE at PRIZM Art Fair, Miami Art Week (2022).
Jessica received a bachelor’s in fine art from Carnegie Mellon University in 2009; a master’s degree in arts administration, policy and management from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2015; and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2018.
In her own domestic space, Moss surrounds herself with works of art that have been carefully assembled with intention and through dedicated research. Her collection consists of vinyl records, books, vintage furniture, and fine art. As a custodian of Black art, she is deeply invested in supporting artists over time rather than the cultivation of an art object. She has amassed an impressive interdisciplinary collection of works by artists including Carris Adams, Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., Damien Davis, Yashua Klos, Tsedaye Makonnen, Ayanah Moor, Mario Moore, Carmen Neely, Bola Obatuyi, and Deborah Roberts.
