N'Namdi has changed a lot of thinking since he began dealing in art by black artists, who were largely ignored by the nation's museums and galleries when he started in 1981. Detroit's numbers include 10 commercial and alternative galleries, at least 400 artists working in the area, more than 100 serious collectors and an estimated 2,000 casual buyers. Detroit's 10 galleries compares to 14 in New York, seven in Los Angeles, five in Chicago, four each in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., and three in Atlanta. All this energy, this heightened creative spirit in Detroit is not lost on the national art world. It's like no other place in the country.
Exhibits sell out and midcareer artists are doing exciting work.
This situation is no surprise to New York artist Al Loving, a former Detroiter who made it big in the Big Apple. Now there are an enormous number of working artists, along with a lot of collectors buying art. The Detroit audience has become very sophisticated. New York painter Edward Clark, another national art star, also is a booster. Although Detroit is in the national spotlight at the moment, the picture has been years in developing, starting back in the 1940s with children's art classes at the Urban League of Detroit.