Collectors Jorge and Darlene Pérez have donated 36 works by 15 artists from Africa and the African diaspora to Tate as part of an ongoing partnership between the Miami couple and the UK institution. The works include seven photographs by the Malian artist Seydou Keïta, three paintings by the Congolese artist Cheri Samba and a 1986 wooden plank hanging piece by El Anatsui of Ghana.
“The acquisition furthers the ambition that Tate has of really changing art historical dialogue. It definitely represents a shift,” says Osei Bonsu, the curator of Nigerian Modernism at Tate Modern (until 10 May 2026).
“The ways in which these artists are both at the cutting edge of the contemporary but also rooted in more established histories of African art meant that it was an opportunity for Tate to look at their collection as a way of broadening our existing holdings, pushing forward some of the artists that we would have loved to acquire.”
Some of the acquisitions fill gaps in the collection. For instance, Tate did not previously own any works by Samba, who Bonsu says is an “extraordinary artist who is overdue institutional recognition”. Works donated include J’aime la Couleur (2004) and Live Dans les Sous-Sols du Rex (1982).
Keĩta, meanwhile, was known for photographing a range of clients at his studio in Bamako, Mali, capturing sitters in works such as Untitled, Boy with Bicycle (1949-51) and Untitled (Man) (1952-75). “When works do come up at auction, it takes eagle eyed collectors to recognise that these examples of studio photography are rare social documents of African life during the post-colonial period,” says Bonsu.
Seydou Keïta, Untitled, 1957-58
© Seydou Keïta SKPEAC. Courtesy The Jean Pigozzi Collection of African Art
Joy Labinjo’s The Real Thugs of Britain (2020) depicts three police officers, among them former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, against a luminous yellow background. “Traditionally known for her intimate, celebratory portraits of Black sitters, Labinjo here turns her gaze on white authority figures, using them as a way to confront the systemic nature of racism,” says a Tate statement.
Other works donated include Wangechi Mutu’s two-part collage You pretty, no you pretty (2008); Rotimi Fani-Kayode’s Twins (1989), a black-and-white gelatin silver print of two male twins and Batsho bancama (2017), a sculptural installation by Johannesburg-born Buhlebezwe Siwani made from green soap and rose petals. Three works by the Nigerian printmaker Bruce Onobrakpeya are also included in the gift, alongside a pair of works on paper by the Kenyan-US artist Wangechi Mutu.
The Pérezes started collecting African art around 15 years ago. “This is very important for us. We feel that artists from the African continent, the Sub-Saharan in particular, and Latin America, have not been exposed at the level that they should be,” says Jorge.
The Pérezes have also funded a “multi-million dollar endowment” to support Tate’s curatorial research which will help to fund curatorial posts dedicated to work on African and Latin American art. Bonsu was subsequently appointed the Jorge M. Pérez senior curator, international art, Africa and Diaspora.
Gavin Jantjes, Quietly at Tea, 1981
© Gavin Jantjes. Courtesy of Christie’s, London
Earlier this year the Pérezes donated a major work by the blue-chip Abstract Expressionist artist Joan Mitchell to Tate (Iva, 1973). “We’ve always loved the Tate. Our three favourite non-Miami museums are the Tate, MoMA [Museum of Modern Art in New York] and the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid,” says Jorge.
The Pérezes are major players in the Miami art scene and have given at least $60m to the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM). The museum was controversially renamed following a gift in 2011, whereby Jorge Pérez donated $40m in both cash and works to the Miami institution. The couple donated a further $25m in 2023.
Jorge Pérez founded the real estate development company, The Related Group, in 1979. Forbes estimates his net worth to be $2.6bn.
