Many publications, including this one, have told the story of gallerist and curator Nicola Vassell’s career arc, but here’s a tl;dr version: She has built a reputation for championing underrepresented voices, particularly those of African American and African diaspora artists, and she has been widely recognized for being the first Black woman to open a Chelsea gallery. Prior to that, she held directorships at blue-chip galleries, including Deitch Projects and Pace; launched the art consultancy and curatorial agency Concept NV; and produced six editions of the No Commission art fair with the hip-hop producer (and avid art collector) Swizz Beatz. She curated Beatz and Alicia Keys’s Dean Collection and the artwork that appeared in Season 2 of the hit TV show Empire.
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Vassell’s talents are clearly manifold, though her special skill may be identifying opportunity ahead of the rest of us. When, as now Wall Street Journal photo editor Danielle Scruggs wrote for Observer in 2019, the gallerist made a splash with the exhibition “Black Eye” in Tribeca, she brought together........