Alice Gray Stites is Museum Director and Chief Curator at 21c Museum Hotels, a multi-venue museum founded by collectors Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson, located in seven cities across the US. Stites curates exhibitions, site-specific commissions, and a range of cultural programming at all 21c locations. Recently, Stites has curated Pop Stars!Popular Culture and Contemporary Art; Albano Afonso: Self-Portrait as Light; Labor&Materials; The Future is Female; Truth or Dare: A Reality Show; Dress Up, Speak Up: Regalia and Resistance; Wim Botha: Still Life with Discontent; Refuge: Needing, Seeking, Creating Shelter; This We Believe; and Still, Life! Mourning, Meaning, Mending; Revival: Digging Into Yesterday, Planting Tomorrow; and The SuperNatural 2.0. Under Stites’s leadership, 21c has collaborated on arts initiatives with artists and with innovative cultural and civic organizations nationwide, including Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, North Carolina Museum of Art, Speed Art Museum, Artadia, Creative Capital Foundation, FotoFocus, Creative Time, ArtPrize, Pen & Brush, For Freedoms, and others. Prior to joining 21c as Chief Curator in 2011, Stites was director of artwithoutwalls, a non-profit, non-collecting arts organization, curating exhibitions and installations in Louisville, Miami, and Stockholm. Stites began her career as an arts writer and editor in New York, then worked as an independent advisor and as adjunct curator of contemporary art at the Speed Art Museum, Louisville. Stites has lectured at universities and conferences such as Art Basel Conversations, EXPO Chicago, Leaders in Software and Art, TEDx Stockholm, NewInc at the New Museum, Creative Mornings, Skift Global Forum, FotoFocus, and the American Institute of Architects Council on Design, and has served on juries including ArtPrize, FotoFocus, PULSE Prize, Moving Image New York, and Creative Capital Foundation, where she served as lead juror, visual art, for the 2019 awards. Stites is a member of the Board of Directors of Black Lunch Table, and serves on the advisory committee for Reach Projects Artist Residency. In 2019, Observer listed Stites on the Arts Power 50: The Changemakers Shaping the Art World. In 2023, Stites was awarded BOMB magazine’s annual Salute, and was named a Community Pearl of Kentucky for inclusive leadership in the arts by the University of Louisville Women’s Center.

Hassan K. Smith has long been committed to investing in the communities that have embraced him during his work as an entrepreneur, advocate, mentor, and visual art enthusiast. For the last two decades, Smith has served as a key member of John Legend's management team, currently as his senior advisor. Before joining Legend’s team, Smith founded Elite Personal Protection, a private security company that he later sold—but not before it sparked his passion for business and strategic investment. Smith now serves as founder and lead strategist of Ellaby Holdings LLC, a private equity firm encompassing the various companies he has developed and invested in. These companies reflect his commitment to visual artistry, community development, and youth advocacy. Under Ellaby Holdings, Smith has curated a distinguished art collection highlighting artists of the African diaspora and created dedicated spaces for children’s animation (The Soovins) and community healthcare (ChastainMD). Hassan’s appreciation for building community connections was established at a young age. A product of Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, he was positively influenced by early C-suite mentors who nurtured his ambition and drive. During his time at the prestigious Beaver Country Day School, he saw firsthand the power of education and the value of strong networks in shaping one’s future. These experiences laid the foundation for his enduring commitment to mentorship and youth empowerment. Smith proudly serves on the board of directors for Youth Enrichment Services (YES) in Boston, the Board of trustees for the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and is a member of the Black Trustee Alliance, the Hirshhorn Museum Collectors Council, and 100 Black Men of Atlanta – organizations that exemplify his lifelong dedication to fostering the networks and communities that shaped his future. A devoted husband and father, Smith remains committed to championing young men and women to elevate themselves through creativity, education, and individuality.

Sarah Higgins is executive + artistic director of Art Papers, where she has also served as editor since 2018. Higgins has curated more than 40 exhibitions featuring a range of emerging, established, and international artists for institutions such as the Hessel Museum of Art, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Atlantic Center for the Arts, and Art Papers. Higgins was curator of the Zuckerman Museum of Art (ZMA) at Kennesaw State University from 2015-2019. She holds a M.A. in Curatorial Studies from the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College (CCS Bard), where she also served as graduate program coordinator (2013-2015). Prior to attending CCS Bard, Sarah was community arts director at Atlantic Center for the Arts from 2007 - 2011. There, she served as curator of Atlantic Center’s Harris House Gallery, developed multidisciplinary youth arts and residency programs, and managed community outreach and educational programming. She holds a B.F.A. from Atlanta College of Art in sculpture and printmaking.

Kent Kelley is an Art Collector, patron of the arts and a long-time Chief Financial Officer in the software industry. His art collecting primarily focuses the African diaspora and Africa. The Collection contains figurative and abstract paintings, photography, fabrics, and sculpture. Notable artists in his collection include Lauren Halsey, Frank Bowling, Deanna Lawson, Sam Gilliam, Mickalene Thomas, Jacob Lawrence, Qualesha Woods, Ben Enwonwu and Hank Willis Thomas. Based in Atlanta, GA, Kent has been named a Top 200 Collector by ARTNews, serves on the Board of Trustees of the High Museum of Art and on the Tate Modern’s African Art Acquisition Committee.

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