DCAA
Denver Center for African Art
ABOUT DCAA
The idea for the Denver Center for African Art was born at the home of Dr. Paul Hamilton in March 2013, when a group of art lovers and community leaders gathered to view his remarkable collection of African art.
Dr. Hamilton had invited them to discuss ways to preserve and exhibit the collected works in community. For years, Dr. Hamilton had dreamed of a cultural educational center grounded by the collection and his personal library. He wanted to cultivate and sustain a fertile space for creative growth and development in Denver and beyond.
Dr. Hamilton’s visitors were inspired by his vision, and it began to grow. It developed slowly, like the indigenous African bamboo tree, which appears dormant on the surface as roots extend invisibly beneath the earth.
Dr. Hamilton had more pieces assessed and catalogued, and oversaw development of new educational materials.
In 2020, new shoots sprung from the soil. Internationally respected, Houston-based African art appraiser, Craig Fashoro appraised the initial collection, which continues to expand, at $3.5M. Wellness expert and community leader Solwazi Johnson initiated an official Colorado nonprofit corporation in August 2021 and 501(c)(3) designation was granted by the IRS. The name was solidified as the Denver Center for African Art (DCAA) in September of 2022. And with the assistance of the esteemed Judge Gary Jackson (Ret.), the law firm of Holland & Hart began providing pro bono legal services.
In January 2023, the estate of Mark McCue (Denver, Colorado) gifted the DCAA a 34-piece African Art Collection, which will support the new mobile education program under development by the DCAA education committee. In addition, Denver School of the Arts expressed written intent to provide the DCAA with exhibition space, secure and climate-controlled storage, and lecture space on their expanded campus in the Park Hill neighborhood of East Denver. In this historic and accessible location, the DCAA will store and exhibit the Hamilton African Art Collection, the book collection, and periodicals, which will comprise the center’s initial core.