The Bët-bi Collection presents a dynamic range of works from across the world, and exists to celebrate and share the pleasures of visual art. Included are works of traditional African art that have long been in Western collections and will now be back on their home continent – including exquisitely crafted household objects, iconic masks, and fine sculptures – as well as modern and contemporary African art, both from Senegal and elsewhere on the continent. The collection has works by artists in the African Diaspora, such as African American luminaries from the era of the Harlem Renaissance and later. There are also works from other cultures, both ancient and more modern. Bët-bi and its collection celebrate both the distinctive qualities of individual artists and a myriad of cultures that imbue each piece, and their universal and timeless beauty that brings them, and us, together. 

The collection continues to grow, through gifts from collectors and their estates; purchases from galleries, the artists themselves, and at auction; donations from the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation; and elsewhere. We understand the importance of knowing each object’s history through time, including, for older pieces, how and where they first entered the market. Although it is often difficult to trace provenance, we continue to attempt to research and provide information on our objects’ ownership history.