Beyoncé Marks Her 45th Birthday With a $2 Million Gift to the Studio Museum in Harlem

Beyoncé turned 45 on Sept. 4 and marked the day with a present for someone else: a $2 million gift to the Studio Museum in Harlem, ARTnews reports.

In a press release, she said she’s been a fan of the place for a while.

I have been introduced to several of my favorite young and upcoming Black artists through exhibits at the Museum. It is a place of inspiration where all audiences can discover new stories through the canvases of diverse storytellers that reflect our humanity.

Beyoncé, in a press release, ARTnews

The timing is good for the museum. Founded in 1968 in a loft on Fifth Avenue, it reopened last November in a $160 million building by David Adjaye on 125th Street after a seven-year closure. The reopening included works by Barkley L. Hendricks, Kerry James Marshall, Howardena Pindell, Faith Ringgold and Carrie Mae Weems, and a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting given to the museum in 2023.

Beyoncé’s art-world ties run deep. She and Jay-Z shot much of the video for their 2018 single “Apeshit” at the Louvre, and ARTnews’ Alex Greenberger wrote in 2020 that each time she releases music it “might as well be considered an art-world event too,” noting that she and Jay-Z have built an important collection of Black art.

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The museum hadn’t said how it will use the money when ARTnews published. Director and chief curator Thelma Golden put the gift in terms of access.

Our institution was founded to shift the arts landscape and reimagine who that landscape serves. This gift will allow us to continue strengthening our work for Harlemites, New Yorkers, and audiences across the globe.

Thelma Golden, director and chief curator, Studio Museum in Harlem, ARTnews

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