The continued growth and undeniable success of Black Art in America’s Fine Art Print Fair

Black Art in America (BAIA) was positively teeming with visitors this weekend during the 2025 Fine Art Print Fair. Now in its third year, this annual tradition invites new and experienced buyers to the gallery in East Point for a weekend-long celebration of Black printmakers. 

The walls were filled with compelling prints alongside their woodcut reliefs. Numerous prints tucked neatly inside of plastic sleeves were stationed throughout the space, and potential buyers sifted through them to find their next purchase. Around the corner, artists addressed an audience during featured artist talks, including Tracy Mims, who also conducted an artist demonstration on the patio afterward. 

Bustling with activity, the space was alive with the energy of the event. Among them, Black Art in America founder and CEO Najee Dorsey roamed the crowd with a microphone in hand, ready to announce the next programming for the day. Embodying a palpable drive and obvious enthusiasm, Dorsey warmly welcomed attendees, directed buyers to the sales desk and ensured that the weekend’s festivities went off without a hitch.

“It was overwhelmingly beautiful and amazing,” said Dorsey after the event. “We were up 40% over last year, and we had a lot more people this year, too.” While the high ticket for this year’s event was down from last year, the volume of art sales exploded. This tracks with what Dorsey and many other curators have come to understand about the current market — smaller price point items are more likely to move in this economy. 

For Dorsey and the crew of Black Art in America, the Fine Art Print Sale offers an incredible opportunity not only to sell works but also to introduce the public to some of the best contemporary Black printmakers working today. Through artist demos, artist talks and other fun additional programming like a fish fry, Dorsey has created a welcoming and inclusive art festival that brings the community together and encourages new generations of art collectors.

“In order for us to have a thriving arts community, you have to have people who are buying in, and you’re constantly sewing seeds for a new crop of collectors to support the local arts ecosystem,” explained Dorsey. Since moving to Atlanta, he has had to take his artwork to other, more established markets to make sales. That was a problem for Dorsey, and it’s something he set out to remedy. 

“We are working to be a part of cultivating and growing more collectors, more new buyers and that comes through education, engagement and making them feel welcome. That’s definitely what they get from BAIA, but it’s a lot of work.” 

While the Print Fair has occurred at Black Art in America for the past three years since their grand opening in 2022, it is only the latest in a series of art fairs and festivals that Dorsey has championed in his career.

A prolific Black artist in his own right, Dorsey embraces his Southern roots and depicts scenes of African American life through mixed media and digital collages. What began as a childhood hobby has grown over the years into a vibrant career of award-winning independent art that has been featured in numerous group and solo exhibitions, television features and in print. Recently, his work was featured as the signature artwork for the 2024 Atlanta Jazz Festival. 

While Dorsey’s personal artwork has been developing over the years and has earned him a rightful place among the greats of today, he has not been solely focused on his own career. With a mind for community building, he first opened a creative hub with his wife Seteria in Blytheville, Arkansas, back in 2000. The space was a hybrid art gallery, coffee shop and used book store that served as a launchpad for his entrepreneurial, multifaceted art career. Five years later, in 2005, he officially became a full-time artist.

During those early years, Dorsey saw firsthand the challenges and struggles of African American artists trying to make a name for themselves in the art world today. As a result, he launched Black Art in America in 2010 as a free, online-only resource for artists that aimed to increase exposure and connect artists with buyers and each other. The network quickly gained traction and became a leading portal for African American artists, with a monthly reach of 750,000 people through its online platform. 

When Dorsey spotted an opportunity to transform a former church on a highly visible corner in East Point into an art gallery with sculpture gardens, he jumped at the chance. It debuted in 2022 and has seen steady growth in attendance, participation and art sales ever since. Last year, for example, the organization hit a major milestone with over $1 million in artwork sales. 

Wynter Bell, an intern with BAIA, was on hand during the Print Fair and took a few moments to talk about what makes the institution and Dorsey so special. “I would describe him as a creative leader because he’s always thinking outside the box,” said Bell, who currently attends the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). 

“He’s always thinking of something new, but, at the same time, he has all the experiences and the resources and he reaches out to us college kids and tries to help us grow and follow in the Black art legacy, for real. He’s always teaching and showing us the way, too.” Bell describes the vibe at BAIA as being full of real Southern charm in a way that is approachable and comfortable without sacrificing standards of fine art and craftsmanship.

Another young addition to the BAIA crew, Nathan Addley, is an oil painter who is currently getting his masters from SCAD. His artwork caught Dorsey’s eye during an exhibit at the school, which led to an internship and gallery representation for the young artist. “He’s constantly trying to build. He is building for our community, which I appreciate the most. We are all working toward the same goal — get the work out there, represent our people and our artists in the best light possible.” Addley appreciates the opportunity to see behind the scenes of the fine art gallery world, and he was impressed and a bit overwhelmed by the volume of people coming into BAIA during the Print Fair this weekend. 

It’s not only young people who appreciate the community and gathering space that Dorsey has built at BAIA, and that could not be more evidenced than by speaking with Lamar T. Wilson, who took the time to tell me about some of the historic pieces in BAIA’s collection. In his career, Wilson opened Fine Arts of Atlanta in 1989, which became the most successful African American art store in the nation. He later worked as a curator and gallery director for Morris Brown College and at the Banneker-Douglass Museum in Annapolis, Maryland, and developed a traveling exhibit called Trails, Tracks & Tarmacs: Lives and Legacies of Northern Anne Arundel County. He is also an established collector and has focused in recent years on showcasing his Thompson-Wilson Collection of art. 

Wilson holds a wealth of understanding about the importance of the legacy artists on display at BAIA, the likes of which include James Lesesne Wells, Elizabeth Catlett and David Driskell, among others. He relayed, with incredible detail, the stories of these notable artists and told me that it’s important to include these historic works alongside contemporary artists. “Legacy matters,” Wilson emphasized. “Most of the artists who are here would probably tell you that they were inspired by one of these artists at some point or another. 
It’s also important to know that these artists were making waves when there wasn’t much interest in Black art.” 

As we glanced around the room, we saw firsthand the exchange of artwork as pieces moved from the walls and display cases to the sales counter and then out the door, ready to brighten the walls of collectors from all walks of life. For Dorsey, this year’s successes confirm what he already knew to be true — accessible art experiences that welcome exposure to contemporary artists, entrench the history of a process-based craft such as printmaking and offer affordable artworks for sale for new and established buyers alike are essential for a healthy and thriving arts ecosystem. And that kind of support is exactly what he wants to see flourish at Black Art in America. 

“At the end of the day, that’s the most sustainable you can be; when you serve the masses in your art ecosystem,” said Dorsey. If you missed this year’s Fine Art Print Fair, worry not. The works from this exhibit will remain on display through the end of the month. Check out the Black Art in America website to learn more about the gallery and its programming.

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Isadora Pennington is senior editor of art + design and dance. An experienced writer and photographer with a deep love for the arts, Isadora founded the Sketchbook newsletter with Rough Draft Atlanta in 2022. She is also president of the Avondale Arts Alliance and director of the Avondale Arts Center.