Dion E. Clarke, CEO of the Harlem Fine Arts Show (HFAS), died on Monday, July 13, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. His death comes less than a week before the beginning of the HFAS annual Summer Festival, scheduled to start on Friday.
Representatives of HFAS confirmed in a statement that the “team he built is prepared to carry on,” and the festival will commence this weekend as planned: “As an organization built on community, culture, and resilience, the Harlem Fine Arts Show will continue forward with the HFAS Summer Festival July 17–19, and the HFA S19 in February 2027. We know this is exactly what Dion would want us to do: continue celebrating artists, supporting our community, and advancing the mission he dedicated so much of his life to.”
This year’s HFAS Summer Festival will take place in the Hamptons at the Duck Walk Vineyards in Water Hill, N.Y. In addition to art galleries and displays, the festival is slated to include live music, food, and wine tastings.
Clarke created the HFAS after being inspired by the 2009 conclusion of the National Black Fine Arts Show after a 12-year-run.
“I wanted an event that served as a cultural reservoir of beautiful art that flows from our progressive black community,” Clarke wrote in a Huffington Post article about the HFAS. “Not for me, but for the benefit of current and future generations to truly appreciate our rich artistic heritage.”
The HFAS is the biggest traveling art show that showcases African Diasporic art and artists in the nation. Inspired by the Harlem Renaissance, it was founded in 2009 as an organization that connected artists of the African Diaspora with collectors. Over the past 17 years, the HFAS has landed in more than 10 cities, showcased more than 100 galleries and artists to more than 80,000 visitors.
Clarke was a native of Jamaica, Queens, New York. After earning his BA from Gannon University, he attended Atlanta University, where he received an MBA in marketing and finance. He returned to New York City and founded his own marketing company, JWS Enterprises, Inc. Clarke also served as marketing and advertising sales executive for Black publications such as Essence and Black Enterprise.
Clarke is survived by his wife and three children.
For more information about the HFAS and tickets to this weekend’s HFAS Summer Festival, visit the main website at hfas.org.
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Editor’s Note: In an earlier version of this story. Dion E. Clarke’s name was misspelled.
