Fine art goes high tech.

New Website promotes black artists online

Jamaican-born Gary Fray's goal is simple: to foster an appreciation of Afrocentric art while creating a successful business for himself. To that end he launched Artgroupie.com (www.artgroupie.com) in June 2000, a site devoted to bringing artists and art lovers together both online and off.

The objective, says Fray, is to take Afrocentric fine art and art objects, which have been cloistered in museums and art galleries--or have not had the exposure they deserve--and insert them into our everyday lives.

The idea for the site came from Art Groupie Presents, Fray's home-based business, which sponsors roving art shows, multimedia concerts, special events, and small-business launchings. Headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, Artgroupie.com features beautiful and intricate sculptures, paintings, African masks, and various artworks representative of the black diaspora. The pieces range in price from $50 to $3,000. Recent pieces include paintings styled after Khemetic culture and clay figures reminiscent of early Jamaican lifestyles.

And the site is evolving into more than just an e-commerce outlet. "I make connections [other similar] sites don't make," says Fray. "They are simply purveyors of merchandise. I'm not just selling art. I envision myself as a cultural impresario."

Artgroupie.com is expanding its repertoire to include functional art objects like home furnishings, and plans to segue into fashion accessories by next spring. The idea of incorporating home furnishings into his business came about after customers frequently requested advice on the placement of art in their homes. They also wanted to know what types of furniture would complement new artwork.

One of the site's featured artists, Errol Nedd, has been very successful offline, distributing his work in many high-end department stores, including Neiman Marcus. But he came to Artgroupie.com to connect with his roots, he says. "I would like my people to get a chance to have access to what I am creating." Nedd designs and manufactures home decoration items, including jewelry boxes, photo albums, pillows, picture frames, and vases in Afrocentric styles using natural products like leather, wood, and fiber from banana trees.

Although the site's core following is African American 30-somethings making upward of $75,000 annually, Fray plans to launch an additional site allowing younger people and those with less disposable income to experience and more easily afford black art. He also plans to launch a not-for-profit branch of Art-groupie.com to educate people about art.

With the holiday season, Artgroupie.com had its hands full, but you won't hear Fray complaining. "I'm in the business of selling art and I love it. I'm passionate about it. I think art has more significance than just a product. But at the end of the day I'm generating a business out of this."