By Graham Womack
September 13, 2025 5:00 AM

On the floors of the Crocker Art Museum, a name pops up again and again on placards next to works of art: Simon Chiu. Since George Floyd’s 2020 murder spurred a public reckoning, including in the art world, Chiu has helped the Crocker acquire more than 100 works. Nearly all have been from artists of color. And in recent years, while some organizations have ditched DEI initiatives amidst a political backlash, Chiu has continued to give.

This year alone, Chiu has provided more than $400,000 for the Crocker to buy 17 works, mostly from BIPOC artists. “I saw that there’s a need to help, to make a difference, to help the museum,” Chiu said in a phone interview with the Sacramento Bee. He is a Southern California-based businessman who has dabbled in development, architecture and real estate and who serves on Crocker’s board of directors. Chiu’s philanthropy is getting new artists into the Crocker and helping the museum continue to diversify its ranks – efforts that predate Floyd’s death, according to Scott Shields, the Ted and Melza Barr Chief Curator and Associate Director for the Crocker. “We did it before,” Shields said. “What we didn’t have before is we didn’t have, necessarily, a helper like Simon.” Buying what he likes There might be donors who give artistic museums or institutions the go-ahead to make purchases as they see fit but otherwise remain at a distance. This is not Chiu, who enthusiastically takes part in the process, sometimes even announcing purchases for the Crocker on social media. Muzae Sesay is a Black, Oakland-based abstract artist whose 2023 pastel and pencil work

“When We Were Here Last V” was acquired by the Crocker earlier this year with funds from Chiu. Sesay interacted with Chiu during a studio visit. “I think Simon came and he was very eccentric and excited,” Sesay said. “I really gravitate (toward) that type of energy.” Umar Rashid, a Black, Los Angeles-based artist, sold his 2024 acrylic and ink work, “The Battle of Los Cabos (Ante up!) Or, The Daequan Maneuver” to the Crocker late last year with Chiu funding the acquisition. While the Crocker has staff like Shields and associate curator Francesca Wilmott who assist with purchases, Rashid didn’t interact with them. Instead, he mostly conversed with Chiu through Instagram. Rashid found Chiu’s communication style simple and refreshing. “He let the paintings speak for themselves,” Rashid said. Rashid referred to Chiu as “one of those guys… who buys what he likes.” Rashid also said that Chiu wasn’t afraid to look to more eclectic works for potential purchases. “He chooses artists that make work that’s a little more cerebral than your average painter,” Rashid said.

Chiu has also looked to this publication for some of his purchases. After The Bee profiled Black artist Gary Harrell in 2023, Chiu provided funds so the Crocker could acquire four pieces from Harrell. Shields said Harrell’s work has since been displayed at the museum.

Chiu saw he could help the Crocker bolster its funds to purchase more works from diverse artists. “It’s just they were not able to go and purchase whatever they want,” Chiu said. In all, Chiu has helped the Crocker purchase 127 works dating to 2007, according to Shields. Chiu declined to provide purchase prices for individual works, writing in an email that it is a longstanding museum practice not to disclose this information “out of respect to the artists and their representing galleries, and our supporters.”

The difference Chiu is making

Even with the surge in interest in Black artists following Floyd’s death, Sesay was skeptical about the commitment from art institutions to make the work ongoing.

“I knew it was a fad from the beginning,” Sesay said. Around January, Sesay would field emails from corporate interests hoping to commission work for Black History Month in February. Sesay could trace interest as far back as 2015 and said it was active 2020-22 before cooling off around the beginning of 2023.

“Now, it’s completely dead,” Sesay said.

Ramekon O’Arwisters, who described himself as a 65-year-old Black queer artist from San Francisco, sold his 2024 mixed media work “Black & Blue #7” to the Crocker earlier this year with funds provided by Chiu. O’Arwisters said many institutions have been backing away from diversity for fear of losing federal funding. “It’s about money… over courage,” O’Arwisters said. Chiu is helping the Crocker continue to purchase work from Black artists.

Then there’s Rupy C. Tut, who described herself as a Punjabi-Sikh artist and is based in Oakland. Tut recently sold a work, “Awakened” to the museum with funds provided by Chiu and several other donors. It will be displayed at a November show at the Crocker that will celebrate feminist art and include a piece from Frida Kahlo. Tut noted that many people of similar descent to her live in the Sacramento area. “I know that they can even search in the Crocker’s collection for my work,” Tut said. “And I never had that. I was never able to search a Punjabi artist in the local museum. And I know I would have loved that.” Shields has worked for the Crocker for nearly 25 years. In this time, the museum’s collection has grown sizably to roughly 32,000 works today. “Finding things to acquire is one of the best parts about being a curator, as far as I’m concerned,” Shields said. “And being able to tell a more fully rounded story for everybody is critical.”