The Art of Collecting

Juanita Hardy, Co-founder, Millennium Arts Salon

Founder and Managing Principal, Tiger Management Consulting Group, LLC Juanita Hardy has over 45 years of business experience, including over a decade in the real estate industry, and over 35 years in the arts as a nonprofit leader, trustee, and patron of the arts. In 2000, she co-founded the non-profit arts organization, Millennium Arts Salon, an education initiative committed to advancing cultural literacy through the arts. Following a 31-year career with IBM, in 2006, Hardy founded Tiger Management Consulting Group LLC, an executive coaching and business consulting services firm.

Hardy has a passion for fostering healthy, thriving, and equitable places to live, work, learn and play through her work with individuals and businesses. Her client portfolio includes Urban Land Institute, a global non-profit serving real estate professionals (from 2016-2025) and Right Management, a global human capital development firm (2016-present).

Hardy is an author and sought after public speaker. Her recent writing includes three ULI
publications and eight articles for Urban Land magazine on creative placemaking in the real estate industry. Hardy’s professional affiliations include vice-chair of ULI’s Placemaking Council, member of the George Washington Chapter of Lamda Alpha Economics (LAI), ArtTable, and International Women’s Forum. She currently serves on the non-profit art boards for Mosaic Theater Company and Mid-Atlantic Arts. She was a member of the board of International Art and Arts and served as its chair until early 2026.

Steven Clay

Steven Clay is an art advisor, curator, and collector with over three decades of experience in African art, both traditional and contemporary; African American art; and Postwar, Contemporary, and Emerging art. Steven brings deep cultural insight and a long-standing commitment to historically underrepresented artists. He is the principal of Steven Clay Art LLC, a professional appraisal and advisory firm based in Washington, DC and New York.

He is an Accredited Member of both the Appraisers Association of America (AAA) and the International Society of Appraisers (ISA) and is USPAP compliant. Steven’s educational background is rooted in the study of art and artifacts of antiquity. He holds a B.A. in Classics and an M.A. in African Studies from Howard University and pursued doctoral studies in Egyptology at the University of Chicago.

In his work as an appraiser, this rigorous academic training informs his nuanced understanding of material histories and cultural legacies, and grounds his work with African material in the scholarship of the continent rather than in the trade alone. In addition to his appraisal practice, Steven advises private collectors, estates, and institutions on acquisitions, sales, curatorial strategies, and long-term value preservation.

Nancy Hirshbein

Nancy Hirshbein has been a docent at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden for 12 years. In addition to her exhibition tours, Nancy has developed and presented an array of deeply researched special programming such as Contested Histories (an examination of competing historical interpretations as expressed through art), Art and the Holocaust, Listening to Art (visual art and its relationship to music), Architecture + Art, Art and Democracy, Art and Social Change, and Art and Fragrance. She will offer an Odyssey-themed tour on September 18th at noon.

Nancy also volunteers at the National Gallery of Art and was the founder of Dial-a-Docent, an independent group of docents that has offered hundreds of online conversations about modern and contemporary art. In her latest venture, Nancy is now also leading art study tours for Smithsonian Associates and arts-focused tour companies traveling to Washington.

Nancy is a passionate advocate for Washington, DC area arts and artists. She serves on the boards of directors of Hamiltonian Artists, the Washington Print Club, and the Printmaking Legacy Project. Nancy also serves on two committees of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. Nancy has an undergraduate degree in history from Rutgers University, a law degree from George Washington University, and a certificate in art history from the Smithsonian Institution.

George Hemphill, Hemphill Artworks

George Hemphill established Hemphill Artworks, LLC in 1993. The gallery mounted over 300 exhibitions, showing the work of contemporary and historic artists. He has worked as an art advisor to many corporate and private collectors. His expertise extends beyond contemporary art to include mid-20th-century African American work, 19th- and 20th-century photography, and the Washington Color School. He has served as a board member of several art organizations, including the Association of International Photography Art Dealers. He also actively championed Washington artists. Hemphill Artworks recently closed its exhibition space and evolved into a private art dealership and collection management services, while determining the next business model for representing and exhibiting the work of living and historic artists. George has taught his dog Ruby 25 different commands. Happy Dog, happy man.

Joan Weber

Joan Weber, together with husband, Bruce Weber, PhD research physicist, is a long-time collector of Washington/Baltimore area artwork and the work of artists in Oracle (Tucson) Arizona. Joan has been on the boards of Washington Sculptors Group,

Washington Project for the Arts and is active in several DC arts organizations. Works from their collection were recently exhibited (Spring 2026) at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center. Humanist Touch: Works from the Weber Collection. 

Joan, retired, is a business person as a commercial real estate development professional and SVP of Sales at a large area printing company. Earlier in her career, Joan co-founded Graphic Equipment World Wide, Inc., an exporter of printing and paper converting machinery. Joan has her Master’s degree and is AbD for her Ph.D. in Sociology. She taught for eleven years at the university level. Bruce is a vital collecting collaborator. They have two grown sons, two lovely daughters-in-law and one very smart grandson. Loves beyond family include: art, art, art, contemporary ballet, gardening, good cooking and good eating. Oh – and art.