A Houston native, pioneer, trendsetter, well accomplished, kind, and warm-hearted man, Llyod Gite, a former journalist who worked at Fox 26 news for 25 long years and made TV Personality his life. He enjoyed every year he worked there, interviewed so many wonderful people from all walks of life behind the camera. Although he had a deep love for journalism, he also loved Africa. In fact, Gite’s news reporting career led him to take his very first trip to Africa in 1976.
“I was fascinated about Africa ever since I was child, and then fast forward, I took my very first trip there while still working in television. Best moment of my life,” he said. His first stop was to the West Coast of Africa, where he visited Ghana, Togo, and Nigeria. “That’s when I fell in love with the art there,” he added. From there, Gite started collecting art pieces and paintings from Africa to bring back to Houston. He started out handing art pieces to friends as a gift and then slowly sold them one piece at a time. Gite then developed a passion to expose the art to the youth and community. The Gite Art Gallery is a place where the Black community can make a connection to Africa, especially for those who’ve never been or who have no intentions on traveling there.
The Gite Art Gallery is in the heart of Third Ward at 2024 Alabama Street, where you will find a charming and loving two-story brick home built in 1943. This amazing Art Gallery has been recognized as one of the most stunning galleries in Texas, but the gallery is so unknown to most Blacks around the community. As it was time to make his transition from Fox 26 News, Gite retired after 25 years of being a well-known journalist in Houston. He knew exactly where his life was going take him next, which was another flight back to Africa. It became an instant passion of Gites to fly back and forth from the U.S and Africa.
“Art is really important to the soul, and after I retired from Fox, I knew exactly what I was going to do next and that was opening my own Art Gallery,” Gite stated. That’s exactly what he’s been doing since the early 2000s, and since the grand opening of his gallery to now, it has been a huge success. In addition to art, the gallery has participated in non-profit work. “We’ve held events here where kids come in and take tools or ancient African masks, which is important because it gives them a chance to see what art looks like, and I just want it to open young Black kid’s minds.”
His gallery has donated over $10,000 dollars’ worth of art to Emancipation Park for renovations. They also raised and donated more than forty thousand dollars’ worth of art to The Ensemble Theatre at HCC Downtown.
The Art Gallery is very important, especially for the youth in the Black communities. What makes this Art Gallery special is the origins of each of the art pieces. About 95 percent of the Gallery pieces comes from Africa and five percent comes from Cuba. Mr. Gite doesn’t have plans on expanding his gallery right now or in the near future, but for what it’s worth, the gallery has done great right here locally in Houston. People travel from all over who may read about his gallery and will come to shop.
If you’re ever in the area stop by The Gite Art Gallery and expose yourself to some of the best African paintings you’ll ever see.
