Former Roc-A-Fella honcho and hip-hop mogul, Damon Dash has announced that he will officially open his art gallery, The Dash Gallery. The opening will take place on Friday, Feb. 19, in Dash's DD172 building, in the Tribeca area of Manhattan. The opening will feature the work of contemporary artists, Bobby Castaneda, Jeremy Wagner, Heather Gargon and Hector Ruiz.

"I've always loved art and wanted to get involved in it," Dash told MTV in a November interview. "I'm always trying to do different new things and things that don't define what the perception of a hip-hop cat is. We don't only do the things they perceive us to do. We're pretty sophisticated."

The building, which is located on 172 Duane Street, also houses a recording studio, where blues-rock group the Black Keys recorded their hip-hop collaboration project, 'BlakRoc,' and offices which Dash intends to use to launch his new empire of art-related initiatives, including a television network and a magazine.

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